Sacramento leaders to vote on amended ‘strong mayor’ ballot measure. See what’s changed
The Sacramento City Council will consider a new “strong mayor” ballot measure Tuesday — but with significant changes, including a term limit placed on mayors.
If the measure is adopted, mayors would be limited to serving two terms, meaning Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s term would end in 2024. Currently, the mayor does not have term limits.
In addition, the proposal would also add a “sunset provision,” meaning voters would reconsider it in 2030, according to Mary Lynne Vellinga, a spokeswoman for Steinberg’s office.
Those two changes bring the proposal more in line with the 2014 “strong mayor” ballot measure, when Kevin Johnson was mayor. That measure was rejected by voters.
The proposal would still allow the mayor to fire the city manager, but would allow the council to take a two-thirds vote to override that decision in instances without cause, Vellinga said.
The changes address some concerns council members brought up Tuesday during a lengthy discussion. This Tuesday, the council will decide whether to place the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.
It needs four votes in addition to the mayor’s to place it on the ballot. On Tuesday, at least four members seemed open to bringing the measure before the voters, but with tweaks.
The measure, branded as the “Mayor Accountability and Community Equity Act,” also has a slew of changes aimed at uplifting communities of color and improving transparency, according to Vellinga.
The proposal has earned the support of the Sierra Health Foundation; Greater Sacramento Urban League; Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce; SEIU Local 1000; and La Familia Counseling Center. Those groups, part of a coalition to introduce the idea last week, said it improve equity by empowering the mayor to act more quickly to uplift disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Other activists and residents, including Councilwoman-elect Katie Valenzuela are strongly opposed to the measure, saying it would reduce the power of the council and should not be grouped with equity proposals as an all-or-nothing package.
On Tuesday, the council listened to more than an hour of public comments by phone, with most commenters calling it an unsolicited, ill-timed power grab during the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 250 people have signed a letter urging the council to place the “strong mayor” on the ballot as a separate item from the equity and transparency proposals. The letter also asked for the measure to keep the mayor as a voting member of the council, removing the need for a ninth member to be added in 2022, and to remove the mayor’s veto power.
The amended proposal still combines the items and does not remove veto power, which the council would be able to override with a two-thirds vote.
If the council places the measure on the ballot Tuesday, and voters approve it Nov. 3, it would go into effect on Jan. 1.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 6:19 PM.
