Portion of Controversial Agenda Item Pulled From Tonight’s Council Agenda

By David GreenwaldDecember 18, 200788 comments
The Vanguard has learned that part of item 11 on tonight’s agenda has been pulled. This item contained two separate but very important issues that generated concern from the community about the timing and the manner in which they came forward.

The first part of the item is a public hearing on an ordinance which would allow renters to display political campaign signs. According to city manager, this item will likely remain on the agenda despite student complaints about the timing of this hearing because students have largely left town this week at the conclusion of finals. According to our sources.

This is an item that first came before the UC Davis-City of Davis Student Liaison Commission. The issue came to the commission’s attention after the ASUCD Senate passed a resolution in September, authored by Sen. Michael Lay, calling for an ordinance ensuring the right of Davis renters to post political signs. Several renters had complained to City and ASUCD officials that landlords were not allowing them to put up signs in support of certain candidates for public office.

The second and more controversial portion of the agenda item relates to an increase in the campaign finance limits for council elections. This would increase the limit from $100 to $250.

“Campaign Contribution Limits

The current campaign contribution limit of $100 was set by ordinance 1624 on November 20, 1991. With the increase in costs to run a simple campaign over the past sixteen years, it is being recommended that consideration be given to increasing the individual limit from the current $100 to $250.”

However, the item caught many by complete surprise including apparently the City Manager and members of the council who were apparently unaware that the item was on the agenda.

Yesterday, Mayor Sue Greenwald posted the following on the Vanguard:

“I was unaware that changes in the campaign contribution limits were under consideration until I received my packet this weekend. (I go over the agenda items, but don’t see the staff reports in advance).

I had expressed reservations to the City Manager about this item, since Ruth was to be out of town. He assured me that the item was not substantive, but involved moving the ordinance to a more logical chapter in the City code.

When I saw the $250 surprise item, I called the City Manager to ask him why the changes in the campaign contribution limits materialized at this time and in this manner, he said that it was a surprise to him.”

According to City Clerk, Margaret Roberts, she was asked to streamline the section of the city ordinance dealing with these campaign regulations. During the course of her inquiry, she discovered that Davis’ regulation was out of step with other municipalities and therefore, according to her, she made the change on her own without any direction from anyone else.

In a conversation this morning with City Manager Bill Emlen, he acknowledged errors on his part for failing to properly scrutinize the council agenda. He saw the portion of the agenda on the political signage but missed the change in the campaign finance limitations. This is the same sort of error that I made when I initially missed this item as well.

He felt like this item was too controversial in this community to bring forth in this manner and will pull it back for re-examination. One possibility would be to have it before an ad-hoc committee to examine what other communities are doing and what this community wants.

He stressed that this error occurred not due to some untoward influence on the process but was rather an oversight and a misunderstanding by staff as to the nature of the topic being proposed.

The Vanguard will continue following this story in the near future. Stay tuned for new updates and commentary.

—Doug Paul Davis reporting

Author

  • David Greenwald

    Greenwald is the founder, editor, and executive director of the Davis Vanguard. He founded the Vanguard in 2006. David Greenwald moved to Davis in 1996 to attend Graduate School at UC Davis in Political Science. He lives in South Davis with his wife Cecilia Escamilla Greenwald and three children.

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Elections

88 comments

  1. Did someone offer or direct her to the information for her “inquiry” into campaign contribution regs in other cities? Has she ever been tasked with changing an ordinance like this before? Is obviously changing a city ordinance part of her job description? It is implausible that she would have taken it upon herself to proceed without support of “higher-ups”.

  2. Did someone offer or direct her to the information for her “inquiry” into campaign contribution regs in other cities? Has she ever been tasked with changing an ordinance like this before? Is obviously changing a city ordinance part of her job description? It is implausible that she would have taken it upon herself to proceed without support of “higher-ups”.

  3. Did someone offer or direct her to the information for her “inquiry” into campaign contribution regs in other cities? Has she ever been tasked with changing an ordinance like this before? Is obviously changing a city ordinance part of her job description? It is implausible that she would have taken it upon herself to proceed without support of “higher-ups”.

