Sunlight Foundation in 2012

Last April we posted about Teresa Barth being recognized by the Sunlight Foundation for her letter to the editor regarding a Sunlight Ordinance for Encinitas City Government.  Capitalized for emphasis as this was also a campaign theme for both Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz.

This was only one of several posts here at Encinitas You Need Us tagged sunshine. If you scroll to the very bottom of the page you'll find our permanent link to Sunlight Foundation.

This theme will continue to be central to our political posting here.  Check out the video below for the many offerings from this organization that can help us all shine bright lights at our city government, dark money magnets like We Love Encinitas, our shady Congressman Issa and much more.

Tell-A-Vision: Encinitas Sees Us

Here is a vision for tomorrow.  No, really, tomorrow as in Wednesday, October 24th, the last Encinitas City Council Meeting before the election for a new city council.  Even though activists are usually working on researching the agenda packet to be prepared to speak, another approach just might be timely.

What about our preferred council candidates Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz speaking at Oral Communications about the overwhelming support for change in the council members?  After more than a year of meet-ups, events, canvassing, flyer handouts and campaign writing, filming and every day spontaneous testimonials from voters - they have so many stories to tell.  Picture council commissions filled with some of the best-qualified and most council interactive dialogs.

Similarly, our regular council-viewing community have their own stories from others to share.  In three minutes each can give the idea of the sheer numbers of people contacted listened to, written about and befriended during this election year.

See, the council majority has proven over the last 12 years that Jerome Stocks is not only immune to fact-based criticism, he thrives on retaliation and revenge. Muir is the weighted right hand and Bond is over.  Without these players, Gaspar is . . . alone and pettiness or petulance won't be indulged.

What about describing the long silenced minority running the show? Give examples of innovative ideas - like bioremediation of the contaminated soils - and how a transparent, interested council might treat the subject.  Share your daydream of how the city manager might be effective in removing obstacles and challenging the staff to provide more and better support.

How would a council without fear of public discussion of financial strategies and risks envisioned to move back room, highly complex subjects into a series of intelligible forums. There are so many business friendly ideas and insights Lisa and Tony have to share.

All kinds of people have stories they've gathered of an active general population craving more support for walkable streets, more open space enhancement, community gardens, healthy air / oceans / wetlands and our urban forest.  Just standing and reciting lists of things like this - with a big broad smile (and maybe even a blub or two) would bring a glad hearted feeling to the many, many people who are watching from home.

Oh, and what fantastic clips my dears.

Councilwoman Barth's Letter to the Editor

I have long been a champion of Open Government and the Peoples Right to Know. I also believe government should welcome the public’s participation in the decision making process.

In California, the cornerstone of openness and transparency in government is the Brown Act. This is the state’s open meeting law that requires local governments to prepare and post agendas for public meetings and disclose decisions made in closed meetings. Because these requirements are considered to be a state mandate the state must reimburse the cities, counties and other agencies for the costs associated with these requirements

When the state budget was adopted, the money to reimburse those costs was cut from the budget. By suspending the mandate, the state also suspended the requirement to continue posting public meeting agendas.

Without public notice of where and when meetings are scheduled and what business is to be addressed the public is shut out of the decision making process. Furthermore, actions taken in closed sessions may never be revealed to the public.

In such cases the public will have no basis for challenging the secrecy and no remedy for correcting it.

That is why I requested that this issue be placed on the August 15 council agenda, the first meeting after the summer recess, to ensure that in Encinitas, the Brown Act requirements and all legal remedies will be enforced. [ed. bold]

It is critical that the City of Encinitas send a clear message to the citizens that we value open government and public participation. I believe the city council will agree and will join other cities in reaffirming our support for the agenda and disclosure requirements.

Show your support for open government by contacting the city council and let them know you want the city to continue with the current Brown Act posting and action disclosure requirements and their enforceability by any of the judicial remedies provided in the Brown Act.

You can also help to ensure a permanent, statewide solution. Senator Leland Yee’s Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 7 would place on the statewide ballot a simple constitutional requirement: “Each public body shall provide public notice of its meetings and shall publicly disclose any action taken.” If approved by the voters, it becomes the law and could not be “suspended” again without a vote of the public.

