OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Oakland Public Ethics Commission Annual Retreat - August 26, 2023

Public Ethics Commission — Saturday, August 26, 2023
BodyOakland, California
SessionPublic Ethics Commission
DateSaturday, August 26, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
2:13

You're gonna be much more effective not reading off the speaking from the heart.

2:19

Great, great matter.

2:25

All right, well, it's 3 01, and I think um, you know, we've got a couple of commissioners that uh are running a little late that they'll be here, but I think we can go ahead and get started in the meantime.

2:38

Um are we on okay, great.

2:43

So welcome all to the Oakland Public Ethics Commission annual retreat.

2:50

Um this is a less formal kind of environment uh where we're going to be discussing goals and priorities.

2:58

Um, and but we still it is still an official meeting, and I'm gonna start out by taking the role.

3:03

Uh Vice Chair Hill present.

3:06

Uh Commissioner Gage is absent right now, but she mentioned that she's coming.

3:10

Uh Commissioner Pertit is absent right now.

3:13

Commissioner Steele.

3:14

Right.

3:15

Uh Commissioner Upton.

3:17

And I am present, so we have a forum, and I'll also note that we have staff presence and uh staff is gonna play a large role uh as participants in this.

3:30

So I'll mention our executive director and less hydorn, uh our lead analyst uh Suzanne Duran.

3:37

Uh we have uh Analara Franco, we have uh uh Simon Rustel Russell, our chief investigator.

3:45

Uh we have Kristen Zones here, and we have uh Jelani Fillings here, who which is a uh rare treat for us at our meetings.

3:52

So uh happy to see him.

3:54

Uh Trisha Shapey, our uh deputy city attorney is running a few minutes late as well.

4:01

Um but uh uh looking forward to a good discussion with everyone here today.

4:07

Uh so we'll move on to item number two, which is staff and commission announcements.

4:11

Are there any announcements?

4:15

All right, we'll move on to item three, which is open forum.

4:18

Actually, oh sorry, go ahead.

4:21

You know, for staff and commission announcements, just a reminder that we're gonna be uh taking our recess in September, so we won't be having our September.

4:32

All right, so yes, yes, just to invite participants um at any time when we're having a break or in between.

4:40

Um we're gonna be talking a lot about narrowing things down today, but I want to have one place where people could put their dreams or venture type thing.

4:48

So anytime you feel like this is focused on the closure program, but please feel free to close this with your with your ideas of what you want to see for us.

4:58

That's great.

5:00

So open forum.

5:03

So open forum is the first uh time that we'll be taking public comment right now.

5:09

We also have uh specific times that we are planning to take public comment over the course um of this meeting.

5:17

Um right after our welcome and icebreaker, we are going to break for public comment again.

5:22

Uh if someone would like to talk about something uh that's on uh the agenda, which is just open, it's the retreat.

5:30

Um and then we have public comment after um presentations by uh Nicholas and Suzanne and uh by Charlotte and Jelani uh right before our dinner break.

5:43

Uh that would be the second set public comment time, and then we're gonna have public comment again at the end of the evening.

5:49

Um so that said, those are the times that I'm going to be asking for public comment.

5:54

Um, but if at the end of any of these individual discussions, um there is any member of the public that really wants to uh give some feedback or participate in that moment, uh, go ahead and make a gesture and we'll try to fit that in.

6:13

Um yes.

6:19

Um so uh with that said, um, we'll go into open forum.

6:23

So open forum is a time, remember the public comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the PEC that is not included on tonight's agenda.

6:32

And uh we do urge members of the public not to make the complaints or ask the commission to investigate alleged violations um in this forum uh because public disclosure of such complaints may undermine any subsequent investigation that we would undertake.

6:50

So if you are here to ask for an investigation or make a complaint um uh about an official or someone else under our jurisdiction, we would ask that you do that in writing to ethics commission at openca.gov and uh then you will get assistance for filing a complaint or just speak privately to um uh uh to a staff member uh for assistance on how to go ahead and make that request for a complaint.

7:20

So um so that said, I will say that we have um open forum right now.

7:27

Is there any public comment for open forum?

7:30

Yeah, okay, go ahead, and we generally ask you to keep your comment to three minutes, please.

7:35

Okay, you haven't said that please.

7:38

I don't want to speak specifically to this.

7:42

I just want to make reference that the delay.

7:47

All right, that uh this should be on the fast track, and the reason I'm saying it should be on the fast track, uh, Mr.

7:55

Chair, is because it's a violation of the state constitution, and so uh which would suggest that it doesn't have to be along the uh given the queue if you if you said I don't want to speak to this specifically, I just want to speak to the timing in which uh the uh there should not be any delay on this matter uh because of the severity of the issue, and it should be pushed up in the queue because the activity that is currently going on right now is involving certain members of city staff within the context of uh measure X and Measure X on the November 8, 2022 is offensive of the state constitution, article two section 8D of a single subject rule.

9:16

So my request is that this be pushed up in the queue because the investigation should not take take that long, and that's my request.

9:28

I don't want to speak to the to the matter.

