The government of San Diego County is defined and authorized under the Constitution of California, California law, and the Charter of the County of San Diego.[1] Much of the government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the government of San Diego County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The county government is composed of the elected five-member Board of Supervisors, several other elected offices and officers including the Sheriff, District Attorney, Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk, and Treasurer/Tax Collector, and numerous county departments and entities under the supervision of the Chief Administrative Officer such as the Probation Department.
Some chartered municipalities such as the city of San Diego and the city of Chula Vista provide their own law enforcement, public safety, libraries, parks and recreation, zoning, and similar services. Other incorporated cities have some or all of these services provided by the County under a contract arrangement. In addition, several entities of the government of California have jurisdiction conterminous with San Diego County, such as the San Diego Superior Court.
In addition to the Board of Supervisors, there are several elected officers that form the government of San Diego County that are required by the California Constitution and California law, and authorized under the Charter.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of the county, serving as the equivalent of the county police for unincorporated areas of the county, and as incorporated cities within the county which have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as "contract cities"). The Sheriff's Department is also responsible for the county jails, courthouses, and specialized countywide services such as search and rescue, SWAT, etc.
The San Diego County Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk is also an elected officer. As county assessor, they are responsible for real estate appraisals for tax purposes (assessments), as county recorder they are responsible for accepting and recording legal instruments such as birth, marriage and death records, and as county clerk they are responsible for issuing marriage licenses and performing civil marriage ceremonies, and registering fictitious business name statements, notaries public, process servers and professional photocopiers.[3]
The San Diego County Board of Education is composed of five members elected from trustee areas. It maintains the policies for governance of the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and appoints the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools.
Other agencies
The Chief Administrative Officer assists the Board of Supervisors in handling the mounting administrative details of the County and is responsible for making recommendations to the Board.
The Probation Department is responsible for supervising convicted offenders in the community, either who are on probation, such as at the conclusion of their sentences, or while on community supervision orders.
The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is the public housing authority through the Housing Authority of the County of San Diego (HACSD).
The Department of Public Works is responsible for county-maintained roads, traffic engineering, land development civil engineering review, design engineering and construction management, land surveying and map processing, cartographic services, watershed quality and flood protection, county airports, solid waste planning and diversion, inactive landfills, and wastewater systems management.
The County Parks and Recreation Department manages local and regional parks, campgrounds, 300 miles of trails, fishing lakes, state-of-the-art recreation centers and sports complexes, ecological preserves, and open space preserves.
The San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) is the county education department, and is operated by the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools, pursuant to the policies of the San Diego County Board of Education.
The San Diego County Code is the overarching codification of the local ordinances of the county passed by the Board of Supervisors, of which include the Administrative Code and the Code of Regulatory Ordinances. The San Diego County Administrative Code and the San Diego County Code of Regulatory Ordinances "establishes the duties, rules, regulations and systems of management of the various offices, departments and institutions of the County of San Diego" passed by the Board of Supervisors.[5] Every act prohibited or declared unlawful, and every failure to perform an act required, by the ordinances are misdemeanor crimes, unless otherwise specified as infractions.[6]
Budget
The adopted budgets for both fiscal year 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 were approximately $4.8 billion.[7][8]
Other governments
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is an association of local San Diego County governments. The San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is subdivision of the State and regulates and plans local agency boundaries and service areas. LAFCO comprises 13 appointed elected officials including three members of the Board of Supervisors.
The San Diego Superior Court, which covers the entire county, is not a County department but a division of the State's trial court system. Historically, the courthouses were county-owned buildings that were maintained at county expense, which created significant friction since the trial court judges, as officials of the state government, had to lobby the county Board of Supervisors for facility renovations and upgrades. In turn, the state judiciary successfully persuaded the state Legislature to authorize the transfer of all courthouses to the state government in 2008 and 2009 (so that judges would have direct control over their own courthouses). Courthouse security is still provided by the county government under a contract with the state.
The government of San Diego consists principally of a mayor and a nine-member city council. In 2006, the city's form of government changed from a "city manager system" to a "strong mayor system". The change was brought about by a citywide vote in 2004. The mayor is in effect the chief executive officer of the city, while the council is the legislative body.[10]
The members of the city council are each elected from single member districts within the city. The mayor and city attorney are elected directly by the voters of the entire city. The mayor, city attorney, and council members are elected to four-year terms, with a two-term limit.[11] Elections are held on a non-partisan basis per California state law; nevertheless, most officeholders do identify themselves as either Democrats or Republicans.
In 2015, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans by about 39% to 26% the city,[12] and Democrats currently hold an 8-1 majority in the City Council.
The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS or SDMTS) is the public transit provider for Central, South, Northeast and Southeast San Diego County and is governed by a fifteen-member Board of Directors chosen by its constituent joint powers authority city councils and the Board of Supervisors. The North County Transit District (NCTD) is the public transit provider for North San Diego County and is governed by a twelve-member Board of Directors composed of one representative from each incorporated city in the District plus the fifth district county supervisor.
Per California state law, each political party recognized by the State of California has the right to form a central committee in each county; the central committee functions as a unit of the state political party.[13] The composition of the central committee is determined by the bylaws of each county party as allowed by state law.
