The 2012 election cycle is ramping up in Sacramento, and one topic that is sure to be on the table is a strong mayor initiative. Mayor Kevin Johnson brought the topic to the fore during his 2008 campaign for mayor shortly after his 2008 election win in his race against then-mayor Heather Fargo, but the idea didn’t fly with members of the City Council, and the initiative never got off the ground. With another mayoral race coming up in 2012, Johnson said he believes the idea of a strong mayor initiative is ripe for ballot consideration once again. “This is a topic that people are ready to take on,” Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “There are many people involved and interested

Sacramento County's Voter Registration and Elections Department sent the following news release on Monday: Sacramento County Registrar of Voters Jill LaVine wants to give voters some last minute reminders and tips that can make your trip to the polls go a little smoother on Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mark your choices in your Sample Ballot Booklet ahead of time and take with you into the voting booth. If you make a mistake on your ballot, ask a poll worker for a new ballot. If you are in line when the polls close, you will be allowed to vote. Can’t make it to your polling place or your name is not on the list? Ask to vote by provisional ballot. The provisional

What with the excitement of Sacramento city council and county supervisor races – competition, deals, drama, controversies, strong/weak mayor, and the like – and even some interesting regional and statewide races, who really has time to study and vote intelligently about the propositions that also are on our ballots? Once again Sacramento voters are faced with the usual array of statewide propositions this year: five on the June ballot and another three qualified for November, three pending at the Attorney General’s Office, signatures filed for seven, the Legislature considering nine, 24 gathering signatures for topics like taxes, abortion, pensions, human trafficking, redistricting and r

The Sacramento Bee reported on Wednesday, June 3 that Mayor Kevin Johnson is relaunching his campaign to change the city's charter from a shared governance model to a strong mayor model. Sacramentans for Accountable Government (SAG), the organization coordinating the campaign, intends to submit petition signatures to the city by June 28. Most likely, the issue will not make the ballot until June 2010. Sacramentans for Accountable Government was formed by Johnson supporters and is largely funded by local real estate developers. In January 2009, Kim Mack (who was the Director of Sacramento for Obama) received a great deal of flack for sharing contact information of Obama volunteers with the

Sacramento citizens gathered, at the South Natomas Community Center, to oppose the proposed costly mayoral power grab. Joan Bryant, co-chair of the grass roots coalition "Stop the Power Grab", was joined by former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin, to speak to the crowd. "We are here today as a group of ordinary citizens who want to keep the doors of city hall open and accessible", said Rudin. "I applaud this group of citizens for coming together to do the right thing to stand against this." Bryant announced that the formation of this coalition, "Stop the Power Grab", is intended to make sure that the voice of the people is not shut out of city hall. "This measure is an unnecessary power grab",