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Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Johnson releases more information on strong mayor plan
by Kathleen Haley, published on June 1, 2010 at 8:36 PM
Storyline: Sacramento City Hall / Politics
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Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has released a new chart on his “strong mayor” proposal, which includes plans for changes to the city budget and the veto powers of the mayor’s office. But local labor leader Bill Camp is saying the chart should not be considered a draft of Johnson's proposal.
Johnson is referring to the new chart as a draft proposal, while Camp said it contains "ideas that we ought to talk about." In the lawsuit over the first strong mayor proposal, Camp was the plaintiff.
The City Council will weigh in on Johnson’s new plan June 15. Johnson’s office hopes the City Council will vote in mid-July to place the new proposal on the November ballot.
Read Johnson’s new chart on the proposal here.
Camp said in a phone interview Tuesday that people have told him they have seen a 10-to 12-page draft of the proposal. He claimed that the draft is being kept from the general public.
“Why are they hiding the 10-to 12-page document people have told me exists?” Camp said.
But Johnson spokesman Joaquin McPeek said there is no current draft circulating in addition to the chart and outline available online. The proposal's language will be based on the new chart, he said.
There was, however, an old draft of the proposal dated from three or four months ago, McPeek said. The old draft will not be used to write the proposal, he said.
At his Tuesday morning press conference, Johnson addressed a question on why the new chart is not in the form of a written report. If the proposal is placed on the November ballot, Johnson said, then City Attorney Eileen Teichert’s office will need to be involved in the drafting of the plan’s language. For that reason, the draft has not yet been written in the form of a report, he said.
City Attorney Eileen Teichert's office has not received a written draft report of Johnson's proposal, according to city spokeswoman Amy Williams.
The new chart — which has been released to the general public — said the city’s budget would be proposed by the mayor 90 days in advance of July 1. This marks a change from the city’s existing charter, or constitution, which says the budget must be released 60 days ahead of July 1 by the city manager.
Johnson’s plan would also enable the mayor to veto budget decisions and ordinances approved by the City Council.
Some types of ordinances, including those that state law mandates, cannot be vetoed by the mayor, according to the chart.
The proposal envisions that the city’s chief executive would be the mayor, instead of the city manager. There would still be a city manager, but he or she would be hired by the mayor. The mayor would also hire department heads, according to the proposal.
An ethics program and term limits could be implemented as part of the new plan. The new form of government would last eight to 10 years, the proposal said. Voters could decide to keep the government system in effect after that period of time.
Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.
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A private group crafting changes to the City's Constitution (charter) by excluding -- again -- the public and Council?!!
Hopefully people see this insane hubris for what it is.
William: Yes, he bought it and now he's trying ---yet again-- to sell it to us even though many of us didn't buy it before and still aren't buying the Power he's selling as Change.
"Before 9th council member added in 2012, 4-4 council votes will not pass, as in other cities."
How convenient...minority rule...just one of many reasons..or intended consequences showing why any proposed revision should include that it will not take place until after the next mayoral election.''preferably the start of the new fiscal year after any adoption.
Additionally, SMI-Lite would directly place at least $3,000,000.00 Dollars in city payroll to be doled out by the mayor with regards to Fire & Police chief and all other asst managers and dept. heads. Aside from their immediate staff's, under the current charter no city council member has that singular authority over city payroll funds.
Campaign finance rules need to be part of the discussion. Do we really want department heads, the city manager and his assts along with the police & fire chief possibly acting as mayoral campaigners every election cycle? Given the bullet points of this draft with regard to placing their hiring and firing status directly under the control of the mayor, controls need to be in place. Maximum Loan limits by candidates for the office of Mayor, made to their campaigns, need to established...just like the state. Additionally we don't want campaign donation "rain maker" being part of the job requirements for those dept heads!
The Governor can not have anymore than 100K loaned to his campaign at any time...currently KJ has over $500K loaned to his first campaign.
Sacramento City Codes does not limit an individuals personal loans to their campaigns...Since loans have an expectancy of being repaid, by someone or someones, as compared to a direct contribution, once made, this oversight within the current codes needs to be corrected.
If the Head of the State's executive branch is limited to 100K in loans to their personal campaign, In the interest of minimizing the potential "quid pro quo" wouldn't you think a mayor should be limited to a lower maximum amount...say 50K? I do!
