The following is the opinion of the group and is not necessarily that of the OB Rag
From Democratic Socialists of America – San Diego
On San Diego County Measure A
This measure is a package of proposed reforms to the governing charter of the county of San Diego. Reform packages can be uniquely opaque to voters because substantive policy changes are delivered to voters alongside procedural and bureaucratic adjustments. For instance, this measure proposes significant structural changes alongside capitalizing defined words for syntactical consistency—hardly a proposal most voters can be expected to parse. On balance, the procedural and substantive changes proposed move the County in a positive direction towards increased transparency and an empowered public.
There are two key provisions we think are worth noting. First, this measure would change the term limits for the board of supervisors, increasing the maximum number of terms a supervisor can serve from two to three. While a proposal to increase term limits might feel like a power grab, it really returns power to the electorate. Elections are term limits, and effective ones at that, so allowing an elected official to run for a third term gives voters more power over their own representation, allowing us to continue choosing effective leadership beyond arbitrary timelines.
Second, this measure would empower the Board of Supervisors to review top appointments at the County, reclaiming some authority from the Chief Administrative Officer who executes the business of the County. Giving hiring and firing power for additional, highly impactful positions to elected representatives, instead of resting solely with the CAO, should establish more accountability to the public for those roles.
These two significant pillars are accompanied by the formation of an ethics commission, new requirements for financial disclosure, and rule clarifications. In an effort not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, we recommend a Yes vote on Measure A.
At 3:00 pm today, I delivered my ballot to the Registrar of Voters. I voted No on A.
The County Board of Supervisors used to be all Republicans and they could run for an unlimited number of terms. Voters and Democrats finally voted to limit it to two terms and seats finally started to flip.
Now the Democrats on the Board want to make it three terms. The high cost of running for the county board, high name I.D. and political party backing give incumbents a major political advantage, making unseating them difficult and costly.
Voters No on A and stop the power grab.
“The following is the opinion of the group and is not necessarily that of the OB Rag
From Democratic Socialists of America – San Diego”
NO ON A. Plenty of programs already exist for food, childcare for low income, including Medi-Cal, SNAP, CalFresh, ECS, EES, First Five — most already paid for with public/taxpayer money. No more air purifier handouts — air quality is not the responsibility of the Board of Supervisors – TJ Sewer is an international/federal problem to solve – not SD citizens to fix. No extension of term limits — this is not a democratic process to elect qualified candidates — circumvents the entire election doctrine. NO ON A
I agree with the earlier comments. One other point; giving the board more control over admin appointments smacks of a “strong mayor” form of government. How’s that working for San Diego?
In addition to the comments above, I strongly object to the misleading way in which the people gathering signatures described the initiative. It was all about cleaning up the Tijuana River sewage without a word about higher taxes, extra terms for incumbents, Board of Supervisors gaining more control over county employees, etc. Misleading to the point of lying. I know they will say that you just had to read what the proposition says to learn these things, but who does this in front of the supermarket door?
“While a proposal to increase term limits might feel like a power grab, it really returns power to the electorate. ”
GET RID OF TERM LIMITS
Term limits ultimately empower political machines. Powerful labor unions originally pushed for term limits to remove the remaining Republicans from the board. Now that they’ve achieved that goal, the same political machine wants to extend those limits rather than spend money recruiting and financing replacements for its political stooges. They already have loyal board members who reliably advance their agenda. Allowing those members to serve another term simply saves the unions money while preserving their political influence.
Eliminating term limits puts the power back in the hands of voters, allowing them to retain representatives they believe are doing a good job, including those who aren’t beholden to powerful political machines. Rather than forcing voters to replace an effective representative simply because an arbitrary number of years has passed, elections should give voters the opportunity to decide whether that person deserves another term.
From reading multiple analysis of this proposition, most of the “reforms” aren’t allowed by State Law. Their surveys asked if the Supes should be limited to three terms, without informing those polled that it was already limited to two. I’m amazed that any organization would suggest voting for this power grab. I guess it’s because they are overwhelmingly D’s and that’s all. Join the San Diego Union editorial board in voting NO on A.
Greetings and Salutations. I’ll keep it short and sweet. Board Members are already salivating at the mouth with the potential for power increase. That’s a hard no on A. From a Democrat and County Public Servent. That’s a hard pass. Now, if we wantt to get to the heart of the matter, we caln look at the core fallacies of this Prop. The finer details reveal flaws that are genuinely detrimental to the well-being of our community. If you really are on the fence. Make your list of pros and cons, weight that with your own moral standing and rock that them Critical Thinking skills.
So much for short :| womp womp. At the end of the day, our strength lies in our unity and our freedom. Protect each other’s freedoms, we stick together and be weary of how much “power” is granted to a small group of people.
Hail and long live OB. 42 out