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Rules Committee forwards motion to require monthly mayoral appearance; tables off-site town-hall plan
Summary
The Rules Committee recommended a board rule to implement Prop I requiring the mayor to appear monthly for formal policy discussion and tabled a proposed off-site Richmond town-hall pending a mayoral spending plan and legal clarifications. Public commenters criticized the mayor's interpretation of Prop I and warned of added costs.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on the floor voted to forward a proposed amendment to the board’s rules that would implement Proposition I by placing an item on the Board calendar each month for the mayor to appear in person and engage in formal policy discussions. Board President Aaron Peskin urged the committee to adopt the rule even if the mayor declines to attend, saying the board must discharge its duty under Prop I.
Peskin told the committee the mayor’s office had been "unable or unwilling to discuss" how the rule should be structured and recommended forwarding the rule to the full board for consideration. A mayor’s office representative identified in the transcript as Miss Crowley (Colin Crowley) said the mayor preferred holding community town-hall meetings and had circulated a press release about a Richmond town hall; the representative said the mayor’s office could discuss alternatives and shared the office’s intent to engage in community-based policy discussions.
The committee also considered an item to hold a noticed special meeting on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007, at the Richmond Recreation Center; a public commenter and several supervisors opposed advancing that off-site meeting without a spending plan. Patrick Monet Shaw, speaking as a private citizen, argued that moving the full board to town halls could cost "$15,000 monthly or $180,000 a year" in telecast and staffing expenses and urged supervisors not to follow the mayor "halfway" into the community if that would create added costs.
Amid recurring tension over whether a town-hall format would satisfy the voters’ intent, one supervisor moved to table the Richmond special-meeting item. The committee accepted a motion to forward the proposed board rule (Item 1) to the full board with a recommendation and to table the off-site meeting (Item 2) pending a spending plan and legal clarification from the mayor’s office.
Why it matters: Proposition I was drafted to increase direct accountability by asking the mayor to appear monthly at board meetings; the committee’s action formalizes a route for the board to insist on a standing forum if the mayor declines, while delaying an immediate off-site town-hall that the administration had proposed.
What’s next: The forwarded rule will go to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration. The Committee asked the mayor’s office to provide a full spending plan and options that address Brown Act notice and televising obligations before the board takes action on any off-site town-hall.
