City of Tucson Appointment and Removal of Department Directors Amendment, Proposition 404 (November 2015)
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A measure to provide a uniform method for appointment and removal of city department directors was on the ballot for Tucson voters in Pima County, Arizona, on November 3, 2015. It was approved.
Proposition 404 amended the Tucson City Charter to create a uniform method for appointing and removing city department directors. Prior to the amendment, directors were appointed and removed using various methods. Under the new system, directors must be appointed by the city manager, subject to the consent of the mayor and council, and removed by the city manager.[1]
Election results
| Tucson, Proposition 404 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 54,973 | 69.48% | ||
| No | 24,143 | 30.52% | ||
- Election results from Pima County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot language
The following language for this measure appeared on the ballot:[2]
| “ |
A “YES” vote shall have the effect of providing a uniform method of the appointment and removal of City department directors, not including the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk, under which appointment will be made by the City Manager, subject to the consent of the Mayor and Council, and removal will be by the Manager; and none of the civil service provisions of the Charter, City Code or other ordinances or regulations will apply to the appointment or removal of those officers. A “NO” vote shall have the effect of retaining the current provisions of the Charter under which appointment and removal of City department directors is accomplished by various methods, and under which certain department directors are appointed and removed under civil service rules.[3] |
” |
Full text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed official arguments in favor of Proposition 404:[1]
- Jonathan Rothschild, Tucson Mayor
- Matt Kopec, Treasurer, Pima County Democratic Party Committee
- Carlos Ruiz, Chairman of the Board, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Guillermo Figueroa, Vice Chairman of the Board, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Lisa Lovallo, Chair, Board of Directors, Southern Arizona Leadership Council
- Ron Shoopman, President & CEO, Southern Arizona Leadership Council
- Michael V. Varney, President, Tucson Metro Chamber
- Cyndy Valez, Secretary, Tucson Metro Chamber
- Richard Miranda, former Tucson City Manager
- R E Walkup, former Tucson Mayor
- Sarah Brown Smallhouse
- Kasey C. Nye, attorney
- Diana Rhoades, Southern Arizona Director, Strategies 360
Arguments in favor
Supporters of the proposition argued that there ought to be a consistent and uniform method for how city department directors are hired and fired. They claimed that a clear system that gives authority to the city manager would ensure accountability. The argument was that directors would be directly accountable to the city manager, who, in turn, is accountable to the mayor and city council, elected officials who are accountable to the voters.
Advocates of the proposition also argued that the Tucson City Charter was outdated, and ought to be updated in order to allow the city government to work smoothly. Greater consistency, they argued, would foster greater efficiency as well.[1]
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild wrote an official argument in support of the proposition:
| “ |
Please vote YES on Prop. 404, a change to Tucson's City Charter recommended by our citizens' Charter Review Committee. Tucson's current City Charter has different methods of appointment and removal for city department directors. Also, some department directors receive civil service protections while other department directors are at-will employees, the same as most private sector employees. Prop. 404 would apply the same method of appointment and removal to all city department directors who report to the city manager. Appointment would be by the city manager, subject to consent of mayor and council, and removal would be by the city manager. Civil service protections would not apply to department directors, but would continue for other city staff. There should be one uniform method for how department directors who report to the city manager are appointed and removed.[3] |
” |
| —Jonathan Rothschild, Tucson Mayor[1] | ||
The full text of the official ballot arguments in favor of the proposition can be read here.
Editorials
The editorial board of the Arizona Daily Star endorsed a "yes" vote on Proposition 404. The board called the measure a "no-brainer," arguing that it was common-sense legislation. The board wrote:[4]
| “ |
The city’s top administrator — the manager, by title — cannot hire and fire all of the employees who directly report to him. In a convoluted chain of command, some of those decisions now fall to the City Council. You can clean up this mess by voting “yes” on Proposition 404.[3] |
” |
| —Arizona Daily Star editorial board[4] | ||
The editorial board of the Tucson Weekly also endorsed a "yes" vote on Proposition 404, using the same "no-brainer" phrase. The members of the board argued that department heads perviously enjoyed too much job protection and that making it easier to fire them would make them more accountable for their work. The board wrote:[5]
| “ |
This is another no-brainer. Under the current rules, department heads at the city of Tucson enjoy too much job protection—and as a result, they know they don't have to follow orders from the city manager because it's almost impossible to get rid of them. While civil service protections are good for the rank-and-file, it's just silly to give them to the people at the top.[3] |
” |
| —Tucson Weekly editorial board[5] | ||
Opposition
No official arguments were submitted in opposition to Proposition 404. If you know of any endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, please email the Local Ballot Measures Project staff writer.[1]
Reports and analysis
Arizona Public Media
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Path to the ballot
Proposition 404 was recommended for the ballot by the Tucson Charter Review Committee, a citizen committee.[6]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tucson Appointment Removal Department Directors Amendment Proposition 404. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Pima County, Arizona ballot measures
- November 3, 2015 ballot measures in Arizona
- Tucson, Arizona municipal elections, 2015
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 City of Tucson Election Department, "Official Voter Information," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ Pima County Elections Department, “Ballot Question text,” accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arizona Daily Star, "2015 endorsements by the Arizona Daily Star," October 15, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tucson Weekly, "The Tucson Weekly 2015 Endorsements," October 15, 2015
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "City ballot propositions highlighted at forum," October 2, 2015
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