Oakland Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – March 1, 2021
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Oakland Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – March 1, 2021
The Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held its regular meeting via teleconference on Monday, March 1, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Chair Michael MacDonald presided. All five commissioners present (MacDonald, Yan, Klein, Perteet, Tuman) formed a quorum. Staff reported on enforcement, disclosure, and the annual report, and commissioners approved three action items unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of February 1, 2021 Meeting Minutes: Unanimously approved (5-0). The minutes had been distributed in advance; no public or commissioner comments.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were offered on any agenda item during the meeting.
Action Items
- Public Ethics Commission Annual Report 2020: Executive Director Whitney Barazoto presented the report, highlighting 460 advice calls, 44 cases resolved, $23,000 in fines, and new data tools (Show Me the Money, lobbyist dashboard). Commissioners praised the work and suggested adding a commissioner bio and photo. The report was approved as amended (unanimous).
- Lobbyist Public Access Portal and Newly Published Datasets Demonstration: Lead Analyst Suzanne Doran demonstrated new features: sortable lobbyist directory, client search, and two automated datasets (contacts with public officials and contributions solicited by lobbyists). Commissioners noted the importance of transparency and approved the item (unanimous).
Discussion Items
- Reports on Subcommittees and Commissioner Assignments: Chair MacDonald announced the Sunshine Review Subcommittee will reconvene soon, with Commissioner Klein joining.
Information Items
- Race for Power Report (September 2020): The Commission revisited this report on campaign finance disparities. Commissioners discussed the need for voter education, training for candidates, and the potential of a democracy voucher system. No action taken.
- Disclosure and Engagement Report: Suzanne Doran reported that 58 campaign statements were filed by the February 1 deadline (73% timely), with 4 non-filers and late penalties assessed. Board/commission ethics training had 70 and 90 attendees on two days.
- Enforcement Program: Chief Kellie Johnson reported 77 open cases, including 2 new complaints. Summaries of three resolved matters were provided: dismissal of a complaint against Councilmember Kaplan (insufficient evidence), and two public records mediation closures (OPD and Mayor’s Office).
- Executive Director’s Report: Whitney Barazoto updated on commissioner recruitment (deadline March 5, 2021), budget proposals, and the shift of mediation summaries to the engagement team. One additional seat remains open for City Attorney appointment.
Key Outcomes
- Approved February 1, 2021 meeting minutes (5-0).
- Approved 2020 Annual Report as amended (5-0).
- Approved Lobbyist Portal and Datasets demonstration (5-0).
- No other votes taken; all action items passed unanimously.
- Commissioner recruitment open until March 5, 2021, for the PEC-appointed seat and the City Attorney appointee.
Meeting Transcript
Anna, do you want to go ahead and start the webinar so we can invite our participants in? We don't yet have our Vaughn. We have three commissioners. Trish, do we need to do something since um we only have three commissioners at this time? Good evening. So if we don't have a quorum, then we can't discuss or conduct any business. Okay, and we do have a quorum present. I'd like to take a second to acknowledge staff on hand. We have several staff members present tonight. Whitney Barazzotto, our executive director. We have lead analyst Suzanne Doran. Hello. Chief Kelly Johnson. Present. And we have Anna Lara Franco with us. Present. Okay, and for the city attorney staff tonight, we have uh Trishy, our deputy city attorney. President, good evening. All right. Um so next on our agenda are staff and commission announcements. Are there any staff or commissioner announcements tonight? No staff announcements. Okay, perfect. We will move right along to open forum. And open forum is a time for a member of the public to comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the public ethics commission that is not otherwise included on tonight's agenda. Under the Sunshine Ordinance, the Commission cannot discuss the substance of any public comment made that does not pertain to an item listed on tonight's agenda. Is there any public comment at this time? Okay, public comment as a reminder, you can use the raise hand function. Okay, it doesn't look like we have any public comments, so we will go ahead and move on with our agenda. The first order of business on tonight's agenda is the approval of the commission minutes for February 1st of 2021. Are there any comments on the minutes as presented from my colleagues? Okay, seeing none, do we have any public comment on the minutes? Okay, seeing no public comment, colleagues. I am then searching uh seeking a motion to approve the minutes. Is there a motion to approve? Move to approve the minutes of the meeting on February 1st. Okay, moved by Commissioner Tooman. Is there a second? Second. Commissioner Pertit. Seconded by Commissioner Pertit, and I will go ahead and call the roll on the approval of the minutes. Commissioner Tooman. Aye. Commissioner Pertit. Aye. Commissioner Klein. Hi. Vice Chair Ian. Hi. And I too vote aye.
openpublica.com