Dear San Juan County resident:
This November you will be voting on three propositions to modify our County Charter. Islanders for Better Government (IBG) has been formed to promote these changes.Please read the description of the changes proposed and the rationale for proposing them.
Description of Charter Amendments on the ballot in November:
1. Proposition 1 will reduce the County Council from six members to three members, each from one of three districts but elected county-wide. Each voter will vote for all three Council positions.
2. Proposition 2 will replace the County Administrator with a County Manager accountable to the elected County Council.
3. Proposition 3 will require that all meetings among members of the County Council be public.
Rationale
For Proposition 1: The present charter requires that County Council members be elected only by districts. Council members are therefore accountable to only one-sixth of the electorate. This has fostered disunity in a county already fragmented by geography. Making Council candidates campaign county-wide, as they did before 2006, will give each voter more power, unify the county, and make council members attend to the needs of the county as a whole. Passage of Proposition 1 will prevent the Council from evolving from six part-time positions to six full-time positions.
For Proposition 2: The present charter gives all executive authority to an unelected administrator. This has resulted in virtual autonomy for the county administration and created conflict with the Council. Proposition 2 replaces the administrator with a manager accountable to the elected Council, and provides protection from Council interference with county employees.
For Proposition 3: Because the Council has six members, under state law committees of three can meet in private, as they are not a majority. But they have the power to design legislation without public scrutiny and to block legislation they do not like when the Council meets. Recently the Council was persuaded to make committees of three meet publicly. However, committees of two can still meet privately, and the Council could in the future reverse their policy. Proposition 3 would prevent both from happening.
For more information, see the official findings of the Charter Review Commission and read the Commission’s minutes. Both can be found at sanjuanco.com under “Charter Review Commission.”
Many thanks,
Islanders for Better Government
Who/what is “Islanders for Better Government” please? Names?
Thank you.
If I were responsible for the gross inaccuracies and misrepresentations espoused by “Islanders for Better Government” I would prefer to remain anonymous as well.
Islanders for Better Government is the campaigning group composed of most of the CRC members who support the proposed Charter amendments, as well as others. It is registered with the appropriate state agency in charge of political organizations, along with the names of those of us involved. Like Martha and others, we strive to focus on the issues and the facts in support of our positions, and to keep this campaign on a high and respectful level. Among those involved are myself, Steve Garrison, Richard Ward, Gordy Petersen, Larry Hendel, Barbara Thomas, Tom Starr and Maureen See. Any of us would be pleased to discuss the Charter issues.