California
A citizens’ committee on Wednesday will formally begin an attempt to place on a 2012 ballot a measure that would establish term limits on members of the Poway City Council and would prohibit appointed incumbents from seeking full terms. Laura Van Tyne on Tuesday said she will meet with City Clerk Linda Troyan Wednesday afternoon and file with her a notice of intent to circulate petitions in the city to place the matter on an upcoming ballot. Approximately 2,800 signatures of registered voters will be needed to qualify the measure for the ballot. The total represents 10 percent of the city’s registered voters.
Two Perris citizen groups have followed Menifee’s lead and taken the first step to launch two ballot measures: one for City Council term limits and the other for district representation. Voicing displeasure with the city’s current leadership, the groups say the 100-year-old city is overdue for a change. They allege that the council, with the exception of Councilwoman Joanne Evans who was elected in 2008, have been in office too long.
Fresno County government’s largest labor union filed a complaint with the state this week over the county’s privatization ballot measure. The complaint submitted to the California Public Employment Relations Board claims the Board of Supervisors did not confer with union leaders before approving the measure for the ballot. According to Service Employees International Union Local 521, the county was required to discuss the matter with the union before moving forward because labor interests are at stake.
A proposed ballot measure by Mayor Jerry Sanders and City Councilman Kevin Faulconer would alter San Diego’s pension system in profound ways that they say would save a projected $1.6 billion for taxpayers over the next three decades. The measure calls for the most strict cap on public-safety pensions among the state’s largest cities, a switch to a 401(k) for new hires in all other city jobs and a cap on the city’s overall payroll for five years.
A proposed initiative setting term limits on Thousand Oaks City Council members has gained enough voters’ support to qualify for the November 2012 general election ballot. A petition submitted by initiative backers was found to have 7,752 valid signatures from registered voters out of the 11,535 signatures submitted. To qualify, supporters needed 7,655 to be verified.
Today there is a hearing in the California Senate on S.B. 168. Citizens in Charge opposes the bill and sent the following letter to state senators:
An identical bill has was vetoed in 2006 and 2009 but that won’t stop state Sen. Corbett from attacking California petition proponents. The California Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday, March 15, on SB 168, an attempt to ban paying petition circulators by the signature. Such bans have been found unconstitutional in several states, and most recently a federal judge in Colorado found that state’s ban likely to be struck down.
As preparations for a Walmart ballot initiative get underway in Menifee, questions linger about how much traffic congestion the proposed Supercenter would generate. If voters approve Walmart’s proposed 30-acre shopping center, the development would precede a much-needed $60 million expansion of the adjacent Scott Road freeway bridge.
The words “free” and “parking” usually aren’t seen together but that’s changing in Beverly Hills. Voters approved a ballot measure that guarantees two hours of free parking at most city-owned parking facilities. Measure 2P, an initiative placed on the ballot by a signature-gathering drive backed a developer, was approved by a 62.1 percent-37.9 percent margin, according to count of all precincts and vote by mail ballots released by the Beverly Hills City Clerk.
A former Norco councilman withdrew the paperwork for a ballot initiative that would have slashed Riverside County supervisors’ salaries and ended their health insurance. Herb Higgins, who ran for county supervisor last year, informed county officials of his decision to withdraw his request Wednesday.
Los Angeles voters took two steps toward reforming Department of Water and Power operations by handing early leads Tuesday to ballot measures that would create a DWP ratepayer advocate and make the agency’s budget process more transparent. The first returns in the city election showed majorities favoring Charter Amendments I, which would set up a DWP Office of Public Accountability, and J, which would require the department to submit its spending plans to the City Council earlier than it does now.
A leading backer of Murrieta’s three voter-approved ballot measures said he will meet with a lawyer next week to start working on a plan to sue the city over its inability to enact the initiatives. For the third straight meeting, the City Council on Tuesday amended its approach to three ballot measures, but acknowledged its solution wouldn’t satisfy voters. By the end of the meeting, council members were asking City Attorney Leslie Devaney about the quickest way to get the matter to court.
Dozens of teachers and staffs may be warned that their jobs are in jeopardy. On Thursday night, the Coachella Valley Unified School District is meeting to discuss 166 potential layoffs. But there is hope these jobs can be saved. The President of the Coachella Valley Teacher’s Association says it’s critical that a voter initiative to extend current income and sales taxes passes this June. If it does, it could mean little or no layoffs.
The big business of placing initiatives on the ballot has caught the attention of a state lawmaker who wants to reform the voter-driven process to make it more transparent. Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, wants to change the ballot initiative process by requiring paid signature gatherers to identify themselves as such and to provide details to the public on how the initiatives will be funded. Voter-driven initiatives typically require more than 1 million signatures to be placed on the statewide ballot and paid signature gatherers play a big part in reaching that goal.
A proposed initiative to slash health insurance and salaries of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors violates the California Constitution and should be kept off the ballot, according to arguments the county filed in Riverside Superior Court. On Feb. 17, court Commissioner Paulette Durand-Barkley approved the county’s request to temporarily halt a legal requirement for Riverside County to process the proposed initiative drive. Former Board of Supervisors candidate Herb Higgins notified the Registrar of Voters on Nov. 2 that he intended to circulate a ballot initiative to almost halve the pay for supervisors, eliminate their health insurance and cut other benefits that many county employees receive.