COSTA MESA, Calif.—A judge temporarily prohibited Tim Shaw from serving as a trustee on the Orange County Board of Education following months of contentious debate about whether he was illegally appointed.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Martha Gooding April 29 approved a temporary restraining order that disallows Shaw from serving on the board.
Shaw was sued by Michael Sean Wright in April claiming he was illegally appointed to the board of education in December 2021—following his resignation from the board in November for simultaneously serving on the La Habra City Council.
Wright argued that Shaw was in violation of a state law that claims, “the local board may not re-appoint to the office the person whose resignation caused the vacancy in the first place,” according to the lawsuit.
In her ruling, Gooding claimed that allegations were likely to succeed.
While it appears the ruling as a win for Wright, Shaw claims the legal challenge is far from being over.
“There’s more legal hearing that will happen and in fact I would have a right to appeal,” he told The Epoch Times.
Shaw argued that the lawsuit is politically motivated to send out negative headlines merely a month away from the June 7 Primary Election—where his seat will be up for grabs.
Paulette Chaffee—Shaw’s opponent in the upcoming election—recently sent out a mail campaign advertisement promoting her campaign while also bringing up Shaw’s legal challenge.
“It’s hard to beat an incumbent,” Shaw said. “These lawsuits were only to get out bad headlines so you can have mail pieces attacking me. That was always the plan.”
Shaw, also a former La Habra City Councilman, faced a legal challenge in 2021 for simultaneously serving on two elected bodies—including the county board of education—an argument of potential conflict of interest.
To avoid paying out of pocket for costly litigation fees, Shaw resigned from the board of education in November 2021.
Weeks later, Shaw resigned from the city council and was reappointed to his former trustee seat on the board by his colleagues.
Another lawsuit filed by Wright on Jan. 28 against the board for reappointing Shaw is still in the works.
With Shaw being temporarily removed from the board, it is unlikely that his absence will shift the board’s vote—since most of the five members are conservative aside from trustee Beckie Gomez—who was recently served with a legal challenge for simultaneously serving on the Tustin City Council and Board of Education.
The next hearing for the legal challenge will be on May 16.
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