2 of so many questions, the clocks ticking...
From the Revision Proposal:
Effective Date: December 2, 2010 (30 days after Election Day)...quoting Kumal ""to transition to an executive mayor governance form;"
That will last at least-
Time frame to place re-approval measure on ballot N/A Between November 2018 and November 2020
Crafted out of sight...the mayor, his consultants and supporters are counting on "out of mind"
This is Not Due Diligence with respect to our City's future!
"...personality conflicts cripple the council."....especially one BIG EGO!
The public hasn't been excluded. There has been over 18 months of dialogue. Council is being excluded either. It will take five votes to put the proposal on the ballot.
"His proposal" is the language the reporter chose to use -- but clearly inaccurate.
That's funny -- you almost made it sound like "over 18 months of dialogue" occurred as part of the mayor's power grab proposal, rather than as a reaction to it. Any effort into public dialogue and participation was done DESPITE Johnson's private pursuit of power, not as part of it.
Council - again - and the public are being excluded from the process of the draft of changes to the City Charter. Again, those changes are being drafted in private by Johnson's private camp. The timing and tricks -- including your comment here -- used to attempt to deceive the public about that are a big red flag about the intentions and players behind the proposal.
The timing and tricks include this emphasis on "it will take five votes" in a rushed dog and pony show and political gotcha game; KJ's "draft" and You're Either For Me Or Against Me (and my 60 powerful friends) agenda.
An honest mayor with the good of the city and its future in mind, would recognize that changes to the City Charter MUST be a public process, not another end run around policy, procedure and law.
It is "his proposal" and it is clearly inaccurate and transparently disingenuous of you to say otherwise.
"From the Chart's footnotes...regarding that sticky 9th council district issue"
"Before 9th council member added in 2012, 4-4 council votes will not pass, as in other cities."
"How convenient...minority rule...just one of many reasons..or intended consequences showing why any proposed revision should include that it will take not take place until after the next mayoral election."
So they dealt with the Mystery 9th Member flaw by not dealing with it, except to further limit Council voting power and increasing Da Boss Mayor's?! He still has the veto power too!!
"... any proposed revision should include that it will take not take place until after the next mayoral election" AND the 2010 Census based redistricting that is in the State's, not the City's, jurisdiction.
18 months of dialog. For goodness sake. Do you realize dialog is when more than one person speaks, listens, has input??? Ya realize it's an exchange of ideas via conversation..... I'd attend meetings with dialog, had I known about it. What were only yes sir, folks invited to participate in this dialog? I'd attend council sessions where conversation/ dialog exchanged on developing this SMI but I didn't see any press release informing us....We know it will take 5 votes to put this on the ballot. I guess that's why your brother waited for the dialog discussions, waited to introduce to the public the documents, and why Maviglio stopped being his outspoken advocate to quietly become Ashby's..... scratch her back to get in office… But ya still need another vote.
YOU KNOW it’s "His proposal" just like it's "Johnson's Emerald City" "Johnson's summer youth camp" What? He suddenly became humble????? yea right That leopard hasn't changed it's spots.
“The definition of insanity IS to continuously do the same thing over and over and expect different results!” Franklin, Einstein, and Twain - lol Yet, over and over you come to protect your brother. Lol
Your Brother, The Mayor, has invited city employees to join a book reading discussion club starting Friday, June 4th at 1pm on the Fifth Floor. The book discussion will take place on Fridays from 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.
The Book , Van Jones “The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two
Biggest Problems”
"We're going to have a lot of fun reading this book together, and I want to invite each of you to join us in reading the book. Lauren is still taking orders, and you can join us at any time.
Sincerely,
Kevin Johnson"
Reading groups are great, they have their time and place...I didn't know the city had adopted a Friday furlough plan....if they didn't, I can think of a whole lot of other things to have employees doing during that time of day.
PS Why do employees need to buy the book...at 10-12 Bucks? You couldn't work an electronic sharing agreement out with Mr. Jones? Isn't electronic file sharing much "greener" than individual books?
Any chance that Kevin is looking to make an offer to Mr Jones to be his Green Job Czar...What's he been do'in since abruptly leaving the White House... to quell the questions raised about his hiring?