However, this bill is stuck in the Appropriations Committee. Contact Assemblymember Fuentes, Chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and Speaker of the Assembly John Perez and let them know you want SCA 7 (Yee) released from the Appropriations Committee suspense file and to allow the bill to go to the full assembly for a vote.

Hon. Felipe Fuentes (Chair) Email assemblymember.fuentes@assembly.ca.gov
Hon. John A. Pérez (Assembly Speaker) Email speaker.perez@assembly.ca.gov


Teresa Arballo Barth
Councilwoman
City of Encinitas

Holy Blogosphere!

Sunlight Weekly Roundup: "The right of the people to know what their government is doing is fundamental to democracy”

"Bridget Todd
March 16, 2012

California Councilwoman Teresa Barth recently wrote an open letter publicizing her support for increased government transparency. In the letter, Barth maintains that Encinitas, California needs stronger transparency laws. She writes, “At the June 10, 2009 City Council meeting, I proposed a citizen’s task force to work with staff to craft a Sunshine Ordinance for Encinitas. My colleagues said the city was already in compliance with existing laws and a Sunshine Ordinance was not necessary. I believe we should set a higher goal. We should strive to do the 'Best Not the Least.'" She urges all citizens to tell the city council to support a Sunshine Ordinance. She argues, “The right of the people to know what their government is doing is fundamental to democracy.” For the whole story, check out her post on Coast News."

Holy Blogosphere! Our very own Mayor in Exile, Teresa Barth, was recognized by a state-wide blog for her fierce support for government transparency and it makes us proud. The pride is for a lot of things like advocacy for open government, like her constant reminders to her colleagues that 21st century tools, technology and challenges must be incorporated into the city’s rules and processes; like listening to all the voices around the state, the coastal cities next door and the city neighborhoods and for keeping up with bloggers, Facebook connections, local events and organizations.

Last week she featured the blogosphere in her weekly newsletter and it’s with real gratitude we honor her today as a champion of the young, of change and 21st century tools and above all for paying attention to what matters. By those newsletter links alone Teresa Barth may have opened a world of new communication avenues to people who may never have considered stopping by each day to check what is posted at Encinitas You Need Us blog, Our Mayor blog, Encinitas Undercover blog, Encinitas Taxpayers Association blog or the Leucadia Blog. Barth has inspired the link love here and connections to these blogs named along with Teresa Barth’s website and two great candidates will be located now in the sidebar.

This Sunlight Foundation statewide blog who honored Barth is another really good resource. It will be given some link love too, along with some others we think activists might discover as good sources of information.

Sunshine Ordinance Supporters

Candidates for Encinitas City Council, Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz have actively supported the adoption of a Sunshine Ordinance for our community.

In January and February, both Lisa and Tony spoke at city council regarding one of open government primary themes, records retention. Encinitas You Need Us included clips here.

Visit Lisa Shaffer's website where, among many campaign features, the following excerpt on relevance for a Sunshine Ordinance, in council news this past year.

"The City Council wisely agreed not to protest a court order to pay legal fees resulting from failure to release a report that was requested by a member of the public.  Even the UT sees how wrong the Council majority was to try to withhold the report."

"On January 18, there is an item on the agenda to approve destruction of public records that are two years old.  Given that it sometimes takes more than two years to figure out that something wrong has happened, it's a dangerous practice to destroy public records.  In fact, in the case referred to above, when the City was ordered to release emails and other documents relevant to the case, the response was that the records no longer exist.  This is wrong.  We need a Sunshine Ordinance that would, among other things, protect correspondence and other public documents for at least 7 years."

Tony Kranz has repeatedly appeared before the city council to request that a Sunshine Ordinance be placed on the agenda. Tony's website has recently been updated and an excerpt related to a Sunshine Ordinance follows: 

"It took a judge’s order for the city to release the draft document from a $100,000 consultant’s report. Thousands of dollars were spent by the city on their own legal defense, and having lost in court, the city had to pay for the other guy’s attorney. Citizens shouldn’t have to file a lawsuit to get government documents (not subject to privacy laws) released. I will make sure that the city adopts and implements policies that will make it unlikely these matters will have to be fought in court."

