San Jose, California, Measure G, Police Auditor Powers, Redistricting Procedures, and Planning Commission Charter Amendment (November 2020)

San Jose Measure G
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Local law enforcement
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers
List of California measuresCalifornia Proposition 13 (March)California Proposition 14California Proposition 15California Proposition 16California Proposition 17California Proposition 18California Proposition 19California Proposition 20California Proposition 21California Proposition 22California Proposition 23California Proposition 24California Proposition 25Submit

San Jose Measure G was on the ballot as a referral in San Jose on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the city's charter to make the following changes: authorize the independent police auditor to review reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and uses of force that resulted in death or injury in order to make policy recommendations, change the size of the city's planning commission from seven to 11, and authorize the city council to establish redistricting timelines following the release of the census.

A "no" vote opposed amending the city's charter, thereby maintaining the following provisions: the independent police auditor does not have access to reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and uses of force that resulted in death or injury in order to make policy recommendations; the city's planning commission consists of seven members; and the city council must pass the redistricting ordinance by October 31 of the year following the census.

A simple majority vote was required for the approval of the measure.

Election results

San Jose Measure G
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		302,315	77.25%
No		89,056	22.75%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Measure design

The San Jose City Council voted to put the proposed charter amendments on the ballot as one ballot measure. The following subsections explain the various amendments.

Independent Police Auditor

The measure would add the following powers to the office of police auditor:

• review all police department investigations initiated by the public or administrative investigations initiated by the police department;
• make policy recommendations to the police department to be review by the city manager, chief of police, city attorney, and the city council;
• review reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and use of force that resulted in injury or death; and
• review redacted records and reports such as force statistics, police reports, and body camera footage.

Planning commission

The measure would increase the number of members on the city's planning commission from seven to 11 with members appointed from each council district and one at-large member. The eighth and ninth members would be appointed by the city council to serve until June 30, 2022. The tenth and eleventh members would be appointed by the city council to serve until June 30, 2024.

Redistricting procedures

The measure would authorize the city council to extend the deadline to adopt a redistricting ordinance if the census data is not received by April 1 of the year following the census. The measure would also allow the council to prescribe a new timeline for the advisory council if the deadline is extended.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall the City Charter be amended to: expand the Independent Police Auditor’s oversight, including unredacted review of officer-involved shootings and use of force incidents causing death or great bodily injury, review of department-initiated investigations against officers, and other technical amendments; increase the Planning Commission to 11 members with Council appointing one member from each Council District and one “at-large” member; and allow the Council to establish timelines for redistricting when Census results are late?

”

Full text

The full text of the measure can be read below. Struck-through text would be deleted and underlined text would be added:

Support

Supporters

Officials

• San Jose city councilmember Sylvia Arenas (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Magdalena Carrasco (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Devora Davis (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Lan Diep
• San Jose city councilmember Maya Esparza (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Pam Foley (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Sergio Jimenez (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Charles Jones (Nonpartisan)
• San Jose city councilmember Johnny Khamis
• San Jose city councilmember Raul Peralez (Nonpartisan)

Arguments

• Councilmember Maya Esparza: "I think the community knows equity when they see it in terms of the planning commission, I think the planning commission dovetails into redistricting as it’s going into the redistricting process and I think, frankly, the community understands the need for [Independent Police Auditor] reform."
• Carol Watts, president of the League of Women Voters: In a letter to the San Jose City Council, Watts wrote, "Thousands of people have taken to the streets in San Jose, in California and across the nation to protest and grieve the death of George Floyd and other Black lives. Now is the time to begin a re-imagining of policing."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify committees, organizations, or individuals opposing the ballot measure. If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

George Floyd death and protests

See also: Policy changes in response to the killing of and protests about George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process."

Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to protests and demonstrations over racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first protests took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. A protest in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host a protest over Floyd's death.

Click here to read more about responses to the killing of and protests about George Floyd.

Related 2020 ballot measures

See also: Local police-related ballot measures following the killing of and protests about George Floyd (November 2020)

Ballotpedia identified 18 local police-related or law enforcement measures on the ballot for November 3, 2020, that qualified following the death of George Floyd. The local ballot measures were on the ballot in nine cities and four counties within six states. The local ballot measures concerned police practices, police oversight boards and auditors, police staffing and funding levels, recordings from police body and dashboard cameras, and other policies.

State	Jurisdiction	Title	Description	Result
California	Los Angeles County	Measure J	Requires that no less than 10% of the county's general fund be appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration	a
California	Oakland	Measure S1	Changes the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Commission and creates the Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Diego	Measure B	Replaces the Community Review Board on Police Practices with the Commission on Police Practices that would be appointed by the city council to conduct investigations and subpoena witnesses and documents related to deaths resulting from police interactions and complaints made against police officers	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition D	Creates the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board and the Sheriff's Department Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition E	Removes the mandatory police staffing level from the city's charter	a
California	San Jose	Measure G	Authorizes the independent police auditor to review reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and uses of force	a
California	Sonoma County	Measure P	Makes changes to the powers and duties of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO)	a/ot
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Budget Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to consider law enforcement and public safety as its top budgeting priority	a
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Injury Risk Training Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to fund and support law enforcement training methods that decrease the risk of injury to officers and suspects	a
Ohio	Akron	Release of Recordings from Police Body and Dashboard Cameras after Use of Force Charter Amendment	Requires recordings from police body and dashboard cameras documenting police use of force that results in death or serious injury to be released to the public	a
Ohio	Columbus	Issue 2	Creates the Civilian Police Review Board to investigate alleged police misconduct, subpoena testimony and evidence during the investigations, make recommendations to the Division of Police, and appoint and manage the new position of Inspector General for the Division of Police	a
Oregon	Portland	Measure 26-217	Establishes a new police oversight board in the city's charter	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 1	Adds language to the Philadelphia City Charter calling on the police department to "eliminate the practice of unconstitutional stop and frisk, consistent with judicial precedent"	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 3	Creates a Citizens Police Oversight Commission to replace the Police Advisory Commission	a
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	Independent Citizen Police Review Board Charter Amendment	Requires police officers to cooperate with investigations conducted by the Independent Citizen Police Review Board	a
Texas	Kyle	Proposition F	Amends the city charter to authorize the city council to adopt procedures and a committee to review the police department	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 1	Requires investigations into all police-related deaths and to provide public attorneys to represent the decedent's family in the investigation	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 4	Amends the county charter to authorize the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) to subpoena witnesses, documents, and other evidence in its investigations of law enforcement personnel	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 5	Returns the office of the sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position that is appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 6	Gives the county council the authority to specify the duties of the sheriff	a

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

This measure was put on the ballot through a unanimous vote of the San Jose City Council on August 4, 2020.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• Local law enforcement on the ballot
• City governance on the ballot
• Santa Clara County measures

California

• November 3, 2020 measures in California
• Local ballot measures, California
• San Jose, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Santa Clara County Elections Office website