The national election may have been a rejection of the establishment, but voters in San Bernardino, Calif., overwhelmingly showed their trust of city officials by adopting a new city charter that empowers those officials, the San Bernardino County Sun reported yesterday. The argument against Measure L, which replaces the city’s governing document, was similar to arguments that prevailed against previous charter reform efforts: that it was a power grab, that citizens would be giving up their vote, that it empowered corruption. Such arguments defeated charter amendment efforts in 2014, in 2010 and earlier. This year, more than six out of every 10 voters endorsed city officials’ arguments that the so-called checks and balances in the charter created left it unclear who was in charge, holding back progress. The new charter will go into effect once the City Council approves an ordinance certifying its passage. That will likely be at the next City Council meeting on Nov. 21. The new charter shifts the city from a hybrid system of government to a council-manager form. Used by 58 percent of cities with a population over 100,000, this means city council members have less day-to-day control and the city manager has more.
