San Diego’s City Council passed a new code of conduct Tuesday for the city’s boards and commissions — but not before rejecting a more restrictive set of rules initially put forward by Mayor Todd Gloria’s office.
The city has dozens of boards and commissions made up of volunteer members. They provide guidance on a range of topics, from policing to housing to historical buildings. The new code of conduct includes many common sense practices, such as showing respect to members of the public and demonstrating active listening.
Gloria’s original proposal would have prohibited members from publicly criticizing any city employees — including, apparently, elected leaders. The mayor’s office also wanted to have the authority to review board members’ communications with the press.
The City Council struck down both of these proposals, following reporting by KPBS.
"We definitely heard from enough people on boards and commissions that they were fearful that they were not going to be able to express their opinions,” said Council President Sean Elo-Rivera during Tuesday’s meeting.
The new rules will still require boards, commissions and their members to submit "press releases or other official communications with the media" to the city’s Office of Boards and Commissions. But the office, which operates under Gloria’s purview, won’t have "review" authority over those communications.
"In no way is this particular section (of the code of conduct) meant to offer any censorship to those that will speak with the media," said Chida Warren-Darby, who leads the Office of Boards and Commissions.
The amendments came as a relief to Kelly Lyndon, who serves on San Diego’s Climate Advisory Board.
"I think it strikes a good balance between setting expectations for those who are serving on boards and commissions while still allowing the freedom to engage as they need to with city staff, the media and the public,” she said.
Lyndon added that her comments represent her individual opinion and not the position of the Climate Advisory Board as a whole.
Boards and commissions are expected to self-enforce the new code of conduct.
