League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA November 8, 2011 Election
	Proposition E Amending/Repealing Legislative Initiative Ordin. and Dec.of Policy City and County of San Francisco Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required Fail: 59369 / 32.87% Yes votes ...... 121248 / 67.13% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition E

Arguments Against Proposition E

Yes on E--good-government reform of our broken ballot measure system! Send a message to politicians to do their jobs instead of having the voters decide issues that should be handled at City Hall. San Franciscans are asked to vote on too many propositions that should be dealt with by our representatives. It's too easy to put things on the ballot. Politicians use ballot measures to score political points. Too often, hastily thrown together measures aren't fully developed or properly vetted, leading to measures that might make good campaign slogans, but have unintended consequences once enacted. And, once ballot measures are adopted, they cannot be amended by the Board of Supervisors no matter how much time passes, how small the change, or how broad the consensus. The only way to change a ballot measure is to go back to voters with yet another ballot measure, perpetuating the cycle of ballot box legislating. California is the only state in the nation that makes voter adopted legislation permanently untouchable except by more ballot measures. Prop E applies only to future ordinances and policies placed on the ballot by the Board or Mayor--measures that the Board and Mayor could pass but instead punt to voters. Prop E has no impact on measures placed on the ballot by collecting voter signatures. Voter-signed measures will remain untouchable by City Hall. Under Prop E, for 3 years after voters pass legislation, the measure will be untouchable by the Board. For the next 4 years, the Board can amend/repeal with a 2/3 vote. After 7 years, the measure will be amendable/repealable like other legislation. Prop E helps fix our dysfunctional system. Yes on E! Supervisor Scott Wiener Supervisor David Chiu Supervisor Sean Elsbernd Supervisor Carmen Chu Supervisor Mark Farrell Supervisor Malia Cohen Rebuttal to Arguments For PROPOSITION E IS MISGUIDED LEGISLATION: Supervisor Scott Wiener introduced this proposed San Francisco City Charter amendment to allow the often lobbyist and fundraiser-influenced Board of Supervisors the authority to overrule San Francisco's voters when they pass initiative ordinances or public policy declarations. Wiener--a bit of an elitist--believes that he and his fellow Supervisors are much wiser than San Francisco voters. Interesting idea??? Let's check the record: In the case of the proposed destruction of Parkmerced's 1,538 garden apartments, Wiener supported the Board of Supervisors' vote of 6-to-5 to throw the residents out of their homes. Acting Mayor Ed Lee--strongly under the influence of political fundraisers and lobbyists--signed the ordinance. Wiener and Lee publicly allied themselves with Wall Street's Daniel Mudd, the former CEO of real estate mortgage-plagued Fannie Mae, and his controversial Fortress Financial Group -- which now controls Parkmerced. Mudd wants to replace the 1,538 garden apartments with tower apartments next to the San Andreas Faultline(which caused the 1906 Earthquake and Fire), increasing Parkmerced's population from 8,000 to 30,000 persons and producing likely traffic jams on 19th Avenue. Wiener has serious limits as a Supervisor. Vote AGAINST misguided Proposition E. Dr. Terence Faulkner, J.D. Former Member of San Francisco City Government's Cable Television Task Force* John Michael Russom Parkmerced Resident* Patrick C. Fitzgerald Past Secretary San Francisco Democratic Party* Gail Neira San Francisco Republican Alliance* http://www.sfraba.org Events: 415-820-1430 For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.

THE QUESTION: SHOULD THE SAN FRANCISCO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS BECOME A DE FACTO "HOUSE OF LORDS" WITH RIGHTS TO OVERRULE VOTERS PASSED INITIATIVE ORDINANCES AND POLICY DECLARATIONS???: The voters sometimes make mistakes. The problem is that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors also makes errors, often influenced by lobbyists. The Hitler-fighting United Kingdom's great Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill explained the problem rather well: "Democracy is really a very bad form of government--until we consider the alternatives." AN ALTERNATIVE TO DEMOCRACY: Supervisor Scott Wiener feels that the Board of Supervisors, acting as a de facto "House of Lords", should have rights to overturn voters passed initiative ordinances and policy declarations. The oldtime British House of Lords and King George III made a few mistakes as well. The result was the American Revolution. The Coalition For San Francisco Neighborhoods, an alliance of almost 50 community groups with a total membership of more than 10,000 people, has urged a "NO! vote on Proposition E.SOME HISTORY: When San Francisco political boss Abraham Reuf was put on trial for corruption in 1907, the first prosecuting attorney was shot down in the courtroom. His successor was a lawyer with considerable physical and moral courage--Hiram Johnson. MAKING DEMOCRACY WORK: Hiram Johnson got Abraham Reuf convicted. He led a political reform movement against the Southern Pacific Railroad (then California's largest landowner), and was elected with the support of the Lincoln Roosevelt League as the Progressive Republican Governor of California. Johnson brought in some basic democratic reforms: initiative,referendum, and recall. Women were also given the right to vote, almost a decade before the rest of the Nation. Join the Coalition For San Francisco Neighborhoods and many other groups in voting AGAINST outrageous Proposition E. Dr. Terence Faulkner Chairman of Citizens For Election Law Reform. Rebuttal to Arguments Against Under Proposition E, voters will continue to have full power to legislate. Prop E is democratic, and it's good government. That's why it's been endorsed by San Francisco's good-government organization + the San Francisco Planning + Urban Research Association (SPUR). Prop E takes nothing away from the voters' power to take matters into their own hands. The Board of Supervisors will still be prohibited from changing voter-signed initiatives - measures placed on the ballot by signature drive - and voter referenda. The Board will still be prohibited from interfering with the voters' right to recall elected officials. Prop E has no effect on charter amendments and does not change past ballot measures. Prop E will allow common-sense flexibility for future ballot ordinances placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors or Mayor. Those ordinances are currently unamendable except by going back to the ballot with yet another ballot measure. Our current system gives the Board and the Mayor incentive to play games by putting ordinances on the ballot in the dead of night, without going through any hearings or public scrutiny. Prop E will make it less attractive for politicians to play political games. It will encourage the Board and Mayor to legislate at City Hall instead of using gamesmanship by putting these ordinances on the ballot. Prop E is democratic and good government. Vote YES on E! Supervisor Scott Wiener Supervisor David Chiu Supervisor Sean Elsbernd Supervisor Carmen Chu Supervisor Malia Cohen Supervisor Mark Farrell