Supervisors Advance Charter Reform Measure

San Diego County supervisors took the first formal step Tuesday toward rewriting the county charter, approving a reform package on a 3-2 vote and setting up a second vote on May 19. (nbcsandiego.com) The package would let supervisors serve three four-year terms, or 12 years, instead of the current two-term, eight-year limit. It would also add term limits for countywide elected offices such as sheriff and district attorney, which now have none. (kpbs.org) Chair Terra Lawson-Remer’s proposal also would create an independent ethics commission, a nonpartisan budget analyst and an independent program auditor. Supporters said those offices would report to the Board of Supervisors and be added on a “revenue-neutral” basis. (patch.com) The charter is the county’s governing document, and San Diego County says voters first adopted it in 1933. Patch reported supporters said it has not been significantly updated since 1978, which is why the current fight is over who should control a modern county government of 3 million-plus residents. (sandiegocounty.gov) (patch.com) The power question sits at the center of the debate. Voice of San Diego reported the measure would give supervisors authority to approve the hiring of top county officials and remove them with a supermajority vote, shifting influence away from the county’s administrative structure and toward the five elected supervisors. (voiceofsandiego.org) Current county rules give the chief administrative officer broad appointment power over many top positions under Charter Section 501 and related county ordinances. The board itself appointed Ebony Shelton as chief administrative officer in June 2024, underscoring that the reform debate is about how much day-to-day control elected supervisors should have over the bureaucracy beneath that office. (sandiegocounty.gov) (publicceo.com) Backers framed the measure as an accountability update. Kyra Greene of the Center on Policy Initiatives said local governments are being asked to fill gaps in the social safety net, while former San Diego City Manager Jack McGrory said the county’s governance structure “has not kept pace with its size and complexity.” (kpbs.org) (patch.com) Opponents said the term-limit change would benefit current supervisors who ran under an eight-year cap. Supervisor Jim Desmond called the package “smoke and mirrors” and said officials should not “vote to put a new set of rules on the ballot that extends your own stay.” (kpbs.org) The April 21 agenda listed the charter item for a 1 p.m. hearing, and the county’s 2026 calendar shows the board’s next regular meetings on May 5 and May 6. News reports on the vote said the required second reading is scheduled for May 19, and if it passes, voters would decide the charter rewrite in November. (content.govdelivery.com) (sdcounty.legistar.com) (nbcsandiego.com)