September 14, 2010

SUNSHINE ORDINANCE TASK FORCE
COMPLIANCE AND AMENDMENTS COMMITTEE

 

Committee Members: Allyson Washburn, David Snyder, Richard Knee, Bruce Wolfe, Hope Johnson

Call to Order: 4:00 p.m. Quorum reached at 5 p.m.

Roll Call: Present: Knee, Wolfe, Johnson
Excused: Washburn
Absent: Snyder

Deputy City Attorney: Jana Clark (not present)
Clerk: Chris Rustom

Agenda Changes: Member Johnson chaired the meeting in Chair Washburn’s absence

1.		Approval of March 9, 2010, meeting minutes. Motion to approve March 9, 2010, regular meeting. ( Knee / Wolfe ) Public Comment: None On the motion: Ayes: Knee, Wolfe, Johnson Motion passes.
2.		Approval of August 10, 2010, meeting minutes. Motion to continue matter to October 12, 2010, regular meeting minutes. Without objection
3.	10030	Hearing on status of the August 28, 2010, Order of Determination of Michael Wright against the Human Services Agency. Complainant Michael Wright said the respondent has failed to appear further demonstrating the seriousness and willful misconduct and the total disregard for the people’s interest and Task Force members as well. The letter submitted by the Human Services Agency shows that they are not dealing in good faith. He said the letter mentions a restraining order against him filed by Joyce Crum and Briana Moore. The truth, he said, was that a judge denied their request and told them that if they feel threatened by his presence to walk on the other side of the hallway. If he was in the elevator they were told not to get in it, he said. The judge, he said, ruled that he was not going to prevent Mr. Wright from advocating for himself, the homeless people and the physically and mentally handicapped residents. The judge ruled, he said, that Ms. Crum and Ms. Moore were ordered to stay five feet away from him. He said he has been to at least three Shelter Monitoring meetings where Ms. Crum, Ms. Moore and he were in the same room after the judge had issued the restraining order. The claims made in the Agency’s September 14 memo are another example of fraud and serious willful misconduct, he said. The respondent was not present. There was no one in the audience to present facts and evidence on behalf of the respondent. Member Wolfe asked Mr. Wright if he had any documentation to support the claims he just made. Mr. Wright said he would produce the documents at the September 28 meeting. Acting Chair Johnson wanted to know if Mr. Wright had been asked to the leave the Shelter Monitoring meetings because of the restraining order. Mr. Wright said he had not been asked to leave. Mr. Wright, while noting that Ms. Crum and Ms. Moore were black, said that he has had a good four-year working relationship with Bernice Casey, a white female who is also a policy analyst with the Shelter Monitoring Committee. This, he said, shows that he does not have a problem working with females. Ms. Crum and Ms. Moore, he claimed, were afraid of him because of what would happen if he took them to a federal court for not standing up for their clients. In conclusion, Mr. Wright said Human Services Agency Executive Director Trent Rhorer’s September 14 letter was giving him grounds to file a complaint with the Ethics Commission because of fraudulent information. Motion to refer matter to the Task Force with a recommendation that it be forwarded to the Ethics Commission for enforcement. ( Knee / Wolfe ) Member Knee said the Agency was ordered to send a knowledgeable representative to the meeting and had not. He said the Agency was instructed to show the Committee a written policy specifying how the Agency would abide by Section 67.4(a) of the Sunshine Ordinance and it had not. He said he did not accept Mr. Rhorer’s reasoning for non-appearance at the meeting because a request for security personnel was not made. Furthermore, he said, it was the Task Force’s decision to find or not find whether the San Francisco Human Services Agency Housing and Homeless Division Shelter and Resource Center Directors’ group was a passive meeting body. It was not the respondent’s role, he said. Public Comment: None On the motion: Ayes: Knee, Wolfe, Johnson Motion passes. Acting Chair Johnson asked that the respondents provide a copy of the restraining order if they decide not to appear at the September 28 hearing. She said the document was needed because the restraining order was in dispute.
4.		Administrator’s Report. Mr. Rustom made the report. Public Comment: None
5.		Public Comment on items not listed on the agenda: None.
6.		Announcements, questions, and future agenda items from Committee members. None
Adjournment                                                                                               The meeting adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
This meeting has been audio recorded and is on file in the office of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force