Yeah, let's do that, honey... and put THAT to a vote...
William: Yes, he bought it and now he's trying ---yet again-- to sell it to us even though many of us didn't buy it before and still aren't buying the Power he's selling as Change.
would you say the president obama is insane? how long had the healthcare situation been discussed and re-opened and discussed again? 30, 40, 50 years?
just because an idea is "poo poo-ed" a few times, does not mean it is a bad thing for the country, or in our case the city. i am glad the president re-opened a discussion about an idea that everyone thought would never happen.
i urge you to take KJ out of the equation and think what this city could look like if a mayor whom you endorse, had the powers the current mayor is proposing to add/change to the mayoral position.
Besides, when you take Kevin Johnson out of the equation, the remaining variables (the Sacramento 60) become even more obvious--which makes me even more suspicious of this kind of trick.
Oh, and just so you know, Kevin Johnson and Barack Obama are two very different people. Folks often try to act as though support for one must necessarily mean support for the other, or that the ideas of one are just as valid as the ideas of the other. This is not the case.
The origins of the ideas, the source of the power grab and the intended outcomes have nothing in common. Your analogy is bogus on top of bogus.
But you already knew that. And as Mr. Burg points out, you probably also know that KJ and Obama are not the same person.
Would I say Obama is insane? I'm not saying much about Obama since he too has yet to address the war on our streets, the fact America Land of the Free has a record 4 million folks involved in the criminal justice system..... I'll tell you what I think when and if he ever begins dialog on what I'm concerned about Life / Freedom in this sweet land of liberty, home where our children die and mothers cry from sea to shining sea of injustice..... Obama is not on my radar right now Johnson is. I believe we should start at home.
From the Mayoral Chief of Staff's. Kumal Merchant, letter
"The enclosed materials, developed with support from the City Attorney’s Office, represent the latest draft of the plan. Final terms and language will be determined by the Mayor and Council via public discussions beginning at the June 15, 2010 Council Meeting."
Another point in Merchant's cover letter of
"It is intended to advance public dialogue on key issues and options under discussion. Please note this is only a draft; exact terms and language will be determined by the Mayor and Council at a future City Council meeting."
What has the Fire, Police and Chamber endorsed?
Nothing like 1-3 meetings at CC to have a thoughtful and through debate....to propose an overhaul to city government structure for at least the next 8-10 years...
It should be emphasized, the original initiative signatures have no bearing on this discussion, it was an illegally crafted revision pushed by the initiative process, so here we have a second revision being pushed upon City Council as though it's at the top of the priority list of things to do...at the deadline time for submittal to the Nov. ballot...thus ensuring minimal dialogue and examination.
If the supporters want to take credit for the discussion getting started....Great...
If a well reasoned proposal comes out of it ...Great, however
KevSMI & Co have never defined a true problem with the current charter, in fact in reading the BEE's editorial from Sunday, I found a comment that really summed it up
cityrevenuenow quoted the Bee & wrote:
"...personality conflicts cripple the council."
The truest words in this editorial.
The structure of our city government, as defined by it's charter, is not the core of the problem!
Greed of Power is the problem.
The fact that the current charter stands in the way of that Greed for a group of people, a lot of whom don't even live in this city, is why it has been under attack since the opening minutes of this Mayor's term!"
And now responding to Kumal Merchant's assertions'
This is not 18months ...the clock on this draft started with your posting of it in the last few days...or minutes.
This isn't a charter commission's draft recommendation...nor has it been a public process,
A revision to the charter...approved by city council for placement on a ballot, per the requirements of the California Constitution...doesn't get done behind closed doors with the public getting a lookie loo at the last minute...Think Brown Act requirements and the appearance of serial meetings that have al;ready occurred!
Take any sitting mayor out of the equation, this isn't the job they were elected to..any revision to the powers of the mayor's office should never be about the current occupant....
Instead, it should open the opportunities to the next mayoral election cycle!
Now that is something from the original charter commission's final report...
"Effective date for proposed Charter changes should be concurrent with the Mayor's swearing in following the November 2012 election.
Vote: I Yes -10 I No-1 I Abstain-0 I
[One Minority Report submitted by Member Tapio is included in Chapter 6]"
Now who do you think appointed Chris Tapio ?
Typical...
