Measure E: Removing City Officials

image
Author: Jeff Powers
Created: 01 Oct, 2016
Updated: 21 Nov, 2022
1 min read

San Diego, CALIF.- Measure E is one of those charter amendments that everyone seems to be supporting.  The measure would make it easier to remove and replace elected city officials who’ve committed crimes or other wrongdoing.

It states the mayor, city attorney and City Council members must be removed from their job if they're convicted of a felony, found civilly liable for fraud or declared incapacitated by a court.

The measure would also create a new process to remove elected city officials convicted of certain misdemeanors.

Under those circumstances, three-fourths of the City Council could vote to hold a special removal election. Voters would need to approve the removal of the public official.

Measure E seems like common sense Charter reform. Interestingly though, the city attorney's office says San Diego would become the first city in California with such a Council-initiated special removal election.

The measure would also require city attorney candidates to be licensed to practice law in California for at least 10 years.

Measure E was essentially created in the wake of the Mayor Bob Filner scandal. Filner resigned in late August 2013 amid an onslaught of sexual harassment allegations. Currently, the City Charter only allows for the mayor to be removed through a recall election. Officials negotiated a deal to get him to resign.

Irene McCormack, the first woman to publicly accuse the mayor of sexual harassment, recently wrote an op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune. McCormack stated, "By the time I made the decision to “show my face, former Councilwoman Donna Frye and attorneys Marco Gonzalez and Cory Briggs had held two press conferences demanding the mayor resign."

A charter review committee, with help from the city attorney’s office, drafted this measure.

More Choice for San Diego

Latest articles

Several ballot boxes with different colored ballots sticking out.
Open Primaries Bill Passes New Mexico Senate, Moves to House
With a short legislative window to work with, the updates on a bill to open New Mexico's taxpayer-funded primary elections to more than 330,000 independent voters are happening fast -- and so far, it is good news for reformers....
21 Feb, 2025
-
1 min read
100 dollar bills.
15 Years After Citizens United, Seattle Can Show the Way Forward
January 21, 2025, marked the 15th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, a decision that opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending in elections. Since that ruling, super PACs and outside spending have skyrocketed, and the voices of everyday voters have been drowned out by wealthy donors and corporate interests. The impact of Citizens United is clear: the political system is increasingly controlled by the rich, while ordinary voters are left behind....
20 Feb, 2025
-
3 min read
Donald Trump at rally.
Poll: There's Strong Support Among Independents for Trump's Bipartisan Potential
The Independent Center released the fourth and final installment to its 2025 State of the Union Poll, highlighting where independent voters, Democrats, and Republicans have the most secure common ground....
19 Feb, 2025
-
2 min read