  4. Did someone offer or direct her to the information for her “inquiry” into campaign contribution regs in other cities? Has she ever been tasked with changing an ordinance like this before? Is obviously changing a city ordinance part of her job description? It is implausible that she would have taken it upon herself to proceed without support of “higher-ups”.

  5. There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence. It seems to be at work here. I’m not completely convinced, but in absence of other evidence, the official explanation seems plausible.

    It is my opinion that this would not have occurred without the Vanguard’s coverage and subsequent community pressure on this issue.

  6. There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence. It seems to be at work here. I’m not completely convinced, but in absence of other evidence, the official explanation seems plausible.

    It is my opinion that this would not have occurred without the Vanguard’s coverage and subsequent community pressure on this issue.

  7. There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence. It seems to be at work here. I’m not completely convinced, but in absence of other evidence, the official explanation seems plausible.

    It is my opinion that this would not have occurred without the Vanguard’s coverage and subsequent community pressure on this issue.

  8. There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence. It seems to be at work here. I’m not completely convinced, but in absence of other evidence, the official explanation seems plausible.

    It is my opinion that this would not have occurred without the Vanguard’s coverage and subsequent community pressure on this issue.

  9. ” There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence.”

    ….didn’t turn out to be the case with just those “few bad apples at Abu-graib or the Gonzales’ US Justice Department.

  10. ” There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence.”

    ….didn’t turn out to be the case with just those “few bad apples at Abu-graib or the Gonzales’ US Justice Department.

  11. ” There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence.”

    ….didn’t turn out to be the case with just those “few bad apples at Abu-graib or the Gonzales’ US Justice Department.

  12. ” There is a maxim that we should never ascribe to malice what can be explained by incompetence.”

    ….didn’t turn out to be the case with just those “few bad apples at Abu-graib or the Gonzales’ US Justice Department.

  13. Do some research Vangurd and you’ll find that there have been many times when items mysteriously appear on the agenda. Talk with former council members and I’m sure you’ll find that it’s not as uncommon as you think.

    Jaded

  14. Do some research Vangurd and you’ll find that there have been many times when items mysteriously appear on the agenda. Talk with former council members and I’m sure you’ll find that it’s not as uncommon as you think.

    Jaded

  15. Do some research Vangurd and you’ll find that there have been many times when items mysteriously appear on the agenda. Talk with former council members and I’m sure you’ll find that it’s not as uncommon as you think.

    Jaded

  16. Do some research Vangurd and you’ll find that there have been many times when items mysteriously appear on the agenda. Talk with former council members and I’m sure you’ll find that it’s not as uncommon as you think.

    Jaded

  21. Call me a conspiracy theorist but this story doesn’t wash. So Margaret Roberts suddenly has the authority to make major changes to policy or too stupid to bring this up with her boss? Who here buys this?

  22. Call me a conspiracy theorist but this story doesn’t wash. So Margaret Roberts suddenly has the authority to make major changes to policy or too stupid to bring this up with her boss? Who here buys this?

  23. Call me a conspiracy theorist but this story doesn’t wash. So Margaret Roberts suddenly has the authority to make major changes to policy or too stupid to bring this up with her boss? Who here buys this?

  24. Call me a conspiracy theorist but this story doesn’t wash. So Margaret Roberts suddenly has the authority to make major changes to policy or too stupid to bring this up with her boss? Who here buys this?

  25. This is not the first time the city clerk has taken upon herself to delve into areas she does not belong. Bill Emlen does not seem to have very good control of his staff, some of whom are completely out of control. If citizens knew some of the things going on behind the scenes, they would be appalled. This was not an oversight, nor simple incompetence.

  26. This is not the first time the city clerk has taken upon herself to delve into areas she does not belong. Bill Emlen does not seem to have very good control of his staff, some of whom are completely out of control. If citizens knew some of the things going on behind the scenes, they would be appalled. This was not an oversight, nor simple incompetence.

  27. This is not the first time the city clerk has taken upon herself to delve into areas she does not belong. Bill Emlen does not seem to have very good control of his staff, some of whom are completely out of control. If citizens knew some of the things going on behind the scenes, they would be appalled. This was not an oversight, nor simple incompetence.