9:31

I'm just want to speak to the timing in which this matter should be addressed.

9:38

Thank you.

9:39

Thank you very much.

9:42

Are there any other comments for public forum?

9:49

All right, so we are going to move on to our name meet of our retreat right now and our retreat agenda.

10:00

And I'm going to uh hand it over to our executive director, Nicholas, uh, to uh kick off and welcome.

10:10

Great.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Ethics█████████████████████████████29%
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Public Records Management██████████████14%
Procedural██████████10%
Enforcement Program Report████████8%
Miscellaneous███████7%
Subcommittee Management█████5%
Public Records████4%
Election Policy███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Oakland Public Ethics Commission Annual Retreat - August 26, 2023

The Oakland Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held its annual retreat on August 26, 2023, from approximately 3:01 PM to after 7:00 PM. Commissioners, staff, and members of the public discussed and prioritized the commission's work for the next one to two years across policy, disclosure, outreach, subcommittees, and enforcement. The retreat resulted in a roadmap for staff to develop, with a vote planned for October.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Open Forum – Speaker (unnamed, regarding Measure X): Urged the commission to fast-track an investigation into an alleged violation of the state constitution’s single-subject rule related to Measure X (November 8, 2022). Stated that any delay is unacceptable given the severity of the issue.
  • David Shore (Common Cause/BayPEC Coalition): Expressed strong support for the commission's outreach efforts and noted that they are already working on recruiting applicants for the PEC. Offered continued collaboration.
  • Vince (Oakland resident): Attended to learn more about the commission's work, noting a recent article about upcoming openings for commissioners. Thanked the commission for welcoming him.

Discussion Items

Policy Priorities (Near-Term)

  • Executive Director Nicholas Heidorn presented three near-term policy projects: a nonpartisan voter guide for 2024 (pilot), proactive recommendation on the mayor’s salary (city administrator to report early 2024), and a charter review piggybacking on potential ballot measures. Staff recommended prioritizing the voter guide, then mayor’s salary, then charter review. Commissioners generally agreed, with strong interest in public input and data gathering on the mayor’s salary.

Policy Priorities (Longer-Term)

  • Five potential projects were discussed: biennial review of the Lobbyist Registration Act (LRA), ethics commission network, mediation/records reform, contributor certification, and audit program. Commissioners prioritized: 1) LRA review (kick off a systematic law review), 2) ethics commission network (start with meetings, not a full conference), 3) transparency reform/records process improvement (continued engagement with departments).

Disclosure Projects – 2023–2025 Roadmap

  • Lead Analyst Suzanne Duran led a dot-voting exercise on 12 disclosure projects. Results: Open Disclosure 2024 update and Lobbyist fee system are critical and must be completed by early 2024. Show Me the Money maintenance, public records performance dashboard, and Democracy Dollars transparency portal (by 2025) are high priority. Ticket database rebuild and publishing new data sets are lower priority.

Public Outreach Priorities

  • Staff presented six potential outreach messages: enforcement resources, commissioner recruitment, complaint procedures, general awareness, campaign finance tools, and Democracy Dollars. Commissioners voted (three dots each). Top three: 1) enforcement resources, 2) complaint procedures, 3) campaign finance tools. An exercise on enforcement resources messaging identified primary audiences (city council, mayor, community allies), timeframe (through mid-2025 budget cycle), tactics (media engagement, op-eds, meetings, public comment, leveraging data on consequences of understaffing). A proposal was made for each commissioner to do at least one public outreach per quarter, with staff support.

Subcommittees Review and Formation

  • Measure W Outreach Subcommittee: Sunsetted. Its work (contact list, feedback) will be absorbed into the new outreach subcommittee.
  • Transparency Ad Hoc Subcommittee (Chair: Commissioner Francis Steele): Will develop a five-year vision statement on transparency and identify near-term actions, starting with meetings with city departments. Low staff lift, commissioner-led.
  • New Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Public Outreach (Chair: Commissioner Charlotte Hill): Focused on 2023-2024 outreach priorities: enforcement resources, complaint procedures, campaign finance tools, and commissioner recruitment for current vacancy. Will create outreach plans and resources. Ends when priorities are completed, then possibly replaced by a Measure W-focused subcommittee.
  • Commissioner Selection Subcommittee (to form in October) will interview applicants for the upcoming vacancy.

Enforcement Report and Case Prioritization Activity

  • Enforcement Chief Simon Russell reported that enforcement is in a crisis due to zero investigator staff (hiring expected in October). Most cases are on hold; only the most serious are being worked. He is revising complaint procedures and developing an enforcement manual.
  • Commissioners discussed improving monthly enforcement reports: interest in breaking down cases by type (e.g., misuse of funds, gifts) and respondent category (e.g., elected officials, lobbyists) to strengthen resource requests, but concerns about reputational harm were raised.
  • A case prioritization exercise had commissioners allocate 10 investigation points among six hypothetical cases. Results varied: some prioritized the high-impact campaign scheme (Case 1) and the high-profile lobbying case (Case 3); others focused on mid-level cases with lower point costs (Cases 2, 4, 5, 6). Chief Russell noted the exercise validated his current approach of focusing on the highest and lowest severity cases.

