Rules Committee delays vote on Cynthia Dye's nomination to Sunshine Ordinance Task Force after public opposition

The Rules Committee on Feb. 10 continued action on Mayor's nominee Cynthia Dye for a seat on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, after extended public comment that included both opposition from members of the 2022 Redistricting Task Force and support from supervisors who said they wanted more time to vet candidates.

Cynthia Dye, who introduced herself to the committee as a Bernal Heights resident with three decades of management consulting experience and recent service on the San Francisco Elections Commission, said she would “uphold the mission of the task force to protect public access to city government.” She told the committee she supports modernizing and streamlining the 1990s-era Sunshine Ordinance and emphasized proactive department education to reduce public records requests.

Supervisor Mandelmann told Dye, “Sunshine is really important,” but also raised concerns about the cost to city operations of complying with sunshine rules and asked how Dye would balance transparency with implementation costs. Dye responded that she supports proactive disclosure and training to reduce repeated requests and to provide information the public wants up front.

Public comment was largely critical of Dye's record on redistricting and her conduct while serving on the Elections Commission. Bob Acreswindiari, speaking in his personal capacity, said actions led by Dye and others “created a climate of division and mistrust” and urged the committee to “get this to have more applicants and to keep this open for longer.” Lily Ho, a member of the 2022 Redistricting Task Force, said Dye “weaponized the civic disorder as a process issue” and opposed her appointment. Deaka Reiner, vice chair of the 2022 Redistricting Task Force, said in her experience Dye "is not an impartial or fair representative." Several other former redistricting members voiced similar objections.

Supervisor Mandelmann said he was not comfortable voting on the nomination that day and suggested continuing the matter to allow more time for discussion and to see if additional applicants emerge. Chair Walton agreed that more time and conversation were warranted. The committee voted unanimously — Vice Chair Sherrill, Member Mandelmann and Chair Walton — to continue the nomination to the next Rules Committee meeting, which Mandelmann suggested would be in two weeks.

The motion to continue carried without objection, leaving the nomination unresolved pending further vetting and possible additional applicants. No formal objections to Dye's eligibility under the Sunshine Ordinance code were recorded at the hearing; public speakers focused on her past conduct and judgment while serving on the Elections Commission and related redistricting controversies.