Business Journal weighs in against strong mayor

The Sacramento Business Journal joins a long list of opponents to the Boss Mayor initiative. In an editorial today, the Journal finds the proposal "gives too much power to the city's top elected official and greatly weakens the City Council — and, in some respects, its residents."

It notes that the measure, which will appear on the June 2010 ballot, "would go into effect in mid-July, giving Johnson, and mayors thereafter, far-reaching power, from appointing the city manager, department heads and as many as 800 managers to creating the budget. The mayor also would not sit with the City Council."

And it concludes that "any strong-mayor form of government, in effect in Fresno and Oakland, would weaken the process and possibly strengthen the power of special interest groups. A mayor can build incredible power by actions, consensus building and leadership — arguably more than any strong-mayor charter."