Lubbock City Charter Election Is Dead For Now
I can't say I am surprised by the action, or lack of action by the Lubbock City Council on Tuesday when the council decided to kill off the City Charter Amendments Election. As previously reported, Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope told The Chad Hasty Show Tuesday morning that there was disagreement over council pay and Proposition C.
Proposition C dealt with a rewrite of the initiative, referendum, and recall process of the City Charter and there were many citizens who were upset by what the Charter Review Committee had recommended. At one point, Lubbock City Councilman Jeff Griffith said he didn't think the timing was good and seemed to indicate that for him, the entire thing was moving too quickly.
Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope said that he intends to revisit the issue of a charter election in November, but that doesn't mean anything will actually happen. The citizens have seen past review committees come and go with nothing to come of them other than a handshake and a thank you.
If I was betting on how this one would turn out, I'd put my money on nothing happening with the charter this year or next.
The Lubbock City Council desperately wants to pass a massive bond election to repair certain streets in Lubbock. This would include spending $42 million dollars on parts of Broadway Avenue to repair the bricks on the street. The total price for the bond is $174.5 million dollars. That's a pretty decent size bond, and I don't think the council wants to have voters who are mad about the City Charter, also vote for or against the road bonds.
Looks to me like the Lubbock City Council killed the charter election to help save the bond election. Will it work? We will know in a few months.