>> the committee would like to acknowledge the staff at sfgov .tv who broadcast t meetings and made the transcripts available online. >> the items will go to the full board on tuesday, march 14th, unless otherwise indicated. >> can you please call item number 1? >> the consideration of appointing two members with terms ending april 27th, 2012, and april 27th, 2013, to the sunshine ordinance task force. >> we have a six applicants for two seats. i will ask you to present a little bit about yourself and

your background as it relates to the sunshine ordinance task force and why you would like to be on the committee. i will call up first boiled johnson -- doyle johhnsnson. well, he is not here. and then next is ron calley. >> hello. i am interested in the sunshine ordinance taskforce. i have a computer background and a journalism background and a lot -- i also to work with a startup company that is involved in cyber security. i have a pretty deep understanding about the new york

electronics and how it is affecting netted data -- meta data. i have a strong belief in government that is open. i support net neutrality. i am a member of the electronic frontiers foundation. i have been involved heavily throughout my life trying to make sure that hearings are open and that the public has complete access to government because government is the people literally. all of us are working for the public's benefit t. >> thank you. >> do you have any questions?

>> i know that the sunshine taskforce takes up an immense amount of time and i am wondering if you are aware of that and committed to making the meetings? >> yes, i have met with the chair and he has explained what the commitments are in terms of time. i look at this as a job. as a computer consultant, one of the hallmarks of being a really good tech is to be tenacious and to stick with a problem. it is salt. -- >> can you give us some information as to what you have

been involved with. can you give me an example of your experience? >> i have been a community activist throughout my life. i helped to organize throughout the pacific northwest, i am working for open microphones. we are successful in that. i was involved in hearings because of the demonstrations i was involved with. for the use of profanity and an anti war chant that was very common. they had as in close to hearings so we wanted these to be opened. there are people who are arrested in demonstrations for peacefully assembling. >> thank you.

>> can you make -- can i make a brief comment? >> of course. >> i believe that being ideological can be towards dogma and dogma causes most of the suffering and the world. i am pragmatic. i believe that government is a tool for people to have a voice. i fully support enabling people to have a voice in government.

there is -- i believed that it should be pragmatic and open. >> you were applying for seat 7, were you interested in seat 11? >> you qualify for a seat seven. >> next, we have jennifer russell. is jennifer russell not here? okay then, n.j. cost the -- jay costa.

>> i will begin with my practical qualifications. the things that i do on they did today basis are very similar to what would be required as a member of the task force. right now, i am a staff member at a nonprofit non-partisan organization which seems to shine a lot on the money the shine a light on the money in politics. we bring information about how every lawmaker votes on every bill. the position as special interest groups take on the bills and the campaign contributions that legislators receive. we watched for relationships between the physicians and special interests and they take on various bills and the way that those same lawmakers will

lead the vote. we would like to empower citizens about decisions that are affecting their lives. also the inappropriate influence that the money plays in the decisions. the heart of our daily work lies in the request that we filled from concerned citizens and reporters. these are very similar in nature to the complaints that the task force fields at its meetings. what it citizens to report is because they are in need of some information, some governmental matter that is important to them. frequently, they do so with a sense that whatever they are concerned about is being handled improperly. i am well-practiced in fielding requests, doing rigorous research and, and of value

waiting in an even-handed manner whether they represent some kind of red flag, so to speak, which is calling attention to. along with this knowledge and experience, i think another qualification of mine for this position is my deep passion for transparency. i have a deeply held belief that transparency is one of the most important elements in a healthy democracy. before there is a realistic expectation, citizens will be engage with the workings of their government, which i hope we would agree is the definition of a healthy democracy. there must be the availability of information about the workings of the government. people can't engage that which they don't know. i say this at this present

because this information is not as available as it should be. many people have spoken to this widely. the president has highlighted problems that are present throughout the entire country. fortunately, this is not an insurmountable problem. we live in an age where we have to communication tools and technology to make education a public resource with relative ease. it seems to be the case that if democracy will continue to serve as the leading standard, a pioneering government by the people and for the people, we will have to rapidly leverage those tools and facilitate citizens engagement.

in my mind, the potential lies in forward-thinking localities like san francisco. the task force is a torch bearer for the movement on top of what i know must be a larger movement and i think that we are set up to take advantage of the unique opportunity to continue leading the charge in our cities and serving as a model of what a local democracy can achieve. the only way that we can do this is by improving the information that we are making available to our citizens and giving them the ammunition that they need to be

defective. we need to be able to flourish and i am extremely excited about this and i will bring the entirety of my energy to do if given the opportunity. >> do you have any questions. -- questions? >> i know this is an immense amount of time and i'm wondering about your ability to make all of the meetings. >> i am extremely committed to doing that is given the opportunity. >> ok. any other questions? think you so much. >> ok, next. >> good afternoon, supervisors.

