These Pasadena voter guides for the March 5 primary election were created in partnership with The Courier, an independent publication produced and run by Pasadena City College students.
What does the Pasadena City Council do?
Pasadena has what is called a council-manager form of local government, in which the city council and the city manager share power. The Pasadena mayor is an at-large member of the council, meaning they represent the city as a whole, while the other seven members each represent a geographic district.
Think of the council as Pasadena’s legislature. They:
- Set city policies and pass local laws
- Impose and regulate city taxes
- Hire and fire the city manager (in a council-manager form of government, the city manager holds a lot of power, including proposing the city budget, so appointing them is a big responsibility)
- Hire and fire the city attorney, city prosecutor, and city clerk
- Authorize public improvements
- Approve city contracts
- Adopt traffic regulations
- Appoint other council members and the mayor to city committees
Councilmembers also must approve the annual budget proposed by Pasadena’s city manager. The city’s approved FY 2023-24 budget is approximately $1.2 billion. In all, Pasadena employs about 2,000 people in a city with a population of 136,988.
Here are some of the things they don’t decide:
- Who leads the Pasadena Police Department – the city manager decides that
- Who leads the Pasadena Unified School District – that’s the PUSD board, and they’re directly elected by voters
More Voter Guides
How to evaluate judges
- L.A. Superior Court: There are more than two dozen judges up for election or reelection.
- Judge ratings: Understanding how the L.A. County Bar Association evaluates judicial candidates — and how it can help you cast your vote.
Head to LAist’s Voter Game Plan…
Read the full article here
