Ballot Breakdown: Measure A

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[upbeat music] Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindmon. On this episode of KPBS Midday Edition, a breakdown of Measure A on your election ballot. This is KPBS Midday Edition, connecting our communities through conversation. [upbeat music] The ballots are out. It's officially election season. And if you're overwhelmed by your ballot, you're not alone. Nearly 80% of voters are frustrated by the length of their ballots according to the Public Policy Institute of California. So this month on Midday Edition, we're helping you cut through the noise to better understand the top measures and races. Today we're talking about Measure A. It would make a series of changes to San Diego County's charter, like expanding term limits for supervisors. Also, forming an ethics commission and an independent budget analysis. Joining us to break it all down is Kevin Trevellyan. He's KPBS' Public Matters reporter. Kevin, welcome to Midday Edition, and excited to have you on.

Yeah, happy to be here. Thanks, Jade.

So on its surface, Measure A might seem a little hard to grasp because there's so many, uh, pieces to it. What are the key components we should know?

Yeah, so I'd say the, the kinda big headliner that you mentioned is the term limits, uh, part of it. Um, currently supervisors serve two four-year terms, and this would extend that to three four-year terms, so, uh, a, a de- sizeable difference there. Um, it would also do a couple different charter reforms that are kinda framed as ethics and accountability measures. Um, for example, it would create a new independent ethics commission, and that would apply, you know, not only to supervisors, but other county-elected officials like, uh, the sheriff or the attorney general. Um, it would create a new budget analyst position that's also being kinda pitched as independent, and that would, you know, uh, that person would cover kind of the, um, the fiscal impacts of different policies that the board might consider, like the trade-offs of, you know, one policy versus another.

Mm-hmm.

And then also a program auditor to kinda see how those programs are doing once they're, uh, operationalized.

So, yeah.

Um, other factors, it would require more, uh, public disclosure of county spending, and then it would also give the supervisors more power to hire and fire, uh, like county leadership. Um, you know, think of departments like emergency response or public health, um, the folks who are in charge of those departments.

All right.

So, uh, the upshot is basically that it would, you know, give the supervisors more power.

Okay. And I, I will d- I wanna dig into each of those, um, pieces a bit more too. Uh, but I wanna jump here because a recent poll from the San Diego Union-Tribune looked at how voters feel about Measure A. Um, what are the main takeaways with that?

Yeah, so the UT did this poll in late September, and the support for Measure A itself was pretty mixed. Um, it, you