In November 2020 more than two-thirds of San Bernardino County voters approved Measure K. This initiative set compensation for elected county supervisors to $5,000 per month, and limited supervisors to one, four-year term. According to the Red Brennan Group, the intent of this grass-roots effort was to change the incentives to serve as an elected official within San Bernardino County. After voters took to the polls and agreed that this concept was an effective change to the county charter, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors sued to overturn Measure K and asked for an injunction to halt the measure. Superior Court Judge Donald Alvarez granted a temporary injunction while the legal battle played out in court. In his final ruling, on September 17, Judge Alvarez sided with the board. While acknowledging Measure K’s proponents had the core legal argument correct, Judge Alvarez states “…Measure K cannot be implemented because (a) the lifetime one-term limit provision violates the 1st and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution and (b) the compensation provision is not demonstrated volitionally separable from the unconstitutional/invalid one-term limit provision…”
Tom Murphy, a representative for The Red Brennan Group, and party to the case questioned the idea that term limits violate the first amendment as the President of the United States is limited to two terms. The Red Brennan Group will appeal Judge Alvarez’s decision and expects to win on appeal.
