They Voted to Extend Their Own Term Limits

Media
6 hours ago
3 min read

I want to give you an important update from today’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

You may remember the charter amendment three of my colleagues put forward. They called it "modernizing the San Diego County Charter to strengthen transparency, accountability and independent oversight."

That was the smoke. The fire was a term limit extension for sitting Supervisors. Themselves.

Today they voted to move it forward.

Video of Board of Supervisors Meeting | Click arrow to watch

Supervisor Anderson, to his credit, listened to the public over the last month. We heard from constituents, community leaders, and the media voicing fair and serious concerns about this proposal. Anderson took that feedback and built a revised version that stripped out the worst pieces. No political confirmation of county managers. The term limit change would have applied only to future Supervisors, not the ones sitting on the dais today.

That is how lawmaking is supposed to work. Public speaks. Elected officials listen. The proposal gets better.

His version failed.

The self-serving version passed.

The other three Supervisors were not willing to incorporate the public's feedback. They had a month to listen. They chose not to.

I called it out from the dais for what it is. One of the most deceitful and self-serving efforts I have seen in my time in public office.

The ballot language sounds great at the top. Ethics commission. Independent budget analyst. Independent auditor. Fiscal transparency. All things I support. All things we can do without a charter change.

You have to read halfway down the ballot question to find the part where they extend their own terms.

Here is what is buried inside:

A third term for sitting Supervisors, overriding the 68% of San Diego voters who set the two-term limit in 2010.

A rewrite that lets the Board weigh in on the hiring and firing of more than 600 county management positions. That turns merit-based hiring into political patronage.

An "independent" ethics commission appointed by the Supervisors, reporting to the Supervisors, investigating the Supervisors. That is not independence. That is a farce.

An "independent" budget analyst and program auditor whose salaries and selection are controlled by the same Board they are supposed to watch.

I voted no. So did Supervisor Anderson.

We were outvoted.

Here is what matters now.

This charter amendment comes back for a second reading on June 25th. That is our last chance to stop it. One more vote. One more public hearing. One more opportunity for San Diegans to make their voices heard.

In 2010, the people of this county said two terms. They said it with 68% of the vote. The five of us ran for this office knowing those were the rules. Now three of us want to change the rules for themselves.

That is not reform. That is a power grab dressed up in nice language.

Mark your calendar for June 25th. When that day comes, the Board needs to hear from you. Show up. Write in. Call. Tell your neighbors.

The people of San Diego County already spoke on this. They deserve to be heard again before three Supervisors overrule them.

Thank you for paying attention. Keep it up. We are not done fighting this.