Charter City Status for Davis

How you can wear white stockings and a wig with pride.

Should the City of Davis be able to make its own rules? Damn skippy… this is a People’s Republic after all, right?? Unfortunately, many of our regulations are dictated by our governmental overlord, the State of California. How do we loosen those statutory fetters? Home Rule is the concept that constituent parts of a state should be given more self governance.

In the State of California,  the “default” status for an incorporated city is General Law. If a city wants more control over their self government, then they must become a charter city. What is a city charter? Basically, it is a city constitution.

How is it possible that our People’s Republic doesn’t have  its own constitution? Isn’t there a Constitutional Convention somewhere in our storied past? Why, oh why, can’t we have choice voting and
our own municipal utility if we want it?

Since the Governance Taskforce in 2005 and the general citizenry in 2006 voted in favor of instituting choice voting, the City Council subcommittee of Stephen Souza and Lamar Heystek have been investigating this issue.

Tonight, they  will present their findings at the City Council meeting. After the jump, you’ll find all the links and info you can handle to begin understanding this issue.

On March 29^th, 2005 the Governance Taskforce recommended that the city adopt a system of choice voting for city elections. In November 2006, 55.4% of the Davis electorate voted in favor of the advisory Measure L. That Measure read as follows:

“Should the City of Davis consider adopting choice voting, also
known as instant runoff or preference voting, as the system to elect City
Council members? _ YES _ NO”

During our research on Measure L, we found the official argument in favor of the measure on the ballot statement. One of the five supporting signatures was none other than Councilmember Souza.

In late spring of 2007, the City Council appointed a  subcommittee of Stephen Souza and Lamar Heystek to study the issue of a city charter for Davis. At the February 26^th meeting of the City Council, the subcommittee will present this issue to the full Council.

The four page report on their investigations, all of the  background (what? why?), potential elements, and next steps are succinctly laid out. The subcommittee recommends that “Davis nstitute a broad,
brief charter that allows the community the full power provided to charter cities.”

On the issue of choice voting as part of the city charter, it leaves that discussion for the open air of the Council Chambers.

The League of California Cities offers an informative section on their website that deals with the General Law City vs. Charter City issue.

Charter cities have the benefit of trumping state law in the  areas of municipal affairs. But, the definition of a “municipal affair” is fluid as the courts continue to sort the matter. However, the following areas have been consistently classified as municipal affairs:

- Municipal election matters
- Land use and zoning decisions
- Municipal budgets
- Municipal contracts
- Municipal utilities

The Davis Voice was able to track down Councilmember Stephen Souza this morning for a brief quote,

“If the citizens were to adopt a charter we would be  adopting our own constitution for the city.  It can  only be  adopted, amended or repealed by a majority vote of a city’s voters.  The primary advantage of a charter is that it allows us greater authority for our city’s governance than that provided by state law.”

Next step? If the  Council decides to move forward on this matter, one of two actions can happen to adopt a charter:

1) Voters  elect a charter commission that debates and drafts a charter.
2) The City Council, on its own motion, drafts the charter.

The Davis Voice is hereby officially in support of Davis  becoming a Charter City, but only if we get to have a Constitutional Convention with two delegates from every precinct… and they all wear white leggings and wigs (of any color, not just those tired old powdered ones… that’s so ’76).