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Friday, February 10, 2012
Johnson aims to put strong mayor plan on November ballot
by Kathleen Haley, published on February 16, 2010 at 2:02 PM
Storyline: Sacramento City Hall / Politics
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Mayor Kevin Johnson has abandoned his effort to put his latest “strong mayor” proposal on the June ballot, saying there is not enough support from council members. Johnson said he now plans to start campaigning to place the proposal on the November ballot.
He also cited the city’s budget deficit as a reason to delay the initiative to November.
“There’s not a lot of appetite from council members to put it on the ballot in June,” Johnson said. “Secondly, we had a budget workshop last week on Thursday and we have some significant challenges that we need to deal with going forward.”
He said he will ask the City Council at tonight’s meeting to consider placing the proposal on the November ballot.
The city’s estimated budget deficit for the 2010/2011 fiscal year is $35-40 million, according to a Feb. 11 budget report.
Johnson presented his new strong mayor proposal last week after his old proposal was shut down by Sacramento Superior Court Loren McMaster in January. McMaster ruled that Johnson’s initiative broke California law.
Johnson had planned to ask the City Council to approve the new measure for the June ballot in time to meet a Feb. 23 administrative deadline. He had proposed the new measure on a two-week timeline.
The new proposal’s section on the mayor’s powers would retain three key parts of the original plan, Johnson said last week. Sacramento’s mayor would propose the city’s budget; hire and fire “key personnel”; and be able to veto specific items, he said. Council members could overturn the mayor’s veto, Johnson noted.
The new plan differs from the older version on hiring powers. Sacramento’s city attorney and certain city officials would not be appointed by the mayor, Johnson said.
Both the new and old strong mayor plans would give the mayor the power to appoint the city manager.
In the new plan, the mayor’s hiring authority would not apply to all city employees who are not represented by unions, Johnson said.
New items in the proposal include term limits, an independent budget analyst under the City Council’s supervision and an ethics committee, according to Johnson.
The proposal would also include an expiration date for the new system of city government, Johnson said. A vote from the citizens would decide whether the new government system should be halted or maintained.
Photo by Anthony Bento.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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And by the way, I'd like to know while he is laboring to have the power to propose the city’s budget; hire and fire “key personnel”; be able to veto specific items, search to hire a city manager, when the HECK will he have time to focus on city residents complaints, concerns...? Will the Mayor's open house shut its doors once he gets what he wants?? Was it just a distraction to lure folks in to support the SMP and when/ IF he gets the power will he be too busy to pretend to want to see the city residents?? Will he need more special assistants, need more of city funding to turn volunteers into city employees since he'll spend his time hiring and firing key personnel, propose budget.....?
Perhaps the council members have a weak stomach for contaminated (a proposal done in a backroom...) & spoiled meat (by a mayor self centered & self absorbed) and too many residents in their districts are complaining of a SMP that is tough to swallow. But I am glad to know we will focus on city priorities other than giving power to power hungry Johnson
What's really disturbing is hearing this mayor in the news, continuing to try to make it sound like his personal -- and at this point, pathologicial -- power grab is somehow all about DEMOCRACY.
Sacramento Press could provide a great public service by pulling the covers off Johnson's posse of political pimps. We shouldn't have to rely entirely on SN&R. The local daily shows no sign of doing it.