At the Feb. 7 City Council meeting, council members scrapped Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong mayor initiative – dubbed the Checks and Balances Act of 2012 – in favor of an elected charter review commission. The move, initiated by Councilman Kevin McCarty and supported by six other council votes, paves the way for a costly November election and a tangled web of political intrigue and shenanigans. The cost for electing a charter review commission is still undetermined – it will depend largely on how many candidates line up seeking a spot, according to the city clerk’s office. Just placing the question of “Do you want an elected charter review commission?” on the ballot will cost an estimated

SACRAMENTO – Declaring “my only special interests are people,” civil rights activist Efren Guttierrez today (Feb. 9) officially announced his candidacy for Sacramento City Council, District 1 – and he didn’t’ waste anytime slamming big special interest money that dominates local campaign races. “I will only have one special interest: The People. I will not accept contributions from large developers and similar special interests because ‘It’s About Time’ the grip of those special interests on the city is broken,” pledged Guttierrez, 54, a local real estate broker and community activist as he stood outside Sacramento City Hall with dozens of supporters. Guttierrez is the executive direct