Major party central committees include the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee[14] and the Republican Party of San Diego County Central Committee.[15] Other party organizations include the San Diego Libertarian Party,[16] the San Diego County Peace and Freedom Party,[17] and the Green Party of San Diego County.[18]
For the San Diego County Democratic Party Central Committee and the Republican Party of San Diego County Central Committee, six elected members from each California State Assembly district contained within San Diego County are chosen by registered party voters during the primary election in even-numbered years.[19][20][21][22] If the number of candidates nominated for election does not exceed the number of candidates to be elected, the candidates are not listed on the ballots, but are instead declared elected by the Board of Supervisors.[23] Democratic central committee members may include party officials, elected officials, recent candidates, appointed members, and elected members.[21] The Republican central committee consists of the elected members, plus appointed members and Republican elected office holders as ex-officio members, not to exceed a total of 75 members.[24][25]
1 2 "Bylaws"(PDF). San Diego County Democratic Party. September 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013. At Article 2, § 1.
Local Agency Formation Commissions or LAFCOs are regional service planning agencies of the State of California. LAFCOs are located in all 58 counties and exercise regulatory and planning powers in step with their prescribed directive to oversee the establishment, expansion, governance, and dissolution of local government agencies and their municipal service areas to meet current and future community needs. LAFCOs were established in 1963 and administer a section of California planning law now known as the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2001.
The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento, the state capital.
Districts in California geographically divide the U.S. state into overlapping regions for political and administrative purposes.
Dominic L. Cortese is a former California State Assemblyman who served from 1980 until 1996. For most of his career, Cortese was a moderate Democrat, but in 1995 he gained national attention when he became a member of Ross Perot's Reform Party. He was the highest ranking elected official of the newly formed party at the time. There were international media reports of this event, including the fact that Cortese was being considered by Perot to be his vice presidential running mate in the 1996 election.
The government of the City and County of San Francisco utilizes the "strong mayor" form of mayoral/council government, composed of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, several elected officers, and numerous other entities. It is the only consolidated city-county in California, and one of only thirteen charter counties of California. The fiscal year 2019–20 city and county budget was approximately $12.3 billion.
The Libertarian Party of California (LPC) is the California affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP). The party chairman is Adrian Malagon, and is based in Sacramento, California, in Sacramento County. As of 2016 Libertarians represent approximately 0.7% of the state's registered voters.
The November 2006 San Francisco general elections were held on November 7, 2006 in San Francisco, California. The elections included five seats to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, positions for San Francisco assessor-recorder and public defender, and eleven San Francisco ballot measures.
The November 2010 San Francisco general elections was held on November 2, 2010, in San Francisco, California. The elections included five seats to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, a runoff election for a seat on the San Francisco County Superior Court, assessor-recorder, public defender, and fifteen San Francisco ballot measures.
The government of California has an extensive system of local government that manages public functions throughout the state. Like most states, California is divided into counties, of which there are 58 covering the entire state. Most urbanized areas are incorporated as cities, though not all of California is within the boundaries of a city. School districts, which are independent of cities and counties, handle public education. Many other functions, especially in unincorporated areas, are handled by special districts, which include municipal utility districts, transit districts, health care districts, vector control districts, and geologic hazard abatement districts.
The Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission, or OC LAFCO, is a government agency that makes decisions regarding boundaries for cities, unincorporated territory and special districts within Orange County, California. Orange County LAFCO offices are located in Santa Ana, California.
The Government of Los Angeles County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Los Angeles. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Los Angeles County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, health care, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The government of the City of Los Angeles operates as a charter city under the charter of the City of Los Angeles. The elected government is composed of the Los Angeles City Council with 15 city council districts and the mayor of Los Angeles, which operate under a mayor–council government, as well as several other elective offices. Under the California Constitution, all judicial, school, county, and city offices, including those of chartered cities, are nonpartisan. The current mayor is Karen Bass, the current city attorney is Hydee Feldstein Soto and the current city controller is Kenneth Mejia.
The government of Alameda County, California, is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Alameda. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments such as the Government of Alameda County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas. County services are provided to residents by more than 9,000 employees working in 21 different agencies and departments with an annual budget expenditure of $2.4 billion.
The Government of Sacramento County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, California law, and the Charter of the County of Sacramento. Much of the government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Sacramento County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The Government of San Joaquin County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of San Joaquin County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The Government of Sacramento operates as a charter city under the Charter of the City of Sacramento. The elected government is composed of the Sacramento City Council with 8 city council districts and the Mayor of Sacramento, which operate under a manager-council government. In addition, there are numerous departments and appointed officers such as the City Manager, Sacramento Police Department (SPD), the Sacramento Fire Department (SFD), Community Development Department, City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Treasurer. Since 2016, the mayor has been Darrell Steinberg and the current councilors were Angelique Ashby, Sean Loloee, Jeff Harris, Katie Valenzuela, Jay Schenirer, Eric Guerra, Rick Jennings II, and Mai Vang.
The Government of Solano County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Solano County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The Government of Fresno County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution, law, and the Charter of the County of Fresno. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Fresno County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The Government of Stanislaus County is defined and authorized under the California Constitution and law as a general law county. Much of the Government of California is in practice the responsibility of county governments, such as the Government of Stanislaus County. The County government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.
The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 53 U.S. representatives from the state of California, one from each of the state's 53 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
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