  28. This is not the first time the city clerk has taken upon herself to delve into areas she does not belong. Bill Emlen does not seem to have very good control of his staff, some of whom are completely out of control. If citizens knew some of the things going on behind the scenes, they would be appalled. This was not an oversight, nor simple incompetence.

  29. It would be highly irregular for a staff member to take the initiative on a policy issue that important without first clearing it with the City Manager. Unless, perhaps, the staff member were pressured behind the scenes by a council member perceived to be powerful.

  30. It would be highly irregular for a staff member to take the initiative on a policy issue that important without first clearing it with the City Manager. Unless, perhaps, the staff member were pressured behind the scenes by a council member perceived to be powerful.

  31. It would be highly irregular for a staff member to take the initiative on a policy issue that important without first clearing it with the City Manager. Unless, perhaps, the staff member were pressured behind the scenes by a council member perceived to be powerful.

  32. It would be highly irregular for a staff member to take the initiative on a policy issue that important without first clearing it with the City Manager. Unless, perhaps, the staff member were pressured behind the scenes by a council member perceived to be powerful.

  37. Let me get this straight, the City Manager admitting that he failed to properly read the agenda and allowed an item to be placed on there without his knowledge is a tempest in a teapot?

    In what country do you live? Because in this country that is an outrage.

  38. Let me get this straight, the City Manager admitting that he failed to properly read the agenda and allowed an item to be placed on there without his knowledge is a tempest in a teapot?

    In what country do you live? Because in this country that is an outrage.

  39. Let me get this straight, the City Manager admitting that he failed to properly read the agenda and allowed an item to be placed on there without his knowledge is a tempest in a teapot?

    In what country do you live? Because in this country that is an outrage.

  40. Let me get this straight, the City Manager admitting that he failed to properly read the agenda and allowed an item to be placed on there without his knowledge is a tempest in a teapot?

    In what country do you live? Because in this country that is an outrage.

  49. Claire St. John took the bait and wrote a lengthy Enterprise piece today about the increase in the campaign contribution limit ordinance. I wonder if Debbie Davis will give her some time to do some investigative reporting on how this bogus agenda item came about? The City Clerk’s explanation is pretty lame and probably warrants dismissal if she stands by this story and there is a history of mystery agenda items unaccountably appearing in the past.

  50. Claire St. John took the bait and wrote a lengthy Enterprise piece today about the increase in the campaign contribution limit ordinance. I wonder if Debbie Davis will give her some time to do some investigative reporting on how this bogus agenda item came about? The City Clerk’s explanation is pretty lame and probably warrants dismissal if she stands by this story and there is a history of mystery agenda items unaccountably appearing in the past.

  51. Claire St. John took the bait and wrote a lengthy Enterprise piece today about the increase in the campaign contribution limit ordinance. I wonder if Debbie Davis will give her some time to do some investigative reporting on how this bogus agenda item came about? The City Clerk’s explanation is pretty lame and probably warrants dismissal if she stands by this story and there is a history of mystery agenda items unaccountably appearing in the past.

  52. Claire St. John took the bait and wrote a lengthy Enterprise piece today about the increase in the campaign contribution limit ordinance. I wonder if Debbie Davis will give her some time to do some investigative reporting on how this bogus agenda item came about? The City Clerk’s explanation is pretty lame and probably warrants dismissal if she stands by this story and there is a history of mystery agenda items unaccountably appearing in the past.

  53. Might I suggest that those of you ready to tar and feather Margaret Roberts or Bill Emlen might calm down and wait until you have all the facts.

    I know when you are 12 years old and you’re anonymous, it’s easy to trash someone based on innuendo. However, you probably don’t have enough information to make an informed judgment on this matter, let alone assign blame.

    Keep in mind: DPD has an agenda of his own and he doesn’t mind hurting other people to push it through.

  54. Might I suggest that those of you ready to tar and feather Margaret Roberts or Bill Emlen might calm down and wait until you have all the facts.

    I know when you are 12 years old and you’re anonymous, it’s easy to trash someone based on innuendo. However, you probably don’t have enough information to make an informed judgment on this matter, let alone assign blame.

    Keep in mind: DPD has an agenda of his own and he doesn’t mind hurting other people to push it through.

  55. Might I suggest that those of you ready to tar and feather Margaret Roberts or Bill Emlen might calm down and wait until you have all the facts.