The SMI-lite thingy appears to be just more of the same, in short form... But fewer pages does not make the measure any more palattable for Sacramento, for it STILL usurps Council prerogatives to dispose of salient issues of governance, including, and perhaps most importantly, the power of the purse...
What this measure does, at least based on Merchant's 'sketch', is to aggrandize the mayor's role into near dictatorship with virtually no oversight apart from nebulous voter purviews, subject to a propaganda machine that has worked overtime to engineer this measure's success, rather than the more knowledgeable eyes of the mayor's peers on the council, and those of charter officers who are far smarter than KJ would like...
The measure exposes this city to corruption by corrupt people, including KJ and his 'gang of 60' so and so's, who are boldly seeking largesse from this willing sellout of a mayor or any successor who is so compromised by backdoor and backroom promises made to real estate developers and corporate sponsorship of this measure and others like the Nestle 'deal'...
What is it with this mayor and his powergrab -- I find this nearly, if not clearly, pathological, especially given his history of incredibly unsuitable organizational management and malfeasance... Yet he plods along as if somehow, some way, he can trick council and voters into a false belief that this measure is beneficial at all...
It is not... at all....
He owes this city a GREAT apology...
apparently you didn't read page 2 of the plan that discusses an independent council which has the power to override any mayoral veto. exactly where in the document does it give "dictatorial" powers?
If this goes to the ballot and you vote for it, make sure you've read it and the City Charter Committee reports and understand the consequences of your action.
KJ doesn't have the votes now, and won't have them after the election... In fact, I believe there is a strong chance that he will lose even the support he has currently on council for his proposals.
I believe this is how the election will turn, and the yield of support for the SMI:
District 1 -- Ashby -- YES
District 2 -- Sheedy - NO
District 3 -- Fong - NO WAY
District 4 -- Cohn -- YES
District 5 -- Kennedy -- NO
District 6 -- McCarty -- NO WAY
District 7 -- Chin -- NO
District 8 -- Pannell -- NO WAY
Mayor Fop -- YES
I believe the Kennedy and Chin wins are reasonable, based on fundraising and a disdain for Jay Schenirer, in Kennedy's case; and anti-incumbent sentiment, recent scandals involving Waters' son in the CDD, and just sheer age of Robbie "Hiccup" Waters, in Chin's case...
And what's more, people are starting to realize just how corrupt this mayor is and this is resonating against him... and people are starting to appreciate that there are voices on council that counter his powergrabs and nepharious 'deals' ...
So, Oracle, your wishful thinking just ain't gonna make it so.... KJ's going to lose this one, and lose big, despite his gold-toothy smile and Armani knockoff suits...
GOOD.
Oh, and Oracle, you might wonder if the healthcare bill, that opens up access to 35 million people, is so bad, just why are GOP legislators in the House and Senate dropping their bid to repeal it????
And Naga, your assessment of the 'others' having READ the proposal is .... how to put this delicately (so I won't be censored yet again by SacPress suckups) 'generous'... Sure, *some* (nameless urchins) may have glanced over the Merchant 'chart', but based on their comments, it must be like they're viewing black marks on a page, for their comments are just as ill-informed... Helen Keller would have been more thoughtful....
First, I'm hopeful that the council will have enough cojones & vote it down. Furthermore, if it gets to the ballot it is my hope that the voters of Sacramento can smell the strong odor coming from this measure.
By the way...why is a Democratic mayor hanging out with these extreme Republicans? Must be selve serving reasons!
I would offer also that, although most of his backers are indeed Republicans, and he's been aided and abetted by Republican insider PR firms and law firms (Bell, McAndrews, Hiltchakakk (sp??? whatever))... one of his main backers is Angelo Tsakapoulos, who, like KJ, is a REGISTERED Dem, but is absolutely dictatorial in his firm's practices and quite insidiously Republican in the policies he espouses, especially now that he's got a willing fop in the mayor's office...
And oddly enough, Angelo built out much of Natomas, and tried to build more, even after flood restrictions were in place, but because he's supporting the SMI and KJ in general, and by proxy, Ashby, one doesn't hear much kvetching by the Ashby camp against the real culprits in Natomas development -- she'd rather just blame Tretheway because it's easier for her simple brain and her simple backers to tout....
http://bossmayor.com
Please sign the petition too.