The San Diego City Council is the

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...

branch of government for the city of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The city council was first established in San Diego in 1850. The council uses a

strong mayor Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United St ...

system with a separately elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

who acts as the executive. There are currently nine members of the council. City council members serve a four-year term and are limited to two successive terms.

History

San Diego was first incorporated as a city government with a common council on March 27, 1850. However, the city went bankrupt in 1852 and the council was replaced by a board of trustees. A new charter was adopted in 1889 reestablishing a common council under the

form of government. The common council consisted of two houses, a nine-member board of aldermen and an eighteen-member board of delegates. The council was consolidated into one nine-member house in 1905 and reduced to a five-member commission in 1909. In 1931 a new charter established a council-manager government. This charter is still in effect today with modifications. The new charter included a seven-member council. Six council members were nominated in districts and voted on citywide. The mayor was the leader of the council and elected citywide. This form of government was modified over time by the electorate. Notable changes include expanding the council to eight districts in 1963, making the council a full-time job in 1974, electing council members by district in 1988, and establishing term limits in 1992. In 2005 two city council members,

Ralph Inzunza Ralph Inzunza (born c. 1969) is a former city councilman from San Diego. He was elected in March 2001 to represent City Council District 8. He resigned in July 2005 along with Councilman Michael Zucchet after both were convicted on federal corrupt ...

and Deputy Mayor

Michael Zucchet Michael J. Zucchet (born December 24, 1969) is an American Democratic politician, a former member of the San Diego City Council, and a former Deputy Mayor of San Diego. In 2005, he briefly served as the Acting Mayor of San Diego. Early life and ...

– who briefly took over as acting mayor when Murphy resigned – were convicted of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...

, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for taking campaign contributions from a

strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

owner and his associates, allegedly in exchange for trying to repeal the city's "no touch" laws at strip clubs. Both subsequently resigned. Inzunza was sentenced to 21 months in prison. In 2009, a judge acquitted Zucchet on seven out of the nine counts against him, and granted his petition for a new trial on the other two charges; the remaining charges were eventually dropped. In 2006 the city's form of government changed back to a strong mayor system. The change was made for a 5-year trial period by a citywide vote in 2004 and was made permanent by another vote of the electorate in June 2010. The

Mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...

is, in effect, the chief executive officer of the city, while the council is the legislative body. Since December 2012 there have been nine members of the council, expanded from eight under the terms of a city ballot measure passed in June 2010.

Duties and powers

As members of the legislative branch of the City of San Diego, the city council has the authority to introduce and pass the ordinances and resolutions that make up the city's ruling documents. Each council member has the right to vote on all questions brought before the city council. All council actions require an affirmative vote of five council members to pass unless a greater number is required by other superseding law. With some exceptions, the mayor has the right to veto legislation passed by the council. This veto can be overridden by an affirmative vote of six members of the city council. The city council has the right to determine its own rules and order of business for council meetings. This includes the right to establish and modify council committees, advisory boards, and citizen committees. Under current rules, a council president and president pro tempore are elected each year to serve as the presiding officers of the city council. The salary for council members was set at $75,386 in 2003. In March 2012, the city's Salary Setting Commission proposed that council members be paid $175,000, but the city council unanimously rejected the recommendation. In November 2018, voters passed Measure L which ties future City Council salaries to those of Superior Court judges. As of December 2020, the council member salary is $124,000.

Elections

Each city council member is elected from a single-member district. Elections follow a

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

. The first round of the election is called the

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

. The top-two candidates in the primary election advance to a runoff election, called the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

s are only allowed to contest the primary election and are not allowed in the general election. Council members are elected to four-year terms, with a two-term limit. City council seats are all officially non-partisan by state law, although most members identify a party preference. The most recent general election was held in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

for districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The next elections for these seats will be held in 2024. General elections for districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 were last held in November 2018. The next election for these seats will be in 2022.

Current Council

Members of the City Council are elected from 9 single-member districts and include Councilmembers Joe LaCava, Jennifer Campbell, Stephen Whitburn, Monica Montgomery,

Marni von Wilpert Marni von Wilpert is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the San Diego City Council representing the 5th district. She assumed office on December 10, 2020, succeeding Mark Kersey. Early life and education Marni von Wilp ...

, Chris Cate, Raul Campillo, Vivian Moreno, and Sean Elo-Rivera. The districts cover the following neighborhoods, approximately. The current members of the 2020–2022 City Council were sworn on December 10, 2020.

Committees

As of the term beginning December 2021, the city council has the following nine committees. *The chair of the Budget and Government Efficiency Committee serves as chair of the Budget Review Committee and the Council President serves as vice chair. City councilmembers also take on positions in county and regional committees with the mayor: *

SANDAG The San Diego Association of Governments (abbreviated SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. It is the metropolitan planning organization for the County, with policy makers consisting of mayors, councilmembers, and County ...

: Mayor

Todd Gloria Todd Rex Gloria (born May 10, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 37th and current mayor of San Diego since 2020. As a strong mayor, he is the chief executive officer in the city of San Diego. A member of the Democratic Party, he is t ...

& Council President

Sean Elo-Rivera Sean Elo-Rivera is the president of the San Diego City Council. A member of the California Democratic Party, he represents City Council District 9, which includes the neighborhoods of City Heights, Kensington, Normal Heights, and East San Dieg ...

. *

San Diego Metropolitan Transit System The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (''SDMTS'' or often simply ''MTS'') is a public transit service provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County. The agency directly operates a large transit system that includes t ...

: Mayor

, Monica Montgomery Steppe,

, & Vivian Moreno.

References

External links

San Diego City Council Official Website
{{SDCouncil California city councils Local government in California