Alameda County supervisors place recall charter amendment on the March ballot
Taxpayer group threatens county with lawsuit over charter amendment; San Leandro councilmember believes pro-landlord councimates are trying to stymie rent control talks
ELECTION 2024
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
—RECALL QUESTIONS—Amid a threat of litigation, charges of election interference, and a recall campaign in full-swing, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to place a charter amendment ballot measure on the March Primary ballot.
—“Obviously, this is a mess,”Supervisor Keith Carson admitted, but it is the county’s duty to correct the charter. Not doing so in timely manner, Carson added, amounts to the board abdicating its responsibility.
—“We can’t ignore the fact that we are out of alignment,” Carson said of a determination by county counsel that the county’s charter provisions for the recall of elected officials does not conform with state election law.
—Along with Carson, Supervisors Elisa Marquez and Lena Tam voted to place the charter amendment question on the Mar. 5 ballot.
—However, it was not the original charter amendment approved three weeks ago that was passed on Tuesday.
—That ordinance included language that would allow voters to, not only recall elected county officials, but also appointees, such as county department heads and board appointees, such as Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis. A second and final reading of the ordinance on Tuesday narrowly failed with Tam voting no.
—The board immediately approved a similar ordinance that omitted the reference to an appointee. This means a second and final reading of the ordinance will be scheduled for Nov. 28. The filing deadline for the March Primary ballot is Dec. 8.
—Tam pulled the original ballot measure off the Oct. 31 agenda, stating confusion among some members of the public about its intent. Miley agreed with the move two weeks ago, but lamented on Tuesday that “It seems we’ve created more confusion, not less confusion.”
—Placing the recall charter amendment on the March ballot is not fair to Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and the ongoing campaign to effort to recall her, Supervisor David Haubert said.
—“I always say, there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing,” Haubert said. “I think we may have found it.”
MORE INSIDE:
PRICE RECALL: ‘You can let this ride after we recall Pamela Price,’ says leader of campaign to recall the DA
A familiar foe is again threatening to sue the county over alleged election wrongdoing
ELECTION 2024: BLee says running for re-election to Congress is not an option
Winning Oakland school board candidate spent very little to win the District 5 seat
CITY NEWS: San Leandro’s bid to enact rent protections is being stymied, councilmember says.
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