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Rules Committee sends three Sunshine Ordinance Task Force nominees to full board amid debate over backlog and diversity
Summary
The Rules Committee forwarded three nominees (David Pilpel, Louise Fisher and Todd David) to the Board of Supervisors for the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and continued consideration of other candidates after extensive testimony about backlog, mediation and representation on the task force.
The Rules Committee on May 14 voted to forward three nominees for the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (SOTF) to the Board of Supervisors and continued consideration of the remaining applicants to the call of the chair, following a lengthy hearing on the task force's backlog, procedures and membership.
Supervisor Katie Tang moved to nominate David Pilpel for seat 6, Louise (Luis) Fisher for seat 10 and Todd David for seat 8 and to duplicate the hearing file so the committee could send a committee report for the three agreed-upon candidates while continuing remaining seats. Deputy City Attorney John Givner told the committee the three appointments would take effect when the Board confirmed them, and that current members would remain holdovers until action by the Board. The motion carried with no objection.
Much of the meeting focused on a report from outgoing Chair Kit Grant, who said the task force had heard about 190 complaints in the current term and still had roughly 62 pending. Grant and several applicants emphasized mediation, referral to subcommittees (compliance and amendments; education/outreach/training; ethics), bylaw updates and training for new members. Applicants and public commenters — including representatives from the League of Women Voters, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Harvey Milk Democratic Club and the Library Users Association — urged appointment of specific candidates, stressed the need for improved diversity (including a person with a disability), and urged the Board to address resource and quorum issues that have recently limited the task force’s functioning.
Public comment included calls to appoint Bruce Wolf (a disability representative and past member) and to consider nominees such as Mark Rummold and Ali Winston for seats representing journalists and open-government expertise. Several speakers criticized earlier board actions that left seats vacant and said the task force’s effectiveness suffered when it lacked full membership; others urged procedural changes to make hearings more efficient and to expand mediation capacity.
The committee’s partial appointments will be sent forward in a committee report; the remaining vacancies will be set for future consideration.
