San Diego Rules Committee Meeting - July 31, 2019
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San Diego Rules Committee Meeting - July 31, 2019
The Rules Committee of the San Diego City Council met on July 31, 2019, at 1 p.m. to consider multiple ballot measure proposals and other items. Council President Gomez chaired the meeting with members Bree, Ward, Kercy, and Kate present. The city attorney and other officials were also in attendance. The committee approved minutes from June 5, 2019, and heard public testimony on various issues, including school board elections, police oversight, affordable housing, and youth protection.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The committee unanimously approved the records of action from June 5, 2019.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comment: A speaker (likely Tamara Hurley) discussed issues with San Diego Unified School Board, criticizing Trustee Kevin Biser and supporting a removal process. Other speakers addressed specific agenda items as noted below.
- On Subitem C (Police Oversight): No public speakers.
- On Subitem E (Police Commission): Multiple speakers from Women Occupy San Diego and the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association spoke in favor, emphasizing the need for an independent commission.
- On Subitem B (School Board Removal): Speakers included a representative from San Diego Unified (Andrew Sharp) in support, and Tamara Hurley in support with reservations. Francine Maxwell opposed, citing concerns about political appointments.
- On Subitem A (District-Only Elections): Many speakers supported district-only elections, including parents and community advocates. Some opposed due to timing and redistricting concerns.
- On Subitem D (Term Limits): A speaker (John Stump) presented Sally Smith's proposal, arguing against incumbent favoritism. No other speakers.
- On Subitem I (Neighborhood School Districts): John Stump presented his proposal. No further testimony recorded.
- On Housing Bond: Multiple speakers from affordable housing organizations (Sue Reynolds, Ricardo Flores) spoke in favor, stressing the need for funding.
- On Community Planning Groups: One speaker from Circulate San Diego opposed the charter amendment, advocating for a comprehensive review.
- On City Auditor Selection: No public speakers recorded.
- On Veteran Business Enterprise: John Stump spoke in favor, citing unequal treatment of veteran-owned businesses.
- On Youth Protection: A speaker (likely Loxy Gayant) spoke about the need for proactive prevention policies.
Discussion Items
- Subitem C – City Attorney’s Proposal on Police Practices Board Legal Counsel: The city attorney introduced a charter amendment to provide independent legal counsel for the Community Review Board on Police Practices. Councilmember Ward moved to send it to the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods (PSLN) Committee for further policy debate. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.
- Subitem E – Women Occupy San Diego’s Proposal for Independent Police Commission: Andrea St. Julian presented the proposal to establish an independent commission. Councilmember Ward moved to forward it to PSLN Committee with a request for fiscal analysis. Seconded and passed unanimously.
- Subitem B – Councilmembers Kate and Moreno’s Proposal on School Board Member Removal: The city attorney explained the existing removal process for city officials (Section 301 of the charter). Councilmember Kate moved to send the proposal to the city attorney for legal review and placement on the March 2020 ballot. Seconded by Kercy and passed unanimously.
- Subitem A – Parents for Quality Education’s Proposal on District-Only School Board Elections: Tom Killey Enoy and others presented. Council President Bree moved to advance a district-only election measure for the November 2020 ballot, excluding redistricting (which is under state law). The motion was seconded by Kate and passed unanimously.
- Subitem D – Sally Smith’s Proposal on Term Limits: The chair noted no motion was made, so the proposal did not advance.
- Subitem I – John Stomp’s Proposal on Neighborhood School Districts: The discussion was brief, and no motion was made; the proposal did not advance.
- Housing Bond Measure: Councilmember Ward moved to direct staff and the city attorney to bring a bond measure for affordable housing and homelessness to the November 2020 ballot, including a resolution of necessity. Council President Bree seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
- Community Planning Groups Charter Amendment: The city attorney noted an ongoing legal analysis and recommended targeting November 2020. No formal vote was taken; the item was effectively deferred.
- City Auditor Selection Process: Councilmember Kercy presented four options, leaning toward Option 4 (direct voter selection). The committee discussed but did not vote; the item was left for future deliberation.
- Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise Certification: John Stump urged reform, but no motion was made.
- Youth Protection Policy: Miss Ferry presented a proposal to require youth protection policies for city-funded programs. Council President Bree recommended referring it to the PSLN Committee, but no formal vote was taken.
Key Outcomes
- The committee approved minutes from June 5, 2019, unanimously.
- Subitem C (police board legal counsel) was referred to the PSLN Committee.
- Subitem E (independent police commission) was referred to the PSLN Committee with a fiscal analysis request.
- Subitem B (school board removal process) was sent to the city attorney for review and placement on the March 2020 ballot.
- The district-only school board election measure (Subitem A) was advanced to the November 2020 ballot, excluding redistricting.
- Subitem D (term limits) and Subitem I (neighborhood districts) did not advance.
- A housing bond measure was directed to be prepared for the November 2020 ballot, pending a resolution of necessity.
- Community planning groups, city auditor selection, veteran business enterprise, and youth protection were discussed but no formal decisions were made; some were referred for future action.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. If we can please uh get a seat. If we can all gather and get a seat, please. I'm gonna call this meeting to order. Welcome to the rules committee of July 31st, 2019. This meeting is now on order. Let the record reflect that committee members Bree, Ward, Kircy, and Kate are present. Also present are Sharon Speakback with the city attorney's office, Jessica Lawrence with the mayor's office, Jeff Kawar with Independent Budget Analysts, and Ruth Martin, my community uh committee consultant. We will start with the approval of the committee records of action for June 5th, 2019. We have a motion, start second. There's a motion by Councilmember Kate, second by Councilmember Ward. Please vote. All is in favor, say aye. Opposed? The moves unanimously. Yes, we don't have the. We will now move to non-agenda public comment. The public is limited to two minutes. We will we have two speaker slips. Go ahead. Can you use folks in the back? If we can please be quiet. Thank you. We're gonna take up non-agenda public comment, and I encourage people to please get a seat. Thank you. We have Tamara Hurley and followed by Mark Linsky. I have a handout. I'm just waiting for her to hand out so that you have the information in front of you. You can go ahead. Although I'm a mom of two teenagers from San Diego Unified, I am not Joe Average Parent. In addition to my involvement in the district, which is outlined on the handout, I have spent several years serving on the Board of Educator State, which is a nonprofit education, um nonprofit statewide education organization working to educate parents. I am section 66, but not related to anything on the agenda at the moment. Okay. Go ahead. Am I gonna deduct that time? So this nonprofit, it was involved in I've been involved in providing a quality education for every student by increasing state education funding and supporting changes, including those that provide additional resources to visit disadvantaged students, such as under the local control funding formula. For me, education is about the children. And for those children who are unable to advocate for themselves, it's about their parents advocating for what they need, people like me. I wish I could say the same for our school at San Diego School Board Trustees. Unfortunately, for several of them, the school board position is not about children, but about politics and power. For all of San Diego Unified Board Trustee Barrer's talk about stakeholder outreach, there is nothing in his actions that indicates he actually values the input unless it agrees with his own viewpoint. He has routinely voted against the school district's advisory committee recommendations, including those for the district advisory committee and compensatory education and the calendar committee. In the 11 years since he has been elected to the school board, he has never once responded to any of the emails that I have sent to him. And I understand you get an auto reply that says, I'm very busy. Many school board trustees do that. He's the only one that has never ever responded. Over the past years, there have been calls from a large number of stakeholders and parents to expand the number of school board trustees to seven or nine in order to reduce the school board trustee workloads and these trustees could better serve the constituents. This is not on the proposals for you today. However, I would encourage you to look at that as something you would consider in a future ballot. Thank you.
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