This Council has virtually shunned the notion that its role in
city government is one of checks and balances that represent the
interests of the residents.
What’s becoming clear is that November’s race for City Council should be more spirited than most in the last decade or so. The current Council has pretty much guaranteed that, making a string of controversial decisions from adopting a very generous salary schedule for top-tier employees to passively accepting the secret resignations and double-dipping deal the city administrator made with the city’s two top law enforcement officials.
The group as a whole has earned its “rubber stamp” reputation during the past four years. Whether it’s paying off a former city employee who filed a wrongful termination lawsuit with a check for $370,000, or stamping approval for the incredible sum of more than $30 million for a new police station, the course has been one of approving what the city administration wants.
In November, that course will be put to the test before voters.
There are four seats up for election, including the mayor’s chair, which means an entire new majority could be swept into office. Or perhaps voters will choose the status quo. There are issues aplenty for the forums and interviews to come, issues about city support for school facility needs, open government, project budget oversight from the Santa Teresa road project to the new police station, and budget priorities in a time when the hefty city reserves are predicted to be swallowed up in five years. And then there’s the ever-present growth issue: Is the city, in exempting projects and therefore exceeding housing limits in the residential development ordinance, growing too fast?
The last year, in particular, has been filled with a string of tumultuous controversies. Largely that’s the case because this Council, seemingly at every turn, shuns the notion that it bears the responsibility of being an independent “check and balance” in the process of city government, a check that represents the best interests of the residents in Gilroy.
Hopefully, there will be numerous candidates with varying viewpoints in November. Get ready Gilroy, shortly after the summer lull, this spirited race will be on in full swing.
