San Diego County Supervisor Joel Anderson on Friday introduced a set of amendments to the proposed county charter reforms package that he said are needed.
Anderson said the reforms set forth by board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer were rushed and riddled with error. The board advanced the reforms last month, with Anderson and Supervisor Jim Desmond voting against.
On Tuesday, the charter reforms will get a second reading; if passed, they will head to a public vote in November.
Anderson said there's no need to rush the process. The county has until August to get the reform package on the November ballot.
“Changing the charter is not a simple vote that can be reversed,” he said.
Among his criticisms of the proposed reforms is that it would extend the supervisor's term limit from two four-year terms to three. Anderson said that’s self-serving.
“My proposal makes sure that the currently elected supervisors cannot extend their own term limits,” he said.
Anderson was joined at the news conference by District Attorney Summer Stephan, Sheriff Kelly Martinez and County Assessor/Recorder/Clerk Jordan Marks. The current reform proposal would also limit their time in office to three terms. Right now, there are no limits on how long they can serve.
Martinez said the county cannot legally set term limits for these offices, so it’s a moot point to include them in the charter.
“Term limits on these offices can only be created at a state level if the intent is to level set term limits for all elected officials," she said. "The lawful course is to do that with state-authored legislation.”
Anderson said Lawson-Remer's proposal would also remove the "moat" between the supervisors and the contracting department, which could lead to favoritism or political quid pro quo.
"Under her proposal, her charter change, we can go down, sit in their office and say, 'Now, why are you choosing this company over this company? Have you considered the merits of the company that I support?'" Anderson said. "That's wrong. It's unethical and it's wrong."
Lawson-Remer argues that having supervisors involved in the process would increase transparency in the county's opaque contracting bureaucracy.
Anderson said there is some merit to the proposed charter reforms, but they also have flaws, and he said his amendments fix those flaws. Lawson-Remer said Anderson's amendment would gut charter reform and protect powerful insiders.
In a statement, Lawson-Remer said these amendments would hollow out the reforms the county residents are asking for.
“People across San Diego County spent a year helping build a reform package that would finally bring stronger oversight, transparency, checks and balances, and accountability into county government, but the minute accountability started applying equally across County government, carveouts started appearing,” she said.
Anderson said he hopes that during the second reading of the proposed charter reforms package, his amendments will get full open and honest discussion.
"We should be in the business of good governance," he said. "The strongest reforms are not the ones passed the fastest. They are the ones built carefully, debated openly and supported because the public trusts both the policy and the process behind it."
