Bob Kowell is either the current or immediate past president of the Temecula California Republican Assembly (CRA) - maybe the biggest and most active Republican club I have ever seen.  Rick Reiss is a southwest activist who I know best from his pro-Iraqi freedom rallies opposite the anti-war protesters known to frequent certain Temecula intersections.

The two have teamed up with Casey Evans to not only limit the terms of the Murrieta City Council, but also limit the pay and perks of certain city bureaucrats.

Petitions for initiatives seek limits on Murrieta council terms, manager
10:00 PM PST on Thursday, December 27, 2007
By ROCKY SALMON
The Press-Enterprise
...The first initiative would limit Murrieta City Council member tenures to two consecutive four-year terms.

The second initiative limits the council's stipend to 15 percent of the city's annual median household income and prohibits members from getting any other personal benefits, such as life and medical insurance, club memberships and pensions. An increase in stipend would have to go to the voters and pass with a supermajority vote...

Here Kowell, Reiss and Evans make the case for similar initiatives in a NC Times article from Sept 18th:

Murrieta's current interim city manager makes $25,000 a month, plus a car. Although Indio's city manager makes $300,000 per year with perks, Murrietans shouldn't follow Indio over the cliff like lemmings.

And while Murrieta plans to hire a new manager at about $225,000 to $250,000 a year in October, this is still too costly. It is becoming apparent that too many cities hire from a good ol' boys network of insiders.

Throughout the Murrieta community, there are other qualified individuals from other enterprising sectors who could easily learn the ropes and do the job for less. Public service is about service, not high-end salaries.

Having doubts? Then go to www.payscale.com and do the math. You will find that a city manager should make about $150,000 for a city of our size in Southern California. This analysis is for a city manager with 30 years of experience, a Harvard MBA and running a city with 300 employees.

The current median household income for Murrieta is about $80,000 per year. This proposal would pay the city manager 1.8 times that value ($144,000), including benefits. If the city manager facilitates raising median family income to $100,000 per year, then he could make $180,000.