pen signing white paper
Santa Clarans received their County Voter Information Guide with what I believe are inaccuracies submitted to them. Through research and to ensure fair, accurate, and transparent elections the following are clarifications.
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Visit www.AppointCityClerk.com/ballot for additional information.
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Visit www.ApointPoliceChief.com/ballot for additional clarifying information.
Residents for a Better Santa Clara ask you to Vote YES on both Measures A and B!
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Four Observations:
(1) Our City Charter currently requires our elected police chief to be as qualified as a County Sheriff is statutorily required to be. Measure B eliminates that requirement and has NO required qualifications at all. The supporters of Measure B argue that the City Manager can later establish qualifications (which they expect him to do). However, Measure B, itself, does not REQUIRE him to do so. This is a serious omission.
(2) All 58 of California's 58 counties ELECT their Sheriffs and District Attorneys; our state elects its Attorney General; and each of our judges are subject to retention elections. The election of all of these law enforcement officials (and judges) has led to a much greater public trust and acceptance of our law enforcement system than the bureaucratic appointees of a political appointee (as now proposed by Measure B) ever could. The supporters of Measure B point to a few incompetent/corrupt sheriffs over the years, but they are a small percentage of the total,
(3) The supporters of Measure B suggest that their proposal is beneficially apolitical. However, if the politically elected members of our City Council do not like whom the City Manager selects as police chief (were Measure B to pass), they can ask him to terminate that chief. If the City Manager refuses to do so, the City Council can terminate the City Manager. (The City Council terminated the previous City Manager.) So, politics would still remain if Measure B passes. (It would just be less direct and clear than the present which could lead to some very unfortunate buck passing between the City Council and the City Manager.)
(4) Finally, as I have noted previously, the current, recently appointed City Manager has yet to state, declaratively and straightforwardly, that his office has the ability and/or resources to permanently select and/or supervise a police chief were Measure B to pass. I continue to find it difficult to understand how the voters of our city can make an informed choice with respect to Measure B without this vital input from its chief executive officer. Furthermore, what would our city do were Measure B to pass and the City Manager then tells us that he lacks the ability and/or resources to adequately supervise the SCPD?
Thank you for generously providing this forum for the debate of public issues which are vital to the wellbeing of our city.
John,
(1) A requirements list wasn’t omitted. The current City Manager has selected police chiefs before, and the CRC and City Staff have been presented with documentation for best practices. The City Manager isn’t speaking out during this time of election, but he seems prepared to successfully implement change if voters approve.
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(2) There are many academic studies that contradict your unsupported opinion that electing “has led to a much greater public trust and acceptance of our law enforcement system than the bureaucratic appointees of a political appointee.”
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(3) Politics will always play a role in our society, but current city policies prohibit City Council Members from directly interacting with appointed city managers. The Fire Chief, Director of Utilities, and other departmental heads have never had a problem with the City Council and vice versa. The only problems that have arisen are between elected police chiefs/sheriffs and elected politicians. Perfect examples are the cities of Sunnyvale, Mt. View, Campbell, Milpitas, etc. Try to find one instance where those Police Chiefs, City Managers, and City Councils have engaged in public battles.
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(4) The current City Manager has hired executive staff before and has experience supervising police chiefs.
CSC,
Thank you for your replies to my four observations.
It seems to me that the key word in your reply to my first observation is "seems".
With respect to your reply to my fourth observation, I would ask: (a) What about future City Managers? (b) Does the current, recently appointed City Manager have experience in managing a city, a law enforcement agency, a power company, and a major league stadium all at the same time? Why can he not directly and straightforwardly address this highly relevant subject, now, before the voters of our city make their momentous decision?