Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Change We Can’t Believe In

Barack Obama wasn’t the only politician campaigning for change last year. San Diego city councilmember Donna Frye and then-councilmember-elect Carl DeMaio spent most of last summer canvassing the city, holding public town-hall meetings, asking San Diego residents for their input on ways to change the way the city council operates.

This correspondent attended one meeting in Clairemont, where dozens of residents gathered on a hot Saturday morning and offered up some reforms for local government.

On that day, they told Frye and DeMaio that holding the meetings during the evening, instead of during the middle of the day when many people are at work, would help get more of the public involved in the political process and bring transparency to city government.

After other similar neighborhood meet-ups throughout the city, Frye and DeMaio drafted the Council Governance Report, aimed at “improving the openness, effectiveness, and independence of the city council through reforms.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Some of the suggestions from their report were heard on Wednesday, January 28, during a meeting of the Rules Committee.

“I’d like to make a motion, forwarding to council for full consideration, the expanded use of evening and district meetings,” said Frye near the end of the meeting, when the committee heard the agenda item.

“And that would change the Monday meetings from 2:00 to 4:30?” inquired Rules Committee chairman and city council president Ben Hueso.

“Correct.”

“Okay, well I won’t be supporting that.”

“But this is just to forward to city council for full consideration. And no one will support that?” asked Frye, looking over at councilmembers Todd Gloria and Kevin Faulconer.

“Yeah, I understand that. I understand that,” answered Hueso. “I think that has a fiscal implication that I’m not prepared to support. We’re going to have to pay overtime for staff.”

Frye asked why the extended hours for the budget committee meetings were approved without examining the fiscal impact, then she said, “I’m certainly happy to support anybody that wants to try and expand the access of the city council meetings. I got to tell you I’m extremely disappointed that...council meetings...are held up because of fiscal analysis…”

“Okay, Ms. Frye,” interrupted Hueso. “Do you have another motion?”

She did. Frye motioned to bring to the full council a proposal to change the number of councilmembers needed to docket an item from four council members to three.

Councilmembers Gloria, Faulconer, Hueso, and Tony Young were silent.

To see more of the same from San Diego’s city council, take off from work early and get down to City Hall every Monday afternoon starting at 2:00 p.m.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Celebrate Holi, Borrego Springs Music Festival

Events March 23-March 27, 2024
Next Article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate

Barack Obama wasn’t the only politician campaigning for change last year. San Diego city councilmember Donna Frye and then-councilmember-elect Carl DeMaio spent most of last summer canvassing the city, holding public town-hall meetings, asking San Diego residents for their input on ways to change the way the city council operates.

This correspondent attended one meeting in Clairemont, where dozens of residents gathered on a hot Saturday morning and offered up some reforms for local government.

On that day, they told Frye and DeMaio that holding the meetings during the evening, instead of during the middle of the day when many people are at work, would help get more of the public involved in the political process and bring transparency to city government.

After other similar neighborhood meet-ups throughout the city, Frye and DeMaio drafted the Council Governance Report, aimed at “improving the openness, effectiveness, and independence of the city council through reforms.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Some of the suggestions from their report were heard on Wednesday, January 28, during a meeting of the Rules Committee.

“I’d like to make a motion, forwarding to council for full consideration, the expanded use of evening and district meetings,” said Frye near the end of the meeting, when the committee heard the agenda item.

“And that would change the Monday meetings from 2:00 to 4:30?” inquired Rules Committee chairman and city council president Ben Hueso.

“Correct.”

“Okay, well I won’t be supporting that.”

“But this is just to forward to city council for full consideration. And no one will support that?” asked Frye, looking over at councilmembers Todd Gloria and Kevin Faulconer.

“Yeah, I understand that. I understand that,” answered Hueso. “I think that has a fiscal implication that I’m not prepared to support. We’re going to have to pay overtime for staff.”

Frye asked why the extended hours for the budget committee meetings were approved without examining the fiscal impact, then she said, “I’m certainly happy to support anybody that wants to try and expand the access of the city council meetings. I got to tell you I’m extremely disappointed that...council meetings...are held up because of fiscal analysis…”

“Okay, Ms. Frye,” interrupted Hueso. “Do you have another motion?”

She did. Frye motioned to bring to the full council a proposal to change the number of councilmembers needed to docket an item from four council members to three.

Councilmembers Gloria, Faulconer, Hueso, and Tony Young were silent.

To see more of the same from San Diego’s city council, take off from work early and get down to City Hall every Monday afternoon starting at 2:00 p.m.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Next Article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.