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Public silenced at library commission
By: Brent Begin
08/05/09 3:27 PM PDT
Jewelle Gomez, president of the Library Commission, was sent a stern letter from the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force today for violating open government laws.
Gomez broke the rules at a June 4 meeting when she silenced a member of the public who attempted to speak during the open public comment period at the beginning of the meeting, according to the task force.
The member of the public, by the way, just happened to be a member of the sunshine task force as well, Sue Cauthen. Gomez told Cauthen she could not speak on a specific matter about the North Beach Branch Library because the issue would come up later on the agenda, but Cauthen claims the comments had nothing to do with the later item.
Sunshine advocates such as Cauthen and Peter Warfield are fixtures at Library Commission meetings and claim that the commission has a long history of shushing their concerns.
The task force voted 6-0, with Cauthen recused, to sustain the complaint. There are no fines for the violation, but the letter does offer some advice:
“The Task Force encourages you to review with counsel the Sunshine Ordinance and Brown Act provisions regarding public comment at public meetings in order to foster an environment that will both encourage public participation and ensure adherence to the agenda at future meetings of the Commission.”
Another word of advice, when denying a member of the sunshine task force the chance to speak, best check first with the deputy city attorney who is paid to attend those meetings.
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