All former Mayor Jerry Sanders had to do was meet with labor unions before leading the effort to reform city employee pensions at the ballot box.
He didn’t.
And now, six years later, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously he violated the law. He had an obligation as the city’s top manager to first “meet and confer” with unions about the reforms before leading efforts to put a citizens’ initiative on the 2012 ballot. He wasn’t required to do anything the unions suggested, but as the city’s chief labor negotiator, he was supposed to at least hear what they had to say.
On this week’s podcast, Andrew Keatts, Sara Libby and Scott Lewis talk about the new pension ruling and the complex mess it leaves in its wake.
Hero of the Week
California State Parks is the hero. Lewis has been doing a lot of complaining on the podcast and elsewhere about Reserve California. The online system launched last summer and was introduced as a way to make booking campsites at California State Parks much easier. Lewis had some issues with the new system, so he talked to the press. The state organization has responded to the criticism by making some changes to the reservation process.
Goat of the Week
This one goes to National City Councilman Jerry Cano. The Union-Tribune editorial board is calling on the elected leader to resign after Cano indicated to investigators that he fabricated sexual harassment allegations against his colleague, Councilwoman Mona Rios. Cano’s accusation of inappropriate touching by Rios came soon after the councilwoman called for an independent investigation into code enforcement issues at Cano’s home.
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