Sup. Mirkarimi pushes for transparency in mayor’s security detail costs

08.11.09 - 1:54 pm | Rebecca Bowe |

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By Rebecca Bowe

Image courtesy James Ratcliffe

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has introduced legislation that would require elected officials to reimburse the city for security-detail costs while traveling the campaign trail, the Chronicle has reported. Mirkarimi has been trying unsuccessfully for more than a month to get the Mayor’s Office to disclose how much is being spent on security for Mayor Gavin Newsom as he campaigns for governor outside San Francisco. In response, he’s been told that revealing that dollar amount would be a security risk.

The legislation also seeks to shine some light another longstanding transparency problem: Newsom’s public calendar. Mirkarimi’s proposed rule would require the mayor to submit a detailed schedule, describing how much time was spent on each activity listed.

The Guardian has noted the mayor’s tendency to reveal only a bare minimum of information in the official schedule he publicizes, telling journalists and concerned citizens virtually nothing about how the people’s business is being conducted.

Sunshine advocate Kimo Crossman, who has been publicly calling for a meatier mayoral calendar for years, pointed out that there are already open-government rules in place that have been ignored. “When the Guardian found out the Mayor Willie Brown was shredding his calendars, part of the Prop G enhancement to [the city’s Sunshine Ordinance] required keeping a very detailed calendar and preserving all correspondence in the Mayor's office,” Crossman told us via email. “The [Sunshine Ordinance Task Force] has found that [mayor’s office spokesman] Nathan Ballard and Mayor Newsom have willfully violated these provisions and therefore committed official misconduct.”

"Subsequently," he added, "no behavior has changed."

Comments

Jason Grant Garza

Jason Grant Garza here ... how interesting ... the Supervisors are upset because Gavin is apparently NOT complying with Sunshine nor transparent accountable governing. Didn’t the San Francisco Bay Guardian write an article entitled “Making Sunshine Work." If you go to this article you will read how SF broke the law against me (written in the comments by myself) and I went to Sunshine (where the sun is NOT allowed to shine) and told them of the tricks, deception, word playing games, and NOW the signed CONFESSION by the city regarding the law breaking activity against me that I went to the Sunshine Task Force over. Better yet type my name into a google search engine and how the city broke the law, the years of fighting and NOW what CONTRITION the VICTIM has received. Read the article and ask yourself ... WHY HAS NO SUPERVISOR gotten involved? Could it be the same here ... interestingly enough the SFBG articles states that this issue is the extemely serious since they can’t even get the Mayor’s information (read article.) This article and its clear cut urgency was more than 2 months ago ... (May 2009)
Why worry ... what's two months or more considering I've been waiting for answers for more than 8 (eight) years now as to how this oculd happen with me telling the truth, pointing out the lies, etc. I can even show you the paperwork from Nancy Pelosi's Office, the Human Rights Commission, the Health Commission, the Mayor's Office of Disability, the Mayor's Office cancelling my meeting with the Mayor to remedy ... ah, the game continues ... I can't wait for some newspaper to request my paperwork for a complete and accurate record of the coverup, whitewash, and now no accounting nor investigation. This includes the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Public Health, the City Attorney's Office and lastly the ACCOUNTABLE TRANSPARENT OPEN GOVERNMENT MAYOR ??? that I went to and shook hands with to get a meeting that was cancelled and never reschedule since I was bringing Valerie Tulier from Carol Midgen's Office. Please Mr. Newsom is running for Governor and I have the paperwork to illustrate JUST how interested he was in fixing things considering I have a signed confession from the city admitting breaking the law - call Donald White at the Office of Inspector General 202-619-0088 and ask how many years and HOW MUCH CONTRITION and HOW MUCH I'VE BEEN MADE "WHOLE"? Then ask what happened to all the professionals that had a duty and failed ... would they still ave thier jobs and awaiting retirement to live the good life while their victim twists in the wind? The Sunshine Commission is a farce and the laws (DA or AG investigating and charging .... ha, ha, ha.)As a matter of a fact I am trying to get a meeting with Supervisor Avalos for an investigation since I would make the perfect "POSTER BOY" for the failures in PUBLIC HEALTH and PUBLIC SAFETY considering my case shows just how concerned the city is with coming "CLEAN." I mean he is the CHAIR for the BUDGET committee ... let's see what happens ... want to lay any bets? Here's the chance to prove all, make fixs, hold people accountable, be civil and humane to their admitted victim, etc. Let's see what time will tell ...
Oh, before I forget I also have the paperwork from going to the Controller's Office and filing a "whistle-blower complaint" over my case to illustrate the waste, fraud and abuse ... Guess what ... my case was closed ... when I refiled another whistle-blower complaint against the Controller's Office for waste, fraud and abuse for not properly investigating my orginal complaint ... you know the drill ... tell me how could there not be waste, fraud and abuse with a signed confession, throwing my case out of Federal Court and the city defending by Testiling in Federal Court. I have that paperwork too ... it won at the the Office of Inspector General ... to bad the truth and justice held no sway in Federal Court ... too bad NO ONE is looking into this ... but what else is new ... the Sunshine Commission working or the Mayor having open transparent government ... ha, ha, ha.

Posted by Jason Grant Garza on Aug. 12, 2009 @ 5:28 am

Jason Grant Garza

Posted by Jason Grant Garza on Aug. 12, 2009 @ 5:34 am

Jerry Jarvis

THE PROBLEM IS LACK OF ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW.

Posted by Jerry Jarvis on Aug. 12, 2009 @ 12:36 pm