With the recent appointments of Sally Baker and Jeffrey Kritzer by Judge Gerrard Ring, the nine-member Austin Charter Commission again is complete.

Tuesday, April 04, 2000

With the recent appointments of Sally Baker and Jeffrey Kritzer by Judge Gerrard Ring, the nine-member Austin Charter Commission again is complete.

Baker and Kritzer replace Scott Leighton and Roberto Romo. The seven others on the commission are Nel Surdy, Maryanne Law, Jane Johnson, Rick Bross, Vernon Nordaune, Judy Bjorndal, and Sherwood Vereide.

Like the U.S. Supreme Court to the president and Congress, the Charter Commission is an important check and balance to the power of the mayor and the City Council. State law dictates that such a commission must exist in any charter city.

Ring, who is the chief justice of the Third District Court, said because he didn’t know many area residents, he asked other judges and Mayor Bonnie Rietz for suggestions. Rietz had submitted a list of people who had expressed an interest in serving to the judge. Others that had thrown their names into the hat included two former council members, Richard Pacholl and Tom Purcell, former Austin Utilities Commissioner Ken Regner, as well as Vern Lippert and Paul Behn.

The Charter Commission doesn’t meet often, but when it does meet the purpose generally is to approve a change to the city charter. That change may be initiated any one of three ways: as a request from the council, city residents or at the initiative of the Charter Commission itself. City Attorney David Hoversten said most frequently the changes are requested by the council.

However, Hoversten explained, regardless of who requests the change, the commission is charged with making its decision independently.

Possible changes currently being considered by the council include allowing a mayoral vote in the case of a tied council vote on the appointment to fill a vacant council seat – as it reads now, it appears that the mayor can not vote – and changes to the language, replacing "he" with "he or she" and correcting other language considered sexist.