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Ethics Commission holds closed session on labor negotiations after procedural votes; disclosure motion fails to meet 3-member threshold
Summary
The commission voted twice on whether to go into closed session for labor negotiations — the first motion failed for lack of three affirmative votes, a second motion passed and the commission met in closed session; afterward a motion not to disclose deliberations did not achieve the affirmative three‑member threshold and, absent further action, materials remain confidential.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission debated and then entered a closed session on labor negotiations after procedural votes and clarifications about attendees.
At the start of item 8, the chair outlined the steps for considering a closed session, referencing state and local legal authorities. A first motion to move into closed session failed because only two members voted in the affirmative. Deputy City Attorney Bridal Russell told the commission the required vote threshold was a quorum "so you need 3 votes for the motion to be successful."
Commissioners then questioned which outside or union representatives would attend. Commissioner Bush raised concerns about including certain employee representatives listed on the agenda; staff and the city attorney's office clarified the invited participants would be commission staff, the DHR director, and representatives from the city attorney's office — not union representatives — and Commissioner Bush indicated that clarification was satisfactory.
After that clarification, the commission renewed the motion and recorded three affirmative votes, and the body moved into closed session to meet with the labor negotiator. The public transcript does not include the closed-session deliberations; instead the public feed carried unrelated SF GovTV programming during that time.
Upon reconvening in open session, the commission considered a motion "not to disclose" closed-session deliberations. Deputy City Attorney Brid al Russell explained that disclosure would require an affirmative vote of three members, and because that threshold was not met the commission did not take an affirmative action to disclose the closed-session materials; DCA Russell summarized that absent further action the materials will remain confidential. Commissioners discussed procedural options but no additional disclosure vote was recorded on the public record.
The record shows the chair, Commissioner Romano and Commissioner Bush as the three members participating in the votes; specific closed-session content and any negotiated outcomes were not released on the public transcript.
