Steinberg makes a case for ‘strong mayor,’ then gets an earful. Will it go to the ballot?
The “strong mayor” proposal took a step forward Tuesday night.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg made his case to the public and the City Council for why the council should place a measure on the November ballot to permanently make the mayor the most powerful position in the city.
He then received an earful from activists, residents and some of his colleagues. Some called it a power grab. Others said the mayor should not be proposing it during a pandemic and criticized him for holding equity measures “hostage.”
Despite the criticism, it seems possible that Steinberg has enough support on the City Council to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot. Four of his colleagues indicated they may vote to take the measure to the voters, although some suggested tweaks to the measure’s language.
The council will vote on whether to place the measure on the ballot at its next meeting, on Tuesday.
The “strong mayor” proposal, presented Thursday by Steinberg and community and business leaders, would include a handful of other changes activists have been requesting aimed to uplifting communities of color and increase transparency. Steinberg says those items – setting aside $40 million a year for youth and inclusive economic development, strengthening the city’s ethics commission and increasing public participation in the budget process – would ensure the “strong mayor,” whoever it is, always makes disadvantaged neighborhoods the top priority.
“I just would like myself and future mayors to have a few more tools to be able to address equity in a real and meaningful way,” Steinberg said at the end of the nearly five-hour meeting.
Some longtime community leaders, such as Chet Hewitt of The Center at the Sierra Health Foundation and Cassandra Jennings of the Greater Sacramento Urban League, praised the mayor for adding the equity and transparency pieces.
But other activists and residents, already disappointed the mayor and council did not scale back police funding amid a national movement to do so, said they were turned off by the equity pieces being added as “sweeteners,” designed to force people of color to vote for the item even if they don’t agree with “strong mayor.”
“Not only are the equity proposals not new, these are ideas the council can and should act on without a charter revision,” said Councilwoman-Elect Katie Valenzuela. “Instead these longstanding community requests have been hastily added to a really poorly-written ballot measure and are being leveraged to obtain a centralization of power that none of us are asking for.”
Under the proposal unveiled last week, the mayor would no longer have a vote on the council, but would have veto power over ordinances and budget line items. The council would be able to overturn a veto with a two-thirds vote. The change would also mean the council would have to add a ninth member through the 2020 Census process – a move Steinberg said will increase the council’s power and could add more diversity to the body. That member would take office in 2022.
“I know its impossible to get away from the term ‘strong mayor,’ but I really think it’s a misnomer,” Steinberg said. “When you break this down, not only is this proposal not a concentration of power in the mayor ... it actually strengthens council in a number of ways.”
Opposition to strong mayor
Councilman Larry Carr said it would do the opposite. He is worried that if the city elected an ineffective mayor, for example, the council would not be able to fire that person, the way they can currently fire a city manager at any time.
“We would have no recourse, nothing we are able to do until the next election,” Carr said. “And as we have seen, a lot of damage can be done to a county, a state, or a nation in the four years before the next election comes up.”
Councilman Jeff Harris said he’s concerned that the mayor would be able to fire the city manager. Steinberg said he would have no intention of firing City Manager Howard Chan. Harris and Carr both voiced strong opposition to the proposal, including the $40 million set aside, although they both floated changes that would make it more palatable.
Council members Angelique Ashby, Rick Jennings and Jay Schenirer voiced support for the proposal appearing on the ballot, although they suggested tweaks they’d like to see. Councilman Steve Hansen said he does not support the strong mayor policy, but is keeping an open mind about voting to place it before the voters. If those four – along with Steinberg – vote in favor of placing it on the ballot Tuesday, the measure would go to voters.
“I supported taking this question to the voters in the past,” Ashby said. “What you have brought forward is a little bit different but it’s close enough to the same that I’m not sure how somebody would come to a different conclusion other than if they had evolved on the position over time.”
A letter from activists and residents urged the council to make major changes to the measure. The letter said the mayor should not include mayoral veto power, and should keep the mayor as a voting member on the council, eliminating the need for the ninth member. In addition, the letter urges the council to strengthen the language on the community equity pieces to ensure they are binding.
More than 200 people had signed the letter as of Tuesday night, including Valenzuela, though she said she would prefer the council not put it on the ballot at all. Measure U Advisory Committee Chairwoman Flojaune Cofer, council candidate Mai Vang, Community Police Review Commission member Kiran Savage-Sangwan and Black Lives Matter Sacramento also signed the letter.
“This is not the equity that those that are closest to the pain of poverty, the pain of oppression speak when it comes to equity,” said Sonia Lewis, of the Liberation for Black Sacramento, who also signed the letter.
Some callers also raised issues that the mayor would not be required to attend council meetings and would not be subject to the Brown Act, meaning he can talk to all members of the council privately to try to persuade them to vote a certain way. Some also raised issues with the requirement that the mayor would need to attend a town hall meeting only twice a year. Steinberg said he wants to take that out.
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland and Fresno have “strong mayors.” San Jose has a “weak mayor” but voters were set to consider a “strong mayor” proposal in November, until Mayor Sam Liccardo announced a delay Monday.
Harris said Sacramento should do the same, saying a pandemic is not the time to consider a major change to the city charter.
Voters rejected the measure in 2014, when Kevin Johnson was mayor.
The letter also asks the council to place an item on the Nov. 3 ballot to grant the council more power over pay, benefits and working conditions for the city’s public safety personnel, including police officers. Harris said he wants the council to consider placing that item on the agenda next week, which would remove binding arbitration from city police and fire union contracts and was recommended by consultants earlier this year.
The deadline for the council to place measures on the Nov. 3 ballot is Aug. 7.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correctly reflect Councilman Steve Hansen’s views on the proposed strong mayor ballot measure.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 10:15 AM.
