Our city government has lost a lot of public trust, and rightfully so. There have been far too many transparency issues for us to know what is really going on. We intend to engage openly with the public and hold our government accountable to its mistakes.
- The City Council is an elected body accountable to the people. As such, it should be in charge of the City Manager, not the other way around!
- Advisory Boards should be staffed, supported, and have a meaningful impact on Council decisions. The City Council disbanded the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, which had monthly meetings, and replaced it with the Multi-Modal Operational Advisory Committee, which has met only once. Thanks to community pressure, the Climate Advisory Board has been able to meet regularly, but it continues to lack adequate staff support.
- Update the city charter so that the unjust attack against Councilor Charlyn Ellis cannot be repeated. The City has already spent $185,000 on this case, which is about half of what it spends on sidewalks – let’s get our priorities straight!
- Establish a policy to transition our city away from Franchise Agreements toward Licensing Ordinances across all franchise utilities. This will allow the City to protect its authority over the public domain, and advance the priorities of our residents, rather than that of private utilities.