Southeast : A Litigious Voice in Cudahy

If there were a championship belt for “Most Litigious Elected Official,” Cudahy City Councilman John O. Robertson would be the No. 1 contender, if not the champ.

Robertson has sued four fellow council members for libel. He has sued the city of Cudahy and a consortium of Southeast cities for damages related to his directorship of a federally funded jobs program. And when he has lost, he has appealed.

In the most recent decision, a state Court of Appeal upheld a Superior Court order that Robertson must pay $15,000 in legal fees accrued by his council antagonists in the unsuccessful libel action--a ruling the councilman is considering taking to the state Supreme Court. The lawsuit against the city and the consortium is pending.

Robertson, 55, a consulting engineer who has been on the council for 21 years, has forked over more than $100,000 in legal bills.

“I’ve been pushed into it,” Robertson says of his court battles.

On the contrary, say some of Robertson’s council colleagues, who launched an unsuccessful recall campaign against him two years ago.

“He’s very, very contentious,” City Manager Jack Joseph said. “One theory is that voters like having someone like that on the council. . .”