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Record of Proceedings

Alameda Open Government Commission Meeting - February 2, 2026

City Council — Monday, February 2, 2026
BodyAlameda, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, February 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 23:13

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
1:15

Looks like it's seven o'clock.

1:16

Can we call the meeting to order?

1:18

Can roll call.

1:22

Let me see if I could do this in right order here.

1:25

Okay.

1:26

Commissioners Bowling.

1:30

Harris.

1:30

Here.

1:31

Schwartz.

1:32

Here.

1:32

Tilos?

1:32

Yes.

1:33

Chair Miley.

1:34

Five present.

1:35

Alright, thank you.

1:36

Uh Madam City Clerk.

1:38

Uh second item on our agenda tonight is non-agenda public comment.

1:42

Do we have any speakers online?

1:44

We do not.

1:45

Alright, seeing none in the audience, uh, we will move to item number three, uh regular agenda items.

1:52

Uh item three A is a selection of chair and vice chair.

1:56

Um I believe on this item.

1:59

Uh we did this uh about this time last year.

2:02

Uh and so I I think it's kind of open for commission discussion, or if there's uh any commissioner who would like to raise their hand to uh kind of jump in the queue or um make a nomination.

2:16

Um I'll take those uh from the floor.

2:18

I believe we would be uh tradition would have it typically that the vice chair would step into the chair role and uh we'd be looking for a uh vice chair nomination as well.

2:32

I think that that plan is great.

2:34

Um I was gonna nominate Zach Bowling anyways, yeah.

2:37

Okay, I'll I'll go ahead and second that.

2:40

Um we'll take that as a motion.

2:42

All right, super.

2:43

Um Commissioner Tilos.

2:45

Oh, do we wanna vote on that one?

2:48

Uh uh, we have a motion.

2:50

Yeah, we have a motion and uh I was just gonna make sure there was no comment.

2:55

Discussion.

2:56

All right, Madam City Clerk, can you call a roll?

2:58

Sure.

2:59

Um Commissioners uh Bowling.

3:03

Yes.

3:04

Harris.

3:06

Harris?

3:07

Yes.

3:07

Okay.

3:08

Uh Schwartz.

3:09

Yes.

3:09

Tilos.

3:10

Yes.

3:11

Miley.

3:11

That carries by five ice.

3:13

All right.

3:13

Uh do we have uh a nomination for a vice chair this evening?

3:18

Who's interested?

3:20

Key question.

3:23

Sub in for if we have one other meeting this year.

3:27

If the chair isn't present, uh climate comment.

3:32

Usually what we well in the past, we don't have to follow this, but since we're following precedent here that the vice chair moved on to be the chair, usually we sort of get the newer members of the board to take the vice chair position.

3:44

This way everyone gets an opportunity to be the chair.

3:48

I've done it.

3:49

Um of course you've done it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████84%
Procedural█████████16%
Summary of Proceedings

Alameda Open Government Commission Meeting - February 2, 2026

The Alameda Open Government Commission met on February 2, 2026, at 7:00 PM. All five commissioners were present: Chair Miley, Commissioners Bowling, Harris, Schwartz, and Tilos. The meeting included the election of a new chair and vice chair, approval of minutes and the 2025 annual report, and public comments on transparency issues.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jay Garfinkel spoke twice during the meeting. He criticized the city for not explaining redactions in public records, called for more transparency in government, and noted that the city does not track staff time for public records requests. He also referenced an incident involving Councilwoman Spencer and urged the commission to recommend a citizens committee to improve openness. He further commented on the limitation of public comment time and the elimination of non-agenda public comment at council meetings.

Discussion Items

  • Selection of Chair and Vice Chair: Commissioner Bowling was nominated for chair by Commissioner Tilos and seconded by Commissioner Schwartz. The motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Harris was nominated for vice chair by Commissioner Bowling and seconded by Commissioner Tilos. The motion also passed unanimously. The current chair continued to run the remainder of the meeting.
  • Approval of October 6, 2025 Meeting Minutes: The minutes were discussed briefly, moved by an unnamed commissioner, seconded, and approved unanimously.
  • Approval of the 2025 Annual Report: The City Clerk presented the report. Key statistics included 594 next request cases, 860 department-level responses (due to requests hitting multiple departments), and 4,705 documents produced. Of the 594 requests, 308 identified as an agency, company, or law firm; 467 provided a city address, with 114 from Alameda. Commissioners praised the report and requested future comparisons. The City Clerk noted that no departments track time in hours. Commissioner Tilos suggested adding year-over-year comparisons in future reports. Public comment from Jay Garfinkel reiterated the need for explanation of redactions. The report was approved unanimously.
  • Staff Communications: The City Clerk announced a sunshine ordinance provision that prohibits accepting complaints against city council members or officially declared candidates within 45 days of a city election (November 3, 2026), meaning complaints will not be accepted from September 19 through the election. Commissioners noted that the 15-day filing deadline still applies.

Key Outcomes

  • Zach Bowling was elected as Chair, and Commissioner Harris as Vice Chair, effective at the next meeting.
  • Meeting minutes from October 6, 2025 were approved unanimously.
  • The 2025 Annual Report was approved unanimously.
  • The commission acknowledged the upcoming restriction on accepting complaints against council members and candidates from September 19 to November 3, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Looks like it's seven o'clock. Can we call the meeting to order? Can roll call. Let me see if I could do this in right order here. Okay. Commissioners Bowling. Harris. Here. Schwartz. Here. Tilos? Yes. Chair Miley. Five present. Alright, thank you. Uh Madam City Clerk. Uh second item on our agenda tonight is non-agenda public comment. Do we have any speakers online? We do not. Alright, seeing none in the audience, uh, we will move to item number three, uh regular agenda items. Uh item three A is a selection of chair and vice chair. Um I believe on this item. Uh we did this uh about this time last year. Uh and so I I think it's kind of open for commission discussion, or if there's uh any commissioner who would like to raise their hand to uh kind of jump in the queue or um make a nomination. Um I'll take those uh from the floor. I believe we would be uh tradition would have it typically that the vice chair would step into the chair role and uh we'd be looking for a uh vice chair nomination as well. I think that that plan is great. Um I was gonna nominate Zach Bowling anyways, yeah. Okay, I'll I'll go ahead and second that. Um we'll take that as a motion. All right, super. Um Commissioner Tilos. Oh, do we wanna vote on that one? Uh uh, we have a motion. Yeah, we have a motion and uh I was just gonna make sure there was no comment. Discussion. All right, Madam City Clerk, can you call a roll? Sure. Um Commissioners uh Bowling. Yes. Harris. Harris? Yes. Okay. Uh Schwartz. Yes. Tilos. Yes. Miley. That carries by five ice.

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