Some say that Mayor Jerry Sanders's move to pack the charter review committee with a pro-establishment/real estate majority was slick. Make that sick. Not only does the overall committee have an establishment majority; so do the subcommittees. The five-person subcommittee looking into duties of elected officials is chaired by Mike McDade, long-time real estate lobbyist and political bag man. Also on the subcommittee is Mark Nelson of Sempra Energy and Duane Roth, cheerleader for biotech. The financial reform and interim strong mayor subcommittees have similar stacked makeups. "This is a banana republic, not a charter review committee," says Steve Erie, professor of political science and director of the urban studies and planning program at UCSD. "It's a naked power grab, downtown inbreeding." The stacked committee aims to give the mayor power "over redevelopment and housing, so the piggies can feed at the trough, neuter the city attorney and the city council."
Some say that Mayor Jerry Sanders's move to pack the charter review committee with a pro-establishment/real estate majority was slick. Make that sick. Not only does the overall committee have an establishment majority; so do the subcommittees. The five-person subcommittee looking into duties of elected officials is chaired by Mike McDade, long-time real estate lobbyist and political bag man. Also on the subcommittee is Mark Nelson of Sempra Energy and Duane Roth, cheerleader for biotech. The financial reform and interim strong mayor subcommittees have similar stacked makeups. "This is a banana republic, not a charter review committee," says Steve Erie, professor of political science and director of the urban studies and planning program at UCSD. "It's a naked power grab, downtown inbreeding." The stacked committee aims to give the mayor power "over redevelopment and housing, so the piggies can feed at the trough, neuter the city attorney and the city council."