Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman Speaks to BOMA San Francisco GAPAC Members

From left to right: Mary Lasher, Campaign Manager, Repair California; Susan Court, 2009 BOMA San Francisco GAPAC Chair, and Jim Wunderman, President and CEO of the Bay Area Council.

Bay Area Council President and CEO Jim Wunderman spoke to BOMA San Francisco Government and Public Affairs Committee (GAPAC) members today about the Bay Area Council's (BAC) push for a Constitutional Convention in California via the Repair California campaign.

The Council feels that the current system of governance in California has failed us. Once the envy of the world, we now have the worst schools in the nation; a crumbling infrastructure; a water crisis, and a legislature that is unable to pass a balanced budget on time.

In short, California has lost it's luster on both the national and world stage as a place to do business. Now is the time for reform. Now is the time to Repair California.

Repair California proposes two ballot measures: One to empower the people to call for a Constitutional Convention and the other to call for the Convention and set the process in place for convening it. The BAC is proposing a 'limited' Constitutional Convention, one that will only focus on issues such as:

• Governance, including the structure of the legislative and executive branches of government, with the latter to include State agencies and commissions.
• Elections, including the initiative and referenda processes, campaign finance, and term limits for state legislators.
  
• The Budget, including the budget process and related requirements, such as the 2/3ds legislative vote required to pass a budget, the term and balancing of a budget, and mandated spending.
• Revenue distribution, including the revenue relationship between local and state government.
  

The BAC is in the process of finalizing these initiatives and will turn them into the Attorney General for Title and Summary in mid-to-late October. The next step will involve gathering signatures for both measures. Those will be turned in on approximately April 16, 2010. The two measures will then go to the people in the general election in November of 2010. The measures require passage by a simple majority of the voters. The Convention would be held in 2011, and their suggested reforms will be placed on the next statewide ballot.

BOMA San Francisco would like to thank Mr. Wunderman for addressing the BOMA's Government and Public Affairs Committee. If you would like to become more involved in this historic effort please go to the Reform California website, or contact Mary Lasher at mlasher@repairclaifornia.org or call her at (415) 336-0822.