08 Jun The Red Brennan Group Subpoenas Assembly Member Chad Mayes
On Tuesday, June 8th, The Red Brennan Group took steps to subpoena Assembly Member Chad Mayes. This action was in concert with an earlier “discovery” notice sent to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors concerning their lawsuit against Measure J.
Why subpoena?
The non-profit supports “Big-Hearted Communities and Small Government.” The attorneys supporting The Red Brennan Group want to understand the nature of conversations between Mr. Mayes and the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. The non-profit is pressing lawsuits against the Board of Supervisors concerning Measures J and K. Both measures were approved by voters in the November 2020 election.
Measure K, approved by a super-majority of voters, is a grass-roots effort designed to rethink the politics of local government. Measure J is an effort by the county supervisors to torpedo Measure K. The Red Brennan Group attorneys are particularly interested in Mayes’ motivation for submitting Assembly Bill 428.
Measure K stipulated two things: (1) the Board of Supervisors were limited to a single, four-year term; and (2) the compensation of the Board of Supervisors was reduced from more than $240,000 per year to $60,000 per year. This is equal to the median household income in the county.
Mayes’ legislation, currently working its way through the California Senate, stipulates that voters may not approve any less than two, four year terms for county supervisors. The proposed law also stipulates, in effect, that the Board of Supervisors of a charter county would set their own compensation.
Voters versus the Supervisors
When voters approved Measure K in November 2020, San Bernardino County’s political machine immediately acted to squelch the measure via a three-fold plan. First, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors sued the Clerk of the Board to halt implementation of Measure K. County Counsel, which had a duty to defend Measure K on behalf of the voters, refused to do so.
At the same time the county bureaucracy moved to aggressively implement Measure J. This was a measure placed on the ballot by the supervisors and designed to conflict with Measure K. Finally, AB 428 was submitted by Mr. Mayes on February 4, 2021. Mayes’ claim that AB 428 would have no “direct” effect on Measure K is an example of using language to obscure the legislative intent of a bill. In committee, Mayes argued the legislation was a “good governance” policy issue and was not an attack on Measure K. On the floor of the Assembly, Mayes stated that Measure K did not directly affect Measure K.
Tom Murphy, a representative of The Red Brennan Group quips,
“Anyone that can read is able to peruse AB 428 and verify it does not “directly” effect Measure K. However, Mr. Mayes conveniently neglected to explain the indirect effect of the bill. Which is undoubtedly the intent of the legislation. Should AB 428 pass then Measure K, approved by a supermajority of county voters, will have zero effect on any county supervisor – ever!
The county’s lawsuit against Measure K contends that sitting supervisors, which includes all current supervisors, are exempt from the voter-imposed restrictions of the measure. If the courts uphold that position and AB 428 is signed into law, not a single supervisor will ever be affected by the voter approved limits of Measure K. Current supervisors will have been declared exempt by the courts, and the California legislature will have changed the law to exclude any future supervisors.
Thus, the county political elite will have overturned an initiative approved by more than half a million voters. And the California political system will have directly negated the will of San Bernardino County voters. The Red Brennan Group thinks this is wrong. We believe county residents should understand this issue, and we believe this subpoena and discovery process will have direct bearing on our lawsuit against the County Board over Measure J.”
Want more?
Listen to the Z107.7 Podcast hosted by Gary Daigneault and featuring two members from the Red Brennan Group.
Episode description: In Studio Guests Tom Murphy and Natalie Zuk from the Red Brennan Group. Discussed: More debate about Measure “K”, the County Board of Supervisors, and Chad Mayes. In November, voters in the County passed Measure K with a two-thirds supermajority. Measure K would limit supervisors to one four-year term and cap their pay at $60,000 a year. Assemblyman Chad Mayes then introduced Assembly Bill 428, in which county supervisor term limits could not be restricted to fewer than two terms and any adjustments to the supervisors’ compensation could only be made by the supervisors themselves. While AB 428 appeared to be going directly against what county voters already approved with Measure K, Assemblyman Mayes said it does not apply to Measure K and only applies to areas where no local initiatives are in place. The Red Brennan Group, who sponsored Measure “K,” disputed Mayes’ explanation.