This is why people refuse to vote. Even if they pass a ballot measure by tens of thousands of votes, on person can overturn the decision. The voters of San Bernardino wanted to control their Board of Supervisors by creating term limits and limiting pay. Instead a judge has told the voters they are wasting their time and efforts voting and caring.
“In his Aug. 31 ruling, Judge Donald Alvarez said Measure K cannot be implemented because limiting members of the Board of Supervisors to four years on the dais “violates the 1st and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.” And while the ballot measure’s provision cutting the total compensation for the five members of the board is “grammatically and functionally separate” from another one establishing new term limits, the two still are intertwined because of how they were presented to voters ahead of the November 2020 election, Alvarez said.
This is called voter suppression—by a judge.
San Bernardino County judge overturns voter-approved measure slashing supervisors’ pay
By Brian Whitehead, San Bernardino Sun, 10/4/21
A San Bernardino County judge has overturned a voter-approved ballot measure limiting supervisors to one term in office and slashing their pay.
In his Aug. 31 ruling, Judge Donald Alvarez said Measure K cannot be implemented because limiting members of the Board of Supervisors to four years on the dais “violates the 1st and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.” And while the ballot measure’s provision cutting the total compensation for the five members of the board is “grammatically and functionally separate” from another one establishing new term limits, the two still are intertwined because of how they were presented to voters ahead of the November 2020 election, Alvarez said.
Therefore, the judge noted, striking one provision and keeping the other cannot occur since “it cannot be said Measure K would pass if one provision were missing.”
Thus, neither condition can be implemented, the judge concluded.
The group that put Measure K on the ballot has pledged to appeal the judge’s decision.
Meanwhile, the board is “happy for the outcome” to its challenge to the measure, said Supervisor Curt Hagman.
“There’s a lot to the learning curve for elected officials at this level of government to have four years to do it,” Hagman, chairman of the board, said by phone Monday, Oct. 4. “I’m happy for future administrations to have the ability to learn everything they need to do to govern and help represent the people they are elected by.”
In November, two-thirds of county voters favored cutting each of the supervisors’ pay and benefits to $60,000 while also limiting them to a single term in office.
The county subsequently challenged the ballot measure in court, contending both provisions violate the state Constitution.
While Alvarez ruled voters went through the proper channels to reduce their representatives’ pay, he noted that a one-term limit “is not providing a supervisor sufficient time in the governing body position.”
Voters already have a reasonable remedy to oust an incumbent who is not performing competently — voting for the other candidate, Alvarez said.
Therefore, Measure K’s term limit provision “imposes a burden that does not reasonably justify the infringement on voters’ and incumbents’ 1st and 14th amendment rights,” Alvarez ruled.
As a result, county supervisors will remain bounded by the Measure J reformed charter that went into effect in January 2021, which limits them to three terms while setting their base salary at 80% of the annual base salary provided to Superior Court judges and the same benefits provided to county department heads, county spokesman David Wert said in an email Monday.
That currently limits supervisors to $200,933 in salary and value of benefits.
The Red Brennan Group, which put Measure K on the ballot, plans to appeal the decision, according to a news release.
“Time and again California courts ignore clearly written law,” Tom Murphy, a representative for The Red Brennan Group, said in a statement. “The number of cases where the judicial system uses tortured logic and opaque reasoning to twist the clear meaning of the text of the law is appalling. …
“While the local economy falters and prices increase, county government continues to waste citizens’ tax dollars on self-interested legal maneuvering.”
