About the Big County Overhaul

This post first appeared in the Politics Report. Become a Voice of San Diego member today to get access to the weekly politics insider newsletter.

Two weeks ago, we broke the news on county Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s push for major county government reforms including potentially extended term limits for supervisors including herself and converting the county’s top bureaucratic post into an elected one. 

Lawson-Remer recently gave the Union-Tribune’s Lucas Robinson more details on the hoped-for November ballot measure to amend the county’s charter – and acknowledged the pitch for a county mayor has been the least popular proposal. 

“Everything else — including, by the way, the term limits — has been a no-brainer,” Lawson-Remer told the U-T. 

Lawson-Remer said she’s hoping for a board vote to kick off the process to place the measure on the ballot as soon as April. The deadline to do so is early August. 

Among the other pitches, according to the U-T: a county ethics commission,  independent budget and auditing offices likely similar to the city of San Diego’s Independent Budget Analyst’s Office and auditor who report to the City Council and direct power for supervisors to “confirm and remove top bureaucrats.” 

Still under discussion: a possible elected county mayor, term limits for county elected officials who don’t now have them and a third term for supervisors including Lawson-Remer. The latter proposal comes just 15 years after labor groups and Democrats fought to create two four-year terms for supervisors to get more Democrats onto the board. 

Questions on the county mayor pitch: The president of the county’s largest labor union, a key group that Lawson-Remer is likely courting, says her organization isn’t sold on the idea of an elected top county administrator. 

“This proposed charter reform package has critical reforms such as strengthening independent ethics standards, audits and budget oversight. However, we are uncertain if the elected County Administrative Officer is right for our county as it could place too much power in the hands of one person,” Crystal Irving of SEIU Local 221 wrote in a statement. 

Kyra Greene of the Center on Policy Initiatives, a group that has been partnering with Lawson-Remer as she explores charter changes, said Thursday she’s also not a fan of that change. 

“It is one of the things I’m least interested in seeing happen,” Greene said. “I think it would be very disruptive, and I’m not convinced that it leads to better governance.” 

BTW: The U-T confirmed Lawson-Remer’s office used $40,000 in taxpayer funds to survey about 700 residents on potential charter amendments last November.  

We have requested records of this polling and an interview with Lawson-Remer. We’re waiting on both.

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