The deadline to submit proposed City Charter amendments for the June 8 ballot has come and gone, leaving seven initiatives in its wake.
We are still early in the process of sorting out the ballot, but you can bet voters will be weighing in on several major proposals — right alongside candidates for the Democratic County Central Committee.
The committee decides which ballot initiatives and candidates for office get the (very important) Democratic Party endorsement. (There is an interesting discussion about the importance of the DCCC on the Bay Guardian's blog here.) In June 2008, progressives won enough seats to take control and leadership of the committee, electing former Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin as chairman. Moderates want control back, and progressives want to keep — and expand — their own numbers. The only problem is that elections to the committee are in June, when no one wants to vote.
So, as the June 8 ballot takes shape, watch as moderates and progressives alike offer up charter amendments, ordinances and policy statements aimed at getting their supporters out to the polls.
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