and like my colleagues, i don't bring a long history of political work or baggage to the forum. i have lived overseas most of my life. my father was an ambassador for the united nations. i think that this was an education in itself, to deal with people from different cultures and backgrounds. the purpose of the task force is to determine what is right and wrong. to be free of any political bias or political connections is a blessing rather than a hindrance. i did to a few years as a paralegal.

in anticipation of your questions, i work for myself so i think that i will be able to attend all of the regular and special meetings of this very important task force. in my application, which was just the one page, did you receive this? i sent it by e-mail. if the last question is if you have ever attended any of the meetings and i have not but i did go on line to look at the printed materials and it does not seem that there are any video records yet, but this is a very important task force and

hopefully something that will be remedied. >> thank you. >> any questions? >> just a quick question, i know that you are applying also for the entertainment commission. >> i put that down but this is the one i am most interested because this touches many different areas of the city government as well as dealing directly with people. i should have probably withdrawn this application but this is the one i am most interested in. >> i have not received any response to that. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> mr. jackson west.

after that, we will move to public comment. >> members of the board, mr. elsbernd, mr. tim, i applied for an appointment to the sunshine ordinance taskforce last year. i am interested in seat 11 as a member of the public. i was educated in media production, i have primarily worked in technology although over the past five years as a self-employed journalist. in terms of any political background, i am politically independent, i am not a member of any party or any organization. my commitment to the issue is

one of someone who has spent a lot of time in interest cruising databases including the website. sometimes in frustration. while i have not worked through the sunshine ordinance process, i have experienced filings and requests on the federal level. in terms of the time commitment. i do work as a startup in san francisco, i am flexible in terms of where i can work and otherwise for a fairer consideration as i think there would to a thorough job. >> >> we will be open now for

public comment. >> i am a san francisco resident and i would like to speak on behalf of tax and's application. i owe it to him to overcome his modesty. you cannot understate his commitment to the online media world of san francisco. he has helped to build what is the most read blog in san francisco. he has written some interesting articles on the data policy. in the san francisco online world, when he speaks, people listen and i think you'd bring

those connections to the task force an engage that committee and raise the profile of that task force. i think that the task force does a good job but it is stuck in a 20th-century world and i think that there is more that we can be done to bring in a new technology development happening in the city and engage a lot of those in development -- independent developers that are working on. we would like to make more information available to the public in san francisco and i urge you to support his application. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors.

i have seen mr. hyland be interested in what is going on at city hall. he sees the value of what the commission's do. this is so important and he brings a real wealth of integrity. he is very hard working, he is very knowledgeable and he comes with really no baggage that all in terms of issues, he is not a super political person. this is very important especially with the sunshine task force. i would like to urge you to give him his first kept in city hall and i think that you will all be in very happy with the result.

>> i would like to speak in support of jackson west. he cares a lot about open government and has the intersection of experience and technology and journalism naturally falls in the area of where the sunshine is concerned. having the connections to the committee on, people who want to see people working in city hall, i think he would do great job and we should let him. >> i am urging you to please take a [singing] good candidate for the task force and they up our city life. you give us hope for a better day and light up our night and

make it better, all the way. it cannot be wrong. keep the task force strong. please line up our sunshine task force, light. >> thank you. are there any other speakers? seeing 9, public comment is closed. i see at least two of our sunshine task force.

i would like to think of the applicants who applied for these seats. it is great to see there is such been an interest in transparency and the open government processes. it is good to see some and citizens who are interested in serving on our task force. we would like to think the current members for their dedication and taking responsibility and representing on behalf of our city. they view. are there any comments or questions on this item? >> i know that several of the members have been fairly active with the sunshine ordinance taskforce. i have an interest in seeing those that have a history of this. a key unfortunately were not here today.

>> i would like jay cosasta woud be good but they're also think that chris -- but i also think that chris hyland would also be a good choice for seat 11. >> jackson, can you come up and

speak a little bit? >> primarily, in covering issues around city hall, unfortunately doing it while having paid jobs meant that i generally had to participate from afar. that primarily meant dealing with the e-mail lists, reports, and checking it out on line, the task force. now, it is true that i don't know the process to the letter and in fact i would be a neophyte to it. i would actually hope -- i