San Francisco Fire Commission holds closed session, forwards fire chief nominations to mayor and votes not to disclose deliberations

The San Francisco Fire Commission met in a special session on Sept. 3, 2024, to consider nominations for appointment as fire chief and voted to keep its deliberations confidential.

President Morgan announced the commission moved into a closed session to consider potential nominations to the mayor for appointment, citing authority under the San Francisco Administrative Code and the Ralph M. Brown Act. "This closed session is being called to consider nominations for appointment of a new fire chief," the chair said before the commission voted to convene in closed session; the meeting recessed for a closed session at 9:00 a.m. and reconvened at 9:38 a.m.

After the closed session, President Morgan reported that the commission "voted to make 1 or more nominations for appointment in closed session and to forward those 1 or more names to the mayor for her consideration." The commission then considered whether to disclose any portion of the closed-session discussion and, after a motion "not to disclose" was made and seconded, the body voted unanimously to withhold disclosure.

The commission cited California Government Code section 54957(b) and San Francisco Administrative Code section 67.1(b) in authorizing the closed session. The meeting record, as read into the public minutes, does not identify the nominee(s) selected or provide details of the evaluation process; commissioners noted there were no members of the public present to comment on whether Item 2 should be discussed in closed session.

The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that carried; no names or further details about the nominees were released at the meeting. The forwarded nominations now rest with the mayor's office for consideration and any public action or announcement would come from that office or at a future public meeting.