Can a private party compel a public official or agency to take action by obtaining a writ of ordinary mandate?

^17. In California, a private party can compel a public official or agency to take action by obtaining a writ of ordinary mandate. Pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1085, subdivision (a), a writ of ordinary mandate "may be issued by any court ... to compel the performance of an act which the law specifically enjoins, as a duty resulting from an office, trust, or station ...." (See Coachella Valley Unified School Dist. v. State of California (2009) 176 Cal.App.4th 93, 113 [mandate will lie to compel the performance of a clear, present and ministerial duty].) The definition of "ministerial" is essential the same for purposes of CEQA and ordinary mandate. In an ordinary mandate proceeding, a "ministerial act is an act that a public officer is required to perform in a prescribed manner in obedience to the mandate of legal authority without regard to his own judgment or opinion concerning such act's propriety or impropriety, when a given state of facts exists." (Rodriguez v. Solis (1991) 1 Cal.App.4th 495, 501.)