Journalist to supervisors: calling it 'pragmatic' doesn't hide that you want friendlier Sunshine referees

Richard Nee, a journalist and former member of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, told the Board of Supervisors that at least one supervisor has said publicly they want to fill the task force with members who take a "pragmatic approach" to Sunshine Law compliance. Nee pushed back on that framing directly: stalling the appointments of nominees already vetted by the Society of Professional Journalists and the League of Women Voters, he said, is not pragmatic, it is stacking the body. The delays have forced the task force into hiatus, creating a backlog of unresolved transparency complaints and leaving the people who filed them without recourse. Nee reminded the board that the task force's mandate is to enforce the Sunshine Ordinance without fear or favor, not to be more accommodating toward the city officials it is supposed to hold accountable.