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Rules Committee advances several Sunshine Ordinance Task Force nominees, continues two seats for clarification

San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee · June 5, 2014

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Summary

After extensive public testimony, the Rules Committee forwarded nominations for multiple Sunshine Ordinance Task Force seats (including SPJ nominees) to the full Board, continued one journalist-designated seat pending clarification whether the candidate qualifies as a current journalist at a minority-owned outlet, and continued another seat after a roll-call continuation vote.

The Rules Committee on June 5 took a series of actions on nominations to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (SOTF), forwarding several nominees to the full Board while continuing two seats for further clarification.

The committee heard multiple nominees and sustained public interest testimony from journalism and open-government groups. Thomas Peele (Society of Professional Journalists) introduced SPJ's nominees and said recent elections showed strong public support for open-government measures. SPJ, the League of Women Voters and the ACLU urged timely appointments to restore a quorum and restore the task force’s effectiveness.

Nominees who were moved forward by the committee included Mark Rimmold (Seat 1), Ali Winston (Seat 2), Josh Wolf (Seat 3), Allison Washburn (Seat 5), Lee Hepner (Seat 7) and Chris Hyland (Seat 9). The committee duplicated hearing files to expedite processing, waived a residency requirement for Ali Winston, and agreed to continue Seat 4, which by code must be a journalist currently employed by a minority-owned news organization; Deputy City Attorney John Givner advised that the committee might continue Seat 4 to allow the candidate to clarify employment status. The committee also continued Seat 11 (roll-call: Campos no; Tang aye; Yi aye; motion passed) and said the continued items will return at the call of the chair after the committee completes file duplication and gathers outstanding information.

Speakers from SPJ, the League of Women Voters, local journalists and civil-liberties groups emphasized the importance of the SOTF to ensure access to records, fair meeting notices and public accountability; several public commenters criticized prior committee delays in forwarding qualified nominees. The committee’s recommendations will be forwarded to the full Board for confirmation.