The judge considering a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court over the “strong mayor” initiative has released an initial ruling saying that the initiative should not be placed on the June 2010 ballot. This is not the judge’s final decision on the case.

The strong mayor initiative would give Mayor Kevin Johnson many new powers.

Judge Loren McMaster noted that he analyzed the argument that the public has a right to participate in initiatives.

“The Court recognizes the right of the people to vote on initiative measures,” the judge wrote. “The Court does not lightly dismiss such, and has taken this very important right in consideration in ruling on the matter.”

But the judge wrote that many state Supreme Court rulings have found that revisions to the California Constitution should not be made through an initiative.

“The same legal principle should be applied to revisions to City charters,” the tentative ruling said.

Read the judge’s tentative ruling on the case here.

The case is titled Bill Camp vs. the city of Sacramento, and the text of the ruling is on Item 11 of the document.

Photo of City Manager Ray Kerridge and Mayor Kevin Johnson by Anthony Bento.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.