City Council tries to reign in runaway charter commission

The purpose of San Jose's Charter Review Commission was to look at the schedule of the mayoral election cycle and the scope of mayoral powers. Not surprisingly, the mostly hard-left members of the Commission have tried to greatly expand the sweep of the body to include charter revisions that would address the usual progressive "equity" wish list: police reform, climate change, housing, upzoning, etc. Vice Mayor Chappie Jones and Coucilmember Sergio Jimenenz recently wrote a memo to the Commission (appended below) attempting to get the Commission back on track and on brief. We will see if the horse has already left the barn; the Commission will discuss this memo at its next meeting.

Excerpts from the Jones/Jimenez memo to the Charter Review Commission:

2a. Consider additional measures and potential charter amendments as long as they do not duplicate current City efforts and they align with the objective of improving accountability, representation, and inclusion at San José City Hall. As noted in discussion below, duplicative efforts include but are not limited to climate action, public safety and police oversight, housing and land use near the Urban Growth Boundary.

3. Direct the City Clerk to provide additional guidance regarding City resources and funds to support the Charter Review Commission: a. Resources, including assigned staff, are to be prioritized to provide support as it relates to governance structure and election cycles.

b. All committee work within the commission shall cease by the end of December 2021 or earlier if deemed appropriate by the Commission. Should additional work be required, it may continue subject to Council’s evaluation and approval of additional budget appropriation and extension of the Commission’s workplan.

4. The intent of this memorandum is not to stifle or constrain the Commission’s input and thoughts, but provide additional direction to ensure the Commission is focusing on the primary issues assigned and that they are allowed to complete their committee work within a reasonable time. We ask that the work be received by the end of December 2021, given the efforts invested thus far and to ensure timely evaluation and inclusion of recommendations as to potential ballot measures in the June 2022 primary election.

In retrospect, prescribing the scope of work to include “additional measures and potential charter amendments, as needed, that will improve accountability, representation, and inclusion at San José City Hall” may have been too broad of a direction to include in the original parameters proposed for the workplan of the Commission.

Further direction should have been provided to ensure duplicated efforts were not undertaken that were already prioritized through Council-
approved initiatives and funding resources. For example, topics such as Police Oversight and Climate Action, which were discussed at the Commission meeting of September 13, 2021, are both efforts that the Council has already approved as part of their workplans and are currently underway through various City departments. Other topics addressed at subsequent meetings have included review of housing issues and review of the Charter Article that addresses land use near the Urban Growth Boundary. The City currently has a Housing and Community Development Commission to provide direction on these matters.

The topic of Climate Action is currently being addressed through the City’s Climate Smart Action Plan, which was created through the leadership of our Environmental Services Department, cross-departmental work with Department of Transportation and others such as Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services; Planning, Building and Code Enforcement; and extensive community engagement with various stakeholders and community members. It was adopted by Council in 2018 and continues to provide guidance and direction to ensure the City is doing its part to address climate change, reduce air pollution, save water and improve quality of life.

Regarding the matter of Policing Oversight, this effort has already been approved by Council to be addressed through two initiatives, one of them being the “Reimagining Public Safety” initiative and includes various commendable community stakeholders leading this effort.

For more on the Charter Review Commission, read here.

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