San Jose, California

Law and government

:See also Current leaders of San Jose, California, List of Mayors of San Jose, California

Related Topics:
Current leaders of San Jose, California - List of Mayors of San Jose, California

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San Jose is a charter city under California law, giving it the power to enact local ordinances that may conflict with state law, within the limits provided by the charter. The city has a council-manager government with a city manager nominated by the mayor and elected by the city council.

Related Topics:
Council-manager government - City manager - Mayor - City council

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The San Jose City Council is made up of ten council members elected by districts, and a mayor elected in an at-large election. During city council meetings, the mayor presides, and all eleven members can vote on any issue. The mayor has no veto powers. Council members and the mayor are elected to four-year terms; the even-numbered district council members beginning in 1994; the mayor and the odd-numbered district council members beginning in 1996. Council members and the mayor are limited to two successive terms in office, although a council member that has reached the term limit can be elected mayor, and vice versa. The council elects a vice-mayor from the members of the council at the second meeting of the year following a council election. This council member has the right to act as mayor during the temporary absence of the mayor, but does not have the right of succession to the mayor's office upon a vacancy.4

Related Topics:
Veto - 4

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The city manager is the chief administrative officer of the city, and must present an annual budget for approval by the city council. The council elects the manager for an indefinite term, and may at any time remove the manager, or the electorate may remove the manager through a recall election. Other city officers elected by the council are the city attorney, city auditor, and city clerk. 4

Related Topics:
Budget - Recall election - 4

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Like all California cities except San Francisco, both the levels and the boundaries of what the city government controls is determined by the local county Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). The goal of a LAFCO is to try to avoid uncontrolled urban sprawl. The Santa Clara County LAFCO has set boundaries of San Jose's 'Sphere of Influence' (indicated by the blue line in the map near the top of the page) as a superset of the actual city limits (the yellow area in the map), plus parts of the surrounding unincorporated county land, where San Jose can, for example, prevent development of fringe areas to concentrate city growth closer to the city's core. The LAFCO also defines a subset of the Sphere as an 'Urban Service Area' (indicated by the red line in the map), effectively limiting development to areas where urban infrastructure (sewers, electrical service, etc.) already exists.

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San Jose has consistently been ranked as one of the safest large cities in the United States. During the 1990s and 2000s, the crime rate has consistently fallen. http://www.sjpd.org/CrimeStats.cfm In 2003 and 2004 the city was ranked as the safest American city with a population over 500,000 by the Morgan Quitno Awards. http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05pop.htm#500,000+ However, reports of police brutality have become more common. http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/10/22/vietnamese.shooting.ap/ http://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=2355136&nav=5D7lRMbK http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/10/1701805.php

Related Topics:
1990s - 2000s - Police brutality

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The Office of Economic Development coordinates the San Jose Sister City Program. As of 2005, there are seven sister cities (aka twinned towns): Okayama, Japan (established in 1957); San José, Costa Rica (1961); Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico (1975); Tainan, Taiwan (1975); Dublin, Ireland (1986); Pune, India (1992); and Ekaterinburg, Russia (1992).

Related Topics:
As of 2005 - Sister cities - Okayama - Japan - San José, Costa Rica - Veracruz, Veracruz - Mexico - Tainan - Taiwan - Dublin - Ireland - Pune - India - Ekaterinburg - Russia

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