Opinion By : sfchronicle – excerpt
I’ve always been an aspiring muckraker. Years ago, in my hometown of Portland, Ore,, I immersed myself in local and state politics, and watched the “sausage” get made as a lobbyist in the Oregon State Legislature. I was appalled at the often-questionable actions taking place behind closed doors. A state senator once told me he wouldn’t consider a bill to reduce diesel pollution on school buses because the Big Oil lobbyist “got here first.”…
San Francisco’s Sunshine Ordinance was enacted by the Board of Supervisors in 1993 with the goal making the inner workings of local government more transparent and accountable to city residents.
“Government’s duty,” according to the ordinance, “is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public.”
I joined the SOTF to be help empower citizens to better understand their local government and call out officials for non-compliant behavior. My time on the task force, however, has made clear that the Sunshine Ordinance is failing.
We aren’t exposing corruption. Instead, we’re a cog in the over-bureaucratization of democracy…(more)