sa国际传媒官网网页入口

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 voters could increase the City Council鈥檚 power this election. Or not.

In June, the City Council passed three charters 鈥� 鈥� that could shift power from the mayor鈥檚 administration to city councilors.

One of the amendments would increase the council's say in the police and fire chiefs. The other makes changes to a committee that settles disputes between the council and the mayor鈥檚 administration.

If voters in the general election pass the two amendments, they will go into effect Jan. 1.

Balance of power

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 has a , meaning the mayor appoints and removes department heads, holds veto power and runs the day-to-day operations. In systems, these responsibilities and powers are shared equally among the mayor and council. In the country鈥檚 100 largest cities, there are 47 strong mayor systems according to Ballotpedia.

Council President Dan Lewis believes the amendments could balance city leadership.

鈥淐ity Council has given the administration a blank check. They have everything they need, and the problem with the administration is an organizational failure by the mayor,鈥� Lewis said. 鈥淕iving some decisions to the people that are a little bit closer to the people of sa国际传媒官网网页入口, their constituents, the City Council, I think, is just a good balance when it comes to bringing on and removing these positions.鈥�

Lewis also believes the amendments could increase accountability between the administration and council.

鈥淭he mayor already blames us for these challenges, anyways. ... The council has a job to do. The administration has a job to do. This just helps to get some more accountability for some of these important positions,鈥� Lewis said.

voted against both amendments making their way to the ballot. She said the process was fast-tracked and not done properly.

鈥淚 had to say 鈥榥o鈥� because I don鈥檛 feel like we went through the required process, which should have been a proposal of a bill. It would have gone to committee, it would have had a series of public hearings, and then the end result would have been something that we would all feel comfortable with,鈥� Fiebelkorn said. 鈥淚 did not feel that we had that thoughtful conversation. There were amendments flying back and forth on this fast track. No one was really clear as to what we ended up with, and I don鈥檛 feel like that鈥檚 how we should be changing our city charter.鈥�

Fiebelkorn also said she doesn鈥檛 fundamentally support the amendments and supports the .

鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a balance between the administration and City Council that was really thought out in our charter. And it was thought out in a really good manner to provide that kind of checks and balances between the different types of government,鈥� Fiebelkorn said.

Councilor Nichole Rogers, who joined Fiebelkorn in voting against the amendments, did not respond to requests for comment.

The mayor said in a statement that after working with the City Council, he was OK with the increased input the amendments would give it.

鈥淎fter initial serious concerns about the measures, we worked with Council to put these revised proposals on the ballot,鈥� Keller said. 鈥淭he proposal about 鈥榮eparation of power disputes鈥� is now workable albeit not really necessary; and the proposal to change the way we hire and fire public safety chiefs gives reasonable checks to both the mayor and Council.鈥�

The chief(s)

If passed, the would give the City Council the power to remove the fire chief and police chief, without cause, by a 7-2 vote.

Harold Medina was . In 2024, the police chief 鈥� at times with the mayor 鈥� has made headlines.

In January, local news outlet 鈥� whose publisher is former city councilor Pat Davis 鈥� reported that a text obtained through an open records request showed Medina, in a text message with Keller, discussed a plan to 鈥渉ammer the unhoused.鈥� In February, Medina crashed a department truck into a vintage Mustang while fleeing gunfire near the International District and was reprimanded by the Internal Affairs Division for his handling of the crash, notably, .

The department is also under an ongoing investigation by the FBI for alleged corruption related to its officers鈥� handling of DWIs.

Councilor and former APD officer said he believes the frequency at which Medina has been in the news drove the proposed charter.

鈥淚f you had a police chief that was doing his job and was showing improvement within the department and with the public and with crime and safety within our city, I don鈥檛 think it would have raised this question or shown this issue,鈥� Champine said.

APD did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A former APD officer and one of Medina鈥檚 most vocal critics, said he believes that the amendment will increase transparency within APD leadership.

鈥淭ransparency is the cornerstone of good police work. And I think it鈥檚 the citizens that are demanding and want to know what鈥檚 going on and want to know what the real story is,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淲e need to have meaningful change, and I think making sure that there鈥檚 a more transparent process means that there will be some meaningful change.鈥�

Sanchez 鈥� who voted in favor of both amendments on the ballot 鈥� believes the amendments, if passed, will strengthen the checks and balances between the mayor鈥檚 office and the council.

鈥淲e have closed the public鈥檚 mouths on so many other issues. It鈥檚 important that they get to have a voice,鈥� Sanchez said.

While the amendment would give councilors the power to also remove the fire chief, current Chief Emily Jaramillo said she is not worried about losing her job anytime soon.

鈥淭hankfully, I believe our exemplary track record at AFR speaks for itself, and we will continue to work with City Council and the Mayor to serve the people of sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� Jaramillo said in a statement.

But she is skeptical of how much power the amendment would give the council.

鈥淐ontinuity of leadership is crucial for fire and police, so it鈥檚 concerning that a chief could be removed without cause under the new proposal.鈥�

Separation of powers

The other amendment on the ballot, a separation of powers, changes the way the mayor鈥檚 administration and the City Council settle debates.

The bill forces the mayor to appoint a member to the Intragovernmental Conference Committee 鈥� between the council and administration 鈥� within 60 days of a vacancy. The Intragovernmental Conference Committee is made of three members: the appointee from the mayor鈥檚 office, an appointee from City Council and a chairperson, who is selected by the council and mayor鈥檚 appointees.

Keller appointed Bob White to the committee in May, but Champine and Lewis say Keller鈥檚 office has dropped the ball on appointing members in the past.

鈥淲e noticed that if the mayor didn鈥檛 put forth some people, or the City Council didn鈥檛 put forth some people, that it would create a stagnance that needed to be adjusted,鈥� Champine said.

While the City Council passed the two charter amendments that made their way to the ballot, a third was vetoed by the mayor.

That proposed amendment would have changed the threshold necessary for the mayor or councilors to win an election from over 50% to whichever candidate got the most votes. The mayor called it 鈥渦ndemocratic鈥� in a July news release.

Lorie MacIver, a retired nurse who has lived in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 for 21 years, is concerned about the amendments on the ballot and worries that if the amendments pass, councilors could wield their power to 鈥渟core political points.鈥�

She added that she found the language of the amendment on separation of powers confusing and believes there should have been 鈥渕ore public information put out before this showed up on the ballot.鈥�

鈥淚 understand that we need checks and balances, but the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 as a whole elected Tim Keller mayor for good, for bad, for ugly, whatever,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he citizens elected him the mayor, and in that, he got certain powers.鈥