The boards and commissions that advise San Diego leaders on a broad range of issues could see their independence constricted if a new set of rules is passed by the City Council.
San Diego has dozens of boards and commissions that provide analysis, oversight and policy recommendations to Mayor Todd Gloria’s administration and council members. They cover a broad range of topics, from historical resources to housing to policing.
In July, Gloria’s administration proposed a code of conduct for boards and commission members. The four-page document mostly contains common-sense guidelines, such as practicing active listening and creating a welcoming environment at public meetings.
But the proposal also includes a few controversial mandates that critics say would hinder oversight and prevent members from carrying out their duties.
Under the draft rules, boards, commissions and their individual members would have to provide all communications with the press to Gloria’s administration for prior review. That appears to include any interviews with reporters. The code of conduct would also prohibit any criticism of a city employee in a public setting.
The proposal unanimously passed the City Council Rules Committee in late July and will go before the full City Council when members return from their summer recess.
Board and commission members serve as unpaid volunteers. Some expressed dismay at the proposed restrictions.
“That is truly muzzling members of boards and commissions,” said Pegah Parsi, vice chair of the Privacy Advisory Board. “Saying that we can't criticize [the] work of public officials, that's an egregious thing to have in a code of conduct.”
Parsi noted that she was speaking as an individual and not for the Privacy Advisory Board as a whole.
Some board and commission members agreed it makes sense to codify standards and expectations for those who serve, but said the current proposal goes too far.
“This one is a little bit overwrought and a little bit too prescriptive,” said Shawn VanDiver, vice chair of the Convention Center Corporation Board.
Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, who chairs the Rules Committee, did not respond to a request for comment.
Chida Warren-Darby, director of the city’s Office of Boards and Commissions, declined an interview request.
Nick Serrano, Gloria’s Deputy Chief of Staff, declined or did not respond to multiple interview requests.
Warren-Darby and Serrano also did not respond to a detailed list of emailed questions.
Quashing criticism
The proposed code of conduct is divided into sections that detail best practices for interacting with other members, the public and city staff.
Tucked into the section on interacting with city staff is a frank edict: Never publicly criticize an individual employee. The proposal goes on to state, “Members should never express concerns in public about the performance of a City employee.” Instead, the board or commission member should contact the employee’s supervisor.
Geneviéve Jones-Wright, executive director of the nonprofit Community Advocates for Just and Moral Governance, said the proposed restriction is a red flag.
“The policy could very well hinder the ability of commissioners to hold city employees accountable,” she said.
Jones-Wright, who ran for San Diego mayor this year and lost in the primary, points to her previous service on the city’s Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention as an example.
She led an effort to curb so-called “gang injunctions,” the controversial practice of placing court-ordered restrictions on individuals suspected of being in a gang. Some city leaders pushed back on her efforts, and Jones-Wright felt she needed to call them out while serving on the commission.
Members “may need to name names” during public meetings to do their job, she said. But under the city’s proposed rules, that ability to speak up would be hampered.
“I believe that it could limit transparency, and transparency is a cornerstone of good governance,” she said.
Critics of the draft code of conduct agreed that lower-level city employees should not be the subject of public scrutiny for minor missteps. But the proposal uses the blanket term “city employees,” which arguably would include city leaders like the mayor, city council members and police chief.
Among the questions from KPBS that went unanswered by Gloria’s office was one that sought clarification on who is considered a city employee under the proposal.
Cory Briggs, an open government lawyer who has sued the city of San Diego numerous times, said the proposed restrictions could be unlawful.
“It's a First Amendment issue,” he said. Members of boards and commissions, he added, “have a right … to fulfill their responsibilities, and that means speaking the truth.”
From a civics perspective, Briggs argued that city leaders should be open to constructive criticism from the people appointed to boards and commissions.
“When you take these positions, these high level public employment positions, you’ve got to have thick skin,” he said.
Communications with media
Under the proposed rules, Gloria’s administration is also seeking to have greater control over the flow of information from boards and commissions to the media.
“Press releases or other official communications with the media on behalf of the board or commission must be first provided to the Office of Boards and Commissions for review,” states the draft code of conduct.
Warren-Darby said in an email that the rule would apply to “any communication as a board member/commissioner” with the press.
“This [draft code of conduct] doesn’t prohibit them from speaking with media in any way, but having an awareness of media interaction is very much appropriate and helpful since they do, in some capacity, represent the City of San Diego,” she wrote in an email.
The rule, however, remains ambiguous. Warren-Darby — who formerly served as the co-publisher and managing editor of the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint — did not respond to detailed questions about the “review” requirement and whether the office would ever edit or reject press releases.
Board and commission members had similar questions.
“What does this ‘review’ entail?” said Parsi. “It could lead me, or any member of a board or commission, to question whether or not they're able to talk to the press.”
There’s also the question of which boards and commissions the rules would apply to.
“It’s my understanding that this code of conduct would not apply to the Commission on Police Practices,” said Paul Parker, executive director of the commission. “As an independent commission, we have our own code of conduct.”
The Commission on Police Practices reviews alleged officer misconduct and provides policy feedback to the San Diego Police Department. The charter amendment that established the commission included certain safeguards intended to protect its independence.
Yet, its exemption from the draft code of conduct isn’t anywhere in the proposal.
“It would be great if it was in writing,” Parker said. “If it’s not codified somewhere … it can always be implemented or kind of forced upon the commission at a later time.”
If that happened, Parker said, the commission wouldn’t play ball.
“We would fight back on that to the best of our ability, of course.”