    I know when you are 12 years old and you’re anonymous, it’s easy to trash someone based on innuendo. However, you probably don’t have enough information to make an informed judgment on this matter, let alone assign blame.

    Keep in mind: DPD has an agenda of his own and he doesn’t mind hurting other people to push it through.

  56. Might I suggest that those of you ready to tar and feather Margaret Roberts or Bill Emlen might calm down and wait until you have all the facts.

    I know when you are 12 years old and you’re anonymous, it’s easy to trash someone based on innuendo. However, you probably don’t have enough information to make an informed judgment on this matter, let alone assign blame.

    Keep in mind: DPD has an agenda of his own and he doesn’t mind hurting other people to push it through.

  69. Well, this isn’t the most important issue in the history of Davis. It wouldn’t be the only place where someone casually suggested to a city staff person that “while you’re at it, let’s run up the campaign limit amount on the ‘ol flagpole and see if anyone salutes”. I don’t think it rises to the level of high crimes that a staff person should lose their job over it. Consider if the clerk had proposed to lower the campaign amount to say, $50 on her own or at someone’s suggestion. Would we feel the same way?

    My concern is that staff should not be sucked into the political realm. If that happened here, I’d be more interested in whacking the weanie of the person abusing their position than going after the staff person. Put yourself in any staff person’s position, especially if you’re trying to hold down a mortgage payment in Davis. Let’s try to be charitable.

  70. Well, this isn’t the most important issue in the history of Davis. It wouldn’t be the only place where someone casually suggested to a city staff person that “while you’re at it, let’s run up the campaign limit amount on the ‘ol flagpole and see if anyone salutes”. I don’t think it rises to the level of high crimes that a staff person should lose their job over it. Consider if the clerk had proposed to lower the campaign amount to say, $50 on her own or at someone’s suggestion. Would we feel the same way?

    My concern is that staff should not be sucked into the political realm. If that happened here, I’d be more interested in whacking the weanie of the person abusing their position than going after the staff person. Put yourself in any staff person’s position, especially if you’re trying to hold down a mortgage payment in Davis. Let’s try to be charitable.

  71. Well, this isn’t the most important issue in the history of Davis. It wouldn’t be the only place where someone casually suggested to a city staff person that “while you’re at it, let’s run up the campaign limit amount on the ‘ol flagpole and see if anyone salutes”. I don’t think it rises to the level of high crimes that a staff person should lose their job over it. Consider if the clerk had proposed to lower the campaign amount to say, $50 on her own or at someone’s suggestion. Would we feel the same way?

    My concern is that staff should not be sucked into the political realm. If that happened here, I’d be more interested in whacking the weanie of the person abusing their position than going after the staff person. Put yourself in any staff person’s position, especially if you’re trying to hold down a mortgage payment in Davis. Let’s try to be charitable.

  72. Well, this isn’t the most important issue in the history of Davis. It wouldn’t be the only place where someone casually suggested to a city staff person that “while you’re at it, let’s run up the campaign limit amount on the ‘ol flagpole and see if anyone salutes”. I don’t think it rises to the level of high crimes that a staff person should lose their job over it. Consider if the clerk had proposed to lower the campaign amount to say, $50 on her own or at someone’s suggestion. Would we feel the same way?

    My concern is that staff should not be sucked into the political realm. If that happened here, I’d be more interested in whacking the weanie of the person abusing their position than going after the staff person. Put yourself in any staff person’s position, especially if you’re trying to hold down a mortgage payment in Davis. Let’s try to be charitable.

  77. It gets harder and harder to read this blog with each passing month. You guys really are off the deep end with the conspiracies lately.

    Still, it’s useful for getting your wife into office, right DPD?

  78. It gets harder and harder to read this blog with each passing month. You guys really are off the deep end with the conspiracies lately.

    Still, it’s useful for getting your wife into office, right DPD?

  79. It gets harder and harder to read this blog with each passing month. You guys really are off the deep end with the conspiracies lately.

    Still, it’s useful for getting your wife into office, right DPD?

  80. It gets harder and harder to read this blog with each passing month. You guys really are off the deep end with the conspiracies lately.

    Still, it’s useful for getting your wife into office, right DPD?

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