SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to advance a slate of charter reforms that would increase term limits and expand the authority of the five-member body.
If approved in a second vote on May 19, the reforms would go before voters in November.
The board also amended the proposal, giving supervisors the option to appoint a public defender via ordinance and allowing the county counsel to make technical modifications to the measure or ballot question as required by law or the county Registrar of Voters.
Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer proposed the reforms earlier this month, including the creation of an independent ethics commission, an independent budget analyst and an independent program auditor — all reporting to the board — along with consistent term limits across all county elected offices.
Under the proposal, supervisors could serve three four-year terms instead of the current two-term limit. It would also impose term limits on offices such as sheriff and district attorney, which currently have none.
Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Monica Montgomery Steppe joined Lawson-Remer in supporting the measure, while Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond opposed it.
“This has been a really interesting, difficult process,” Lawson-Remer said. “The hope here is that we have at least created a framework.”
The vote followed lengthy public comment and board debate. Anderson said he wanted to support the proposal but preferred giving residents more time to review it.
“This is huge,” Anderson said, calling it potentially the largest proposal the board has considered. “I believe there’s compromise in the air,” but added that more time is needed.
Lawson-Remer said supervisors will have an opportunity to consider additional changes at the May 19 meeting.
Desmond said he supports several elements of the proposal, including an ethics commission, program auditor and independent budget analyst, but criticized extending term limits.
“I’m OK with three terms, but it’s self-serving for us to take advantage of it,” he said, calling the proposal “the worst form of politics and self-serving politicians.”
Aguirre said voters ultimately hold elected officials accountable.
“We are the voice of the people,” she said. “If voters don’t like the job we’re doing, they can make another choice in a free and fair election.”
Dozens of speakers — including many union members — voiced support for the reforms, emphasizing the need for oversight and accountability.
“At my level as a county employee, if something goes wrong, especially involving public resources, we are held accountable,” one speaker said. “That standard should apply at every level of government.”
Parke Troutman of the environmental group SanDiego350 said government “only works if we have confidence in it.”
Others opposed extending term limits.
“We don’t want another life-term politician like what we had in the past,” one speaker said.
Mary Davis, who identified herself as “Oliver Twist,” displayed a sign reading “Lawson-Remer Changing Laws to Stay in Power” and “No Queens in San Diego.”
“I urge a no vote on these reforms,” she said, calling the proposal “political theater.”
Lawson-Remer unveiled the plan in early April, citing the need for stronger local governance.
“Local governments, especially county governments, are being asked to fill gaps in the social safety net created by failures of leadership at the federal level,” said Kyra Greene, executive director of the Center on Policy Initiatives.
Proponents said the reforms are intended to “strengthen accountability, transparency, stability, checks and balances, independent oversight and effective government,” and would be implemented in a revenue-neutral manner.
Former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory said the county’s governance structure “has not kept pace with its size and complexity.”
Desmond, who is termed out and running for the 48th Congressional District seat, said the proposal would improperly extend the tenure of current officeholders.
“Every sitting supervisor ran under the current rules,” he wrote. “You don’t get to win an election under one set of rules and then, from inside the building, vote to put a new set of rules on the ballot that extends your own stay.”
Lawson-Remer said the county’s charter has not been significantly updated since 1978.
“I am so honored to work with such a diverse group of community leaders to hopefully bring a thoughtful set of charter reform proposals to the voters for consideration,” she said.
