A defendant in the strong mayor lawsuit will appeal Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster's decision to strike down the initiative.

In his final ruling, McMaster decided that the strong mayor initiative should not be placed on the June ballot. He wrote that the initiative would not align with state law. 

Defendants in the case are the city of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council and Thomas Hiltachk, the attorney who wrote the strong mayor initiative. Bill Camp is the plaintiff.

In a press release issued this morning, Hiltachk said he will appeal McMaster's ruling to the Third District Court of Appeals. Hiltachk spoke on behalf of Sacramentans for Accountable Government, the group that campaigned for the strong mayor initiative. 

“We will immediately appeal this unprecedented decision by Judge McMaster and we are very confident we will prevail in the Appellate court," Hiltachk said. 

Read McMaster's final ruling here.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.