Propositions A, B and C Will Reshape San Diego’s City Charter and Balance Power of Local Government

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Despite early signs that Mayor Jerry Sanders was going to pull off one of the biggest power grabs in San Diego history, the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council is proudly supporting a package of City Charter changes that will appear as Propositions A, B and C on this June’s ballot.

Propositions A, B and C help fix some of the major flaws of the strong-mayor form of government. They give the public a fair chance to decide whether they like the strong-mayor system, and protect the public from some of the harmful impacts of Sanders’ efforts to outsource city services.

The Labor Council fought Mayor Sanders’ Charter Review Commission at every turn as it spent almost a year orchestrating a set of proposals that could have left an unprecedented amount of power in the mayor’s hands. Sanders and his appointed board were aiming to allow him to further weaken the checks and balances at City Hall by allowing the mayor to continue controlling the city auditor, permitting the mayor to handpick a majority of the panel that would be in charge of inspecting his own administration, strengthening his veto to become stronger than any other government in the United States, and pushing through the strong mayor form of government only halfway through its five-year trial run.

Instead, the City Council stood up to Mayor Sanders and his appointees by placing a reasonable set of amendments in front of the city’s voters for the June 3 election.

Proposition A would exempt Lifeguards, Firefighters and Police Officers from the City of San Diego’s outsourcing program, fixing one of the many errors identified by the Labor Council in the 2006 ballot initiative that allows city jobs to be privatized.

Proposition B would require that voters are allowed the chance to judge the strong-mayor system, in which the mayor acts as the city’s top executive, once its fiveyear trial period ends in 2010. If voters decide at that time to make strong mayor permanent, a ninth City Council seat would be added to avoid tie votes and the mayor’s veto power would be strengthened to require six of the nine council votes to override a mayoral veto instead of five.

Proposition C would remove the mayor from directly overseeing or having the ability to fire the city auditor.

The mayor would be able to nominate the City Auditor, but the City Council would have to confirm the selection. In addition, the City Auditor would report to an Audit Committee that is comprised of two City Council members and three City Councilappointed experts. The City Auditor could only be removed for cause by a recommendation of the Audit Committee and a vote of two-thirds or more of the City Council. Proposition C would also make the Office of Independent Budget Analyst permanent so that the City Council will have the tools to check management’s work before making key decisions about the city’s finances.

Make no mistake: Propositions A, B and C are very important for turning around San Diego.

It’s very fortunate that the public will have a chance to improve the balance of power at City Hall when the outlook appeared to be so bleak just a few short months ago. But that’s all it is right now – a chance.

We still have a lot of work to do to make sure that the package we fought so hard to place on the ballot passes! Make sure you turn out to vote YES on Propositions A, B and C and the Labor Council’s endorsed candidates on June 3.