 A vote for Lisa Shaffer and a vote for Tony Kranz in November would give this community a strong group with Teresa already seated on the council.  It could be the ending of a particularly secretive approach to governance in favor of transparency and sunshine.

This Is What Sunshine Looks Like

Leucadia residents in particular will remember three years ago when 11 trees were cut down by the city at Orpheus Park and the mean spirited emails about Teresa Barth, Paul Ecke Central Elementary School teachers by Dalager, Stocks and Bond to staff and the outside world from their city computer accounts. These councilmen chose to take little to no responsibility.

Conversely, Councilor Barth remained consistent in attempting to serve the residents' best interests. She was treated very badly, yet chose to take responsibility as a public official for the despicable failure the city demonstrated.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Sunshine Ordinance

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported?

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention.

Introducing Oliver and Duff yesterday as the new guys, was intended as a welcome by proxy of a large community of people who may, like both Olivier and Duff, have just begun learning the ropes at Encinitas City Hall. Begging indulgence, I’d like to use their recent experiences specifically with this GPU snapshot in time to frame the idea of enforceable proscriptions through a Sunshine Ordinance’s in Encinitas.

The new guys give us the fresh eyes of what the city appears to be saying and doing. We’ll use these new guys’ experience of last fall’s melodramatic council majority and crony outrage tour de force. Veterans have watched this particular road show over the years to create political fanfare in an election season. So the tendency could be, “nothing to see here folks, move along, it’ politics as usual for this crew.”

But the new guys are mobilized to protect their own, and speak out. Moreover, though it initially sounded like they took the city's mayor, staff and seemingly reliable business people at their word that their best interests are at last going to be recognized and appreciated; now it grow more apparent that there is an unfolding understanding of more. 

Today's Sunshine Ordinance tip isn't a lesson in how the law reads as the newspapers (in print and online) will be filled with these facts all week. This citizen tip is for all newly activated people in New Encinitas and the other four communities regarding much needed sunshine on the General Plan Update, the ERAC and other council majority-inspired antics. Be aware of these dubious points and the potential violation each represents under current state laws:

• Pre-arranged or serial meetings amongst three or more council members. 
• Misrepresenting city contracts and procedures for political positioning. 
• Acting on non-agendized actions within meetings. 
• Misstating staff involvement in agenda
• Forming an advisory group without public disclosure; including applicant information or criteria for selection. 
• Changing meeting times without adequate notification and lawful time requirements. 
• Unstated goals and mission for citizen advisory group. 
• Unrecorded (that is, no city video) meetings for advisory group. 
• No accountability for . . . whatever lies ahead sans consultant contract or staff mandate. 
• No timeline or budget targets and no measure of success outside mayor and deputy mayor’s private targets. 

This list is speculative as the budget at Encintias You Need Us for investigative time (zero) and resources (zero) disallow pursuing the full truth of each. Please consider the following as homework; pick 1 or all:

1        email the mayor and deputy mayor to say you are watching and you want sunshine / full transparency:

·  Mayor Jerome Stocks jstocks@encinitasca.gov

·  Deputy Mayor Kristin Gaspar kgaspar@encinitasca.gov

2        email Teresa Barth to thank her for initiating Sunshine Ordinance goals for Encinitas for years now.

·  Teresa Barth tbarth@encinitasca.gov

3        watch for Patch and Coast News articles this week and please leave comments on articles related to Sunshine and Transparency in City Government.  

These are the dues for now, go and demand some sunshine. That is all.

Leading Sunshine Ordinance Advocate for Encinitas

Councilor Teresa Barth shared personal background regarding the theme of transparency in government during this June 10, 2009 city council meeting. Just good enough was not then or now a goal she supports.  Keeping expectations tiny is not what Encinitas citizens should aim for in their community's governance.

Three years later, after a successful 2010 campaign and despite being the only minority voice on the city council, Teresa Barth is still advocating for open government.



More video clips from this June 10, 2009 meeting where the Sunshine Ordinance policy for the city of Encintas was agendized and discussed (in itself a major victory), will be shared this Sunshine Week.