Oakland Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – June 8, 2022
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Oakland Public Ethics Commission Regular Meeting – June 8, 2022
The Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held its regular meeting via teleconference on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting included consideration of virtual meeting continuation, approval of prior meeting minutes, an enforcement referral, subcommittee updates, and information reports. Commissioners also addressed the departure of Executive Director Whitney Barazoto and two commissioner vacancies. The meeting adjourned after a closed session on personnel.
Preliminary Action Items
- Virtual Meetings (Resolution 22-01 Renewal): The Commission unanimously approved the renewal of Resolution 22-01, determining that in-person meetings pose imminent health risks due to COVID-19 and electing to continue teleconferencing under AB 361. The vote was 5-0 (Commissioners Perteet, Micik, Tuman, Upton, Hill in favor; Commissioner Tuman absent from the prior meeting but present now).
Approval of Meeting Minutes
- April 13, 2022 Regular Meeting Minutes: Approved 4-0 with one abstention (Commissioner Upton, who was not yet appointed at that meeting).
- April 21–22, 2022 Special Meeting Minutes: Approved 5-0.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Open Forum:
- Michael MacDonald (former Commissioner): Thanked the Commission and staff; expressed strong support for public financing as a tool to combat corrupting influence of outsized campaign spending and urged the Commission to continue pushing the issue. He also recommended Commissioner Micik for Vice-Chair.
- Asara Oligbala (telephone): Criticized proposed expansions of voting rights (e.g., allowing 16- and 17-year-olds and non-citizen parents to vote in school board elections) and expressed concern that the Oakland Fair Elections Act would similarly lower standards. She opposed the proposal.
- On Item 6 (Ener Chiu enforcement): Michael MacDonald offered to serve as a hearing officer, noting his experience as former chair/vice-chair.
Discussion Items
- Item 7 – Reports on Subcommittees:
- Enforcement Subcommittee (Ad Hoc): Chair Perteet proposed putting the subcommittee on hold due to workload, but Commissioner Micik urged keeping the goal of having commissioners hear a case this year. The subcommittee will continue with discussions on training and logistics.
- Public Records Performance Subcommittee (Ad Hoc): Commissioner Upton, the sole remaining member, recommended pausing until new commissioners are appointed. The subcommittee was effectively dissolved.
- Fair Elections Act Subcommittee (Ad Hoc): Chair Hill reported that the subcommittee met on Monday, June 6, and discussed proposed edits. No formal action needed unless the proposal changes substantially.
- New Outreach/Commissioner Recruitment Subcommittee: Chair Perteet announced the creation of an ad hoc subcommittee focused on PEC outreach and commissioner recruitment. Commissioners Hill and Upton volunteered; Upton will serve as chair.
- Item 8 – Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Limits 2022 Update: Lead Analyst Suzanne Doran explained that after the Redistricting Commission adopted new district boundaries (Map F5), staff recalculated expenditure ceilings based on 2020 census population. Ceilings increased citywide by 8.70%–20.26% per district. No further action needed.
- Item 9 – Disclosure and Engagement Report: Doran summarized activities: compliance reviews of 2022 candidates, lobbyist disclosure (357 contacts, $221,000 in client payments in Q1), website updates, and training (82 new employees trained, 350+ completed ethics training). No questions.
- Item 10 – Enforcement Program Update: Enforcement Chief Kellie Johnson reported an uptick in new complaints (5 new since April), bringing total open cases to 49. Complexity of cases also increased. Staff recommended a hearing for the Ener Chiu matter (Item 6).
- Item 11 – Executive Director’s Report: Whitney Barazoto highlighted five key priorities: (1) ED recruitment/hiring, (2) commissioner outreach, (3) Democracy Dollars policy (if ballot measure passes), (4) proactive prevention (new ticket policy training, candidate education), and (5) focused enforcement. She also noted the need for an additional enforcement team member in the next budget cycle. Commissioners thanked Barazoto for her service.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 22-01 Renewed (5-0) – Continued virtual meetings.
