This November we will be voting on four critical measures that will affect our city’s constitution (charter) for decades to come. We urge you to protect our constitution from the self-serving measures proposed by the politicians, in particular the most egregious one: Measure BBB
VOTE NO on Measure AAA – City Auditor’s Authority
Weakens the City Auditor’s authority but calls it “strengthening”?!
The Mayor wants us to believe that this measure strengthens the City Auditor’s authority by deleting important language that takes the teeth out of the Auditor’s job. The proposed change has the potential to allow corruption concerning contracts and how the city’s funds are managed. There is nothing wrong with the current language, the city auditor as it stands is considered one of the top in the nation and has won awards to prove it. The old adage holds true, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Measure AAA turns the Auditor’s position from a watchdog to a lap dog.
VOTE NO on Measure BBB – Term Limits Increase
The mayor and city council want to increase term limits from two to three, against our will!
The mayor knows that increasing the limit to three terms practically gives him and his the council members a guaranteed third term. If two terms are sufficient to govern the U.S., the most powerful nation in the world with a population of 326 million people, why does he think he needs three terms to run a city of less than half a million? The mayor claims that without this change, politicians can run for office indefinitely by using the write-in option. However, in the last 26 years only three people have run successfully for a third term using the write-in option: Mayor Beverly O’Neill, and two council members. None have been elected more than that. Increasing term limits will make our electoral system less free, less competitive, and less accountable to voters. The career politicians’ only interest is to use our city as a stepping-stone to higher office!
VOTE NO on Measure CCC – Unethical Ethics Commission
Establishes an ethics commission… without any power to enforce the city’s ethics laws!
On the surface an Independent Citizen’s Ethics Commission seems like a good move. Who doesn’t want a watchdog commission to ensure good governance? However, the politicians get to handpick the majority of the Commissioners. This is not a “commission of residents” if the politicians basically control the commission that is supposed to be guarding our interests. In fact, the ethics commission can’t even enforce the ethics rules because the politicians struck out that clause! There is a name for this: the fox guarding the hen house.
VOTE NO on Measure DDD – Redistricting Commission
Establishes an “Independent” citizens’ redistricting commission that is not independent!
Municipalities that don’t have an independent redistricting commission are subject to the whims of the politicians. The politicians change the district borders not in a manner that follows the natural boundaries of neighborhoods but in a way that they can dictate who gets elected, this practice is called Gerrymandering. Measure DDD claims to resolve this problem, but the majority of the redistricting commission is picked by the ethics commission which in turn is subject to the whims of the politicians. This practice is essentially Gerrymandering with lipstick.
