Charles Fairchild has a new pet phrase to fight the charter: “Review, not redo.” The insinuation is that the Charter Review Commission overstepped its charge from the city council. Others have already started to pick up on the same misstatement.
From the City’s 2008-2009 Budget:
“The Charter Review Commission (CRC) was established by City Council in late 2007 to conduct an independent review of the City’s Charter and to make recommendations to the City Council of any proposed modifications to the Charter for possible consideration by the electorate. ”
The full charge to commission that was approved by the Pensacola City Council in 2007 states:
“The City of Pensacola Charter Review Commission is charged with the task of undertaking a comprehensive review of the Charter of the City of Pensacola. The CRC shall make recommendations to the City Council at the conclusion of its deliberations. The CRC is authorized to make recommendations regarding any and all issues related to the amendment of existing provisions of the Charter, the deletion of existing provisions, or creation of new provisions. The City Council has chosen not to limit the scope of the CRC’s authority with regard to these matters.
The CRC shall prepare its recommendations for amendments, deletions, or new provisions as a single item in a final report to the City Council. The CRC shall not issue interim or partial recommendations to the City Council.
The final report of recommendations of the CRC shall be approved by a vote of not less than seven (7) members of the CRC. ”
Read it for yourself: Charge To Charter Review Commission.
Charlie has a reputation for twisting facts. It’s one of the reasons that Save Our City failed. It’s why his subsequent PAC failed to gain support.
There are valid reasons to support and oppose the charter. We can agree to disagree, but let’s make sure the voters have the correct facts.