- Minutes Approved – April 13 regular and April 21–22 special minutes adopted.
- Ener Chiu Case (Case No. 18-16) Referred to Hearing Officer – The Commission voted 5-0 to accept staff’s recommendation to have the matter heard by a former PEC commissioner (rather than an ALJ), with the hearing likely in August or September 2022. The Enforcement Subcommittee will receive training on hearing procedures.
- Subcommittees: Enforcement Subcommittee continued; Public Records Performance Subcommittee dissolved; new Outreach/Commissioner Recruitment Subcommittee formed (Upton chair, Hill member).
- Future Meeting Business: The Commission agreed to recess in July 2022 (no regular meeting) and reconvene in August. A special closed session meeting for ED recruitment may be scheduled. The election of a new Vice-Chair will be placed on the August agenda.
- Closed Session: The Commission met in closed session to consider the appointment/employment of the next Executive Director. No reportable actions were announced.
Meeting Transcript
Are we ready to start, Michael? Are we recording? The webinar has started, and I believe K Top has started recording. Okay, thank you. Good evening, everyone. Um, welcome everyone to the I guess it's June, June 2022 meeting of the Oakland Public Equities Commission. We have a quorum. We'll start with roll call. Commissioner Mitchell. Commissioner Tooman. She is here. And Commissioner Perth, I am also here. So we do have a quorum, and all the members currently sitting on the commission are seated tonight. I'll start with commission announcements. Um, since our last regular commission meeting, we've had two vacancies, two resignations. Commissioner Levitt are resigned. So we do have two commission positions open. Um is um appointed by the city attorney, and the other is uh position that's selected by the commission. So we will discuss that later, things that we need to do or will be doing with respect to those openings. So those are the announcements for related to the commission. Are there any other commission announcements? Any staff announcements? No staff announcements. Okay, I'll let executive direct director Barrizona get away with that for the moment that there are no staff announcements. But um, we'll move to item number three, um, which is open form, open form is a time for a member of the public to comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the PEC that is not otherwise included in 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 the agenda. Is there any public comment? So I will look to see who we have. Um Mr. McDonald, Michael McDonald, we will give you three minutes for public comment. Hi there, colleagues. Can you hear me? Yes. Okay, great. Well, thank you so much for the opportunity. I wanted to join the meeting tonight uh just to thank my colleagues again for for working with them. And you know, I apologize for my abrupt resignation. I had this opportunity down in Ventura County that I couldn't pass by, and I also couldn't pass by not attending tonight because I I really didn't have the opportunity to say thank you to staff. You know, I know I've said it in the past, uh, but you know, I've worked for three different public agencies, and I I've spent the past 10 years in in public service, and really this is the most dedicated staff that I've worked with. I think the commission is extremely lucky to have executive director Barrizotto for the little bit of time left. Uh, and I wanted to say thank you to you. It's been really a pleasure working with you, but I also wanted to thank the rest of the staff, Chief Johnson, Suzanne, uh, everyone, really. Um, it's it's it's been a really rewarding experience for me, and I I really look forward to being able to take some of the concepts that we worked on and some of the ideas that we worked on as a commission down to Ventura County. And so, you know, just again, I I wanted to just say thank you to everyone, and it's it was a really great experience, and I I truly enjoyed working with the staff. And in closing, I I wanted to just say as well, and I know this is a uh discussion item tonight, but you know, one of the most vital tools that we have to combat corrupting influence of outsized campaign spending and public financing, or excuse me, is public financing, and I think it's imperative that this commission continue to push the issue of public financing and working towards uh combating that corrupting influence of our outside money and our corporations, and I really look forward to watching the commission take this issue on. I'm here as a resource. I am a city clerk, so I continue to do this work in my professional capacity while I'm in a different jurisdiction. It's the the same work, and I'm happy to be here as a resource. I look forward to following along as the commission chooses their next executive director, and I hope that I can participate in some way. If there's an external panel of some sort, or if there's uh any, you know, type of way that I can contribute by reviewing uh questions or qualifications, I'm happy to do that as well.
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