Lawsuit Targets Vote on Traffic Cameras

Camera company has a history of squeezing public voices out of the debate

A traffic camera company on Thursday filed suit in a Galveston County, Texas courthouse to prevent voters from having a say in whether automated ticketing machines are used in League City. Following a well-established pattern, Redflex Traffic Systems, which wants the camera program to survive, filed suit against the city asking the court to block officials from going ahead with the initiative on the November 6 ballot. City officials also support the cameras.

After residents presented a legally binding petition for a ballot measure banning the cameras immediately, the city council re-wrote the measure so that, if passed, it would amend the city charter with a provision that would not ban cameras until 2014.