San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio delivered boxes of signatures to the city clerk today. He is spearheading an initiative for the November ballot that would make it easier to contract out city services.
The initiative is part of the ongoing battle over who can compete for jobs paid for with public sector money.
Standing beside boxes of petitions, DeMaio said he paid for the signatures to be gathered because the city council has blocked managed competition.
"We need to have fair competition in city government," he said, "so we can get the sort of quality services that our citizens deserve. It will save tens of millions of dollars annually and it will make sure that San Diego is attractive as a destination to create jobs."
Opponents of the measure rallied in San Diego's Civic Plaza, saying the initiative is deceptive because signature gatherers did not explain that it would eliminate the city’s living wage.
There was a brief scuffle as a man dressed as Pinocchio thrust his long nose in DeMaio's face. Police had to break up the crowd.
DeMaio delivered 138,000 signatures. At least 96,000 must be valid to qualify for the measure for the ballot.