Key Outcomes

  • Consensus on Near-Term Policy Priorities: Voter guide pilot (highest), proactive mayor’s salary recommendation, and limited charter review. Staff to bring a formal roadmap to the October meeting for a vote.
  • Disclosure Roadmap: Open Disclosure 2024 update and lobbyist fee system to be completed by early 2024; public records dashboard and Democracy Dollars portal to follow; lower priority on ticket database and new data sets.
  • Outreach Plan: Enforcement resources, complaint procedures, and campaign finance tools are the top three messages. A new ad hoc subcommittee formed to develop and execute outreach plans. Commissioners committed to at least one outreach activity per quarter.
  • Subcommittee Actions: The Measure W Outreach Subcommittee was sunsetted. The Transparency Ad Hoc Subcommittee will continue with a vision statement. A new Public Outreach Ad Hoc Subcommittee was formed (Chair: Commissioner Hill, members: Commissioners Gage and Steele). A Commissioner Selection Subcommittee will be formed in October.
  • Enforcement: Chief Russell will revise complaint procedures and bring forward a draft enforcement manual. Monthly enforcement reports may be enhanced with more granular case-type data, subject to further discussion. The October investigator hire is expected to reduce the backlog.

Meeting Transcript

You're gonna be much more effective not reading off the speaking from the heart. Great, great matter. All right, well, it's 3 01, and I think um, you know, we've got a couple of commissioners that uh are running a little late that they'll be here, but I think we can go ahead and get started in the meantime. Um are we on okay, great. So welcome all to the Oakland Public Ethics Commission annual retreat. Um this is a less formal kind of environment uh where we're going to be discussing goals and priorities. Um, and but we still it is still an official meeting, and I'm gonna start out by taking the role. Uh Vice Chair Hill present. Uh Commissioner Gage is absent right now, but she mentioned that she's coming. Uh Commissioner Pertit is absent right now. Commissioner Steele. Right. Uh Commissioner Upton. And I am present, so we have a forum, and I'll also note that we have staff presence and uh staff is gonna play a large role uh as participants in this. So I'll mention our executive director and less hydorn, uh our lead analyst uh Suzanne Duran. Uh we have uh Analara Franco, we have uh uh Simon Rustel Russell, our chief investigator. Uh we have Kristen Zones here, and we have uh Jelani Fillings here, who which is a uh rare treat for us at our meetings. So uh happy to see him. Uh Trisha Shapey, our uh deputy city attorney is running a few minutes late as well. Um but uh uh looking forward to a good discussion with everyone here today. Uh so we'll move on to item number two, which is staff and commission announcements. Are there any announcements? All right, we'll move on to item three, which is open forum. Actually, oh sorry, go ahead. You know, for staff and commission announcements, just a reminder that we're gonna be uh taking our recess in September, so we won't be having our September. All right, so yes, yes, just to invite participants um at any time when we're having a break or in between. Um we're gonna be talking a lot about narrowing things down today, but I want to have one place where people could put their dreams or venture type thing. So anytime you feel like this is focused on the closure program, but please feel free to close this with your with your ideas of what you want to see for us. That's great. So open forum. So open forum is the first uh time that we'll be taking public comment right now. We also have uh specific times that we are planning to take public comment over the course um of this meeting. Um right after our welcome and icebreaker, we are going to break for public comment again. Uh if someone would like to talk about something uh that's on uh the agenda, which is just open, it's the retreat. Um and then we have public comment after um presentations by uh Nicholas and Suzanne and uh by Charlotte and Jelani uh right before our dinner break. Uh that would be the second set public comment time, and then we're gonna have public comment again at the end of the evening. Um so that said, those are the times that I'm going to be asking for public comment. Um, but if at the end of any of these individual discussions, um there is any member of the public that really wants to uh give some feedback or participate in that moment, uh, go ahead and make a gesture and we'll try to fit that in. Um yes. Um so uh with that said, um, we'll go into open forum. So open forum is a time, remember the public comment on any matter within the jurisdiction of the PEC that is not included on tonight's agenda. And uh we do urge members of the public not to make the complaints or ask the commission to investigate alleged violations um in this forum uh because public disclosure of such complaints may undermine any subsequent investigation that we would undertake. So if you are here to ask for an investigation or make a complaint um uh about an official or someone else under our jurisdiction, we would ask that you do that in writing to ethics commission at openca.gov and uh then you will get assistance for filing a complaint or just speak privately to um uh uh to a staff member uh for assistance on how to go ahead and make that request for a complaint. So um so that said, I will say that we have um open forum right now. Is there any public comment for open forum? Yeah, okay, go ahead, and we generally ask you to keep your comment to three minutes, please. Okay, you haven't said that please. I don't want to speak specifically to this. I just want to make reference that the delay. All right, that uh this should be on the fast track, and the reason I'm saying it should be on the fast track, uh, Mr.

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