56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). The Monell Court held specifically that “local government officials sued in their official capacities are ‘persons’ under section 1983 in those cases which, as here, a local government would be suable in its own name.” Monell, 436 U.S. at 690 n. 55, 98 S.Ct. at 2035 n. 55. Accordingly, official capacity suits “generally represent only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an agent.” Id. Defendants apparently rely upon this language to assert that the suit against the Council members in their official capacities is superfluous. Such reliance is misplaced. Municipal officials sued in their official capacities, like municipalities themselves, are not immune from suit. See Owen, 445 U.S. at 638 & n. 18, 100 S.Ct. at 1409 & n. 18 (<HOLDING>); Goldberg v. Whitman, Civ. No. 88-840, slip
holding that a suit against a state official in his or her official capacity is a suit against the state itself and not cognizable under  1983 holding that a suit against a state official in his or her official capacity is not a suit against the official but rather is a suit against the officials office holding state of north carolina and state official sued in their official capacity are immune from  1983 and  1985 actions in federal court holding that members of the city council in their official capacity are not immune from a section 1983 suit against the municipality for deprivation of liberty interest in reputation without due process holding that states and state officials acting in their official capacity are not persons under  1983