The first commandment a raw politician learns on his way to maturity is:
A matter that seems settled is not necessarily over.
Two weeks ago, the divided City Council provisionally advanced to the November ballot a charter amendment that would transfer hiring/firing authority over the police and fire chiefs from the Council to the city manager.
This plan collided with a major pushback from Meghan Sahli-Wells and Thomas Small.
Last evening’s meeting was intended to be a shrug, a near-automatic confirmation of the earlier 3-2 vote.
Yeah, sure.
With Goran Eriksson – a Yes vote – in Europe, Ms. Sahli-Wells reintroduced her argument that hiring and firing power over police and fire should remain with the best qualified source, Ms. Sahli-Wells and her four Council teammates.
Polled, everyone, predictably, voted the same way he did on July 11, Mr. Small and Ms. Sahli-Wells lining up together again.
With Mr. Eriksson invisible, the 2-2 vote, backed by Mayor Jim Clarke and Vice Mayor Jeff Cooper, assured that voters would get their shot, Nov. 8, at determining whether City Manager John Nachbar was the best man for the job.
Two new additions were tacked onto the presidential election ballot.
One is known informally as the Malsin Rule. It would not allow a Council member to resign and then almost immediately try to return and lengthen his tenure by pursuing a new seat on the dais.
The second should not be controversial. It would permit the Council to meet more frequently or less frequently than the present mandatory two meetings a month.
The contention is that the volume of business is lighter than when the rule was made. This is largely because the Redevelopment Agency was banished by Gov. Brown.
Meanwhile, the Council unanimously rejected The Culver Studio’s appeal regarding a conformance review about modifying the parking structure to make it less intrusive.
