Charter Review Commission's wild advocates throw a tantrum as Vice Mayor Jones tries to provide appropriate oversight
San Jose's Rules Committee on October 25 was the scene of foot-stomping outbursts from local progressives as they tried, unsuccessfully, to push back on the city's efforts to get the commission to perform the duties assigned to it in a timely manner. The Commission was supposed to explore mayoral powers and election cycle, but predictably the hard-left activists who have hijacked the commission have greatly expanded the scope of work to include (you guessed it) climate change, police reform, housing and a host of other progressive bugaboos. The meeting ended with activists thwarted as the City reiterated its insistence that the core work on the Commission be done on time in December of this year. Notes from the meeting below.
Dubious and inaccurate comments from public speakers abounded. The council was accused of:
* being a dictatorship
* being tyrants, frauds, cowards
* not caring about fatherless children
* censorship
* inability to stand up to police union
And speakers demanded that the Commission and Council:
* get rid of police captains and lieutenants
* extend the timeframe of the Commission to work more on equity, sustainability, and climate issues
The adults in the room kept the meeting from spiraling out of control. Key citizen comments:
"The main focus on the charter commission was supposed to be election cycles and the powers of the mayor. The commission has overstepped its bounds and the input on the topics has been biased."
"I am disturbed by mission creep going on with the Commission, these folks need to be reined in."
Key comments from Vice Mayor Jones:
"There is concern that this commission is getting priority-, deadline-, and mission-creep. You need to prioritize the direction we gave you and get that work done. We are providing the appropriate oversight and direction to get the primary work done. We need to focus on the primary mission."
From CM Peralez:
"This commission has gotten a bit confused or carried away."
Management lesson: The original brief of the Charter Commission was to focus on mayoral election cycles and mayoral powers, with a clause allowing the further work around those priorities in the name of better governance, inclusion and accountability. Not surprisingly, militant activists drove a truck through that opening and hence claim, dubiously, that they were empowered to pursue a greatly expanded, left-leaning agenda. Council might want to consider even tighter and more limiting language about Commissions' scopes of work going forward.
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity.
Photo taken by Bernd Thaller.