Last night’s San Diego City Council meeting clearly demonstrated that the wind is behind the back of Mayor Jerry Sanders and the Reform City Hall movement. By a margin of 7 to 1 the council voted to place two Sanders supported measures on the November 7 ballot: one which would require voter approval for any employee pension benefit increase and one which opens up city services to competition from the private sector. The sole dissenting vote was machine Democrat Hueso. During the process, several complaints about “political pressure” were heard from labor Democrat Councilmembers. Presumably, they were referring to the local reform advocates and business owners who over the past couple of months had been gathering money and signatures to place these measures on the ballot should the council not support the Mayor’s reform agenda.
The difference between the last, paralyzed administration and the Sanders administration could not be more clear. The previous administration spent it’s resources denying that there was a fiscal or ethical problem at City Hall. They were indecisive in policy and in politics. Mayor Sanders and his team are keenly aware of the financial and ethical disaster, and are up front about fixing both. As important, Mayor Sanders and his team are not afraid to act, and to act decisively.
This new and aggressive Mayor has galvanized a collection of reformers, business owners, and just plain normal people who are sick and tired of inaction and lies at City Hall. This ‘grand coalition’ makes it easy for reform minded councilmembers to stand up to powerful local labor unions and support the Mayor’s proposals, and less easy for councilmembers who oppose the Mayor’s proposals to do so in the bright light of the media. In a word, he’s got the momentum. Listen up, national Republicans – it’s this kind of open and honest reform government that brought our party to power in 1994.