☆ "We speak for ourselves:" Community leaders call for SJ City to stand down from taking positions on ballot initiatives
Image by AFGE
An Open Letter from San Jose residents to SJ City Council requesting that the city quit endorsing ballot initiatives is going viral, and gaining the support of notable community leaders. Pat Waite of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility and Sandra Delvin of Families and Homes SJ urge the city to stay in its lane. An Opp Now Exclusive.
Pat Waite, Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility:
We elect our San Jose City Council to serve as our proxy for making the myriad decisions necessary for creating the kind of city that we want to live in. We voters delegate our decision-making authority to the Council to avoid an unwieldy process of self-governing a city of nearly one million residents.
However, voter-initiated ballot initiatives fall outside of this delegation of authority. City Council votes on supporting or opposing such initiatives are an inappropriate and unacceptable usurpation of our right of self-determination and an illegitimate action for the Council. We voters get to tell our Council representatives what we want, not vice versa.
--Pat Waite, Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility
Sandra Delvin, Families & Homes SJ:
The Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) team provides valuable services such as tracking legislation and applying for grants. However, both the IGR team and the San José City Council are overstepping their roles by taking positions on legislation and ballot initiatives outside the City's core responsibilities.
To improve the IGR and City Council approval processes, the following steps should be taken:
1. Focus on Core Responsibilities ONLY:
o Establish clear guidelines for the IGR team and City Council to prioritize positions on legislation and ballot measures that directly impact mandated and core city services and residents only. This ensures alignment with the city's core responsibilities and avoids overreaching into areas beyond its purview.
2. Consultation with Residents:
o Establish a structured process for the IGR team to gather input from a diverse group of residents when formulating recommendations. This can involve public forums, surveys, or focus groups to ensure all perspectives are considered.
3. City Council Study Sessions:
o Implement mandatory study sessions for significant legislative matters and any consideration of endorsing ballot initiatives. These sessions should include presentations from the IGR team, subject matter experts, and opportunities for public comment to ensure informed decision-making.
These improvements aim to enhance transparency, public engagement, and ensure that decisions made by the IGR team and San José City Council are well-informed and focused on the city's essential duties.
--Sandra Delvin, Families & Homes SJ
Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity
Opp Now enthusiastically welcomes smart, thoughtful, fair-minded, well-written comments from our readers. But be advised: we have zero interest in posting rants, ad hominems, poorly-argued screeds, transparently partisan yack, or the hateful name-calling often seen on other local websites. So if you've got a great idea that will add to the conversation, please send it in. If you're trolling or shilling for a candidate or initiative, forget it.