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Rules Committee forwards Dorothy Lu to full Board for Ethics Commission seat; public speakers urged appointment of Alan Grossman
Summary
On March 31 the San Francisco Rules Committee forwarded Dorothy Lu to the full Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation for an Ethics Commission seat; one applicant withdrew and multiple public commenters urged appointment of Alan Grossman, citing open-government and whistleblower concerns.
The Rules Committee of the Board of Supervisors met March 31 and forwarded Dorothy Lu to the full Board as the committee’s nominee for one San Francisco Ethics Commission seat, the committee announced. The clerk read that the recommended item will go to the full Board on Tuesday, April 12.
Madam Chair opened the hearing and noted three applicants had been listed; the clerk later confirmed the committee had received written notification that Julius Terman had withdrawn his application. Two applicants — Dorothy Lu and Alan Grossman — had been heard two weeks earlier and returned for this special meeting.
Several members of the public used the allotted public-comment time to support Alan Grossman. Kimo Crossman, a District 6 resident, said Grossman’s answers in the earlier hearing "promote good government" and noted specific positions he described: "He's for, video, recording of the ethics commissions. He's for law all lobbyists visits being documented even in the calendars of the government officials." Thomas Picariello said the chairman of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and others viewed Grossman as necessary to enforce orders of determination.
Richard Knee, chair of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, clarified that critical remarks about the task force had come from Matt Dorsey, the city attorney’s press spokesman, and not as a formal statement from the city attorney's office. "The city attorney has not issued any statement regarding the task force," Knee said, and he reiterated his strong support for Grossman.
Oliver Luby, who said he worked for the Ethics Commission for more than nine years, raised internal concerns about the commission’s handling of whistleblower matters and said his experience led him to back an independent advocate for open government. "One of the Commission's most important duties is whistleblower protection, and during my time there, I was compelled by my conscience to disclose repeated violations of the Commission's legal mandates by its own executive staff," Luby said. Several speakers argued that Grossman is an independent candidate while other applicants have ties to sitting supervisors.
After public comment the committee heard remarks from supervisors and moved to send Dorothy Lu's name forward as the committee nominee. A supervisor made the motion to advance Dorothy Lu; the committee report was requested and the motion was forwarded "with positive recommendation for Ms. Dorothy Lu" "without objection," the chair said.
The clerk also noted the committee-recommended item will be on the full Board agenda on April 12. The chair closed the item, thanked the public and SF Gov TV staff for taping the session, and adjourned the meeting.
What happens next: the full Board of Supervisors will consider the committee’s positive recommendation on April 12; the committee record lists the position’s term as ending "02/01/2017" as read by staff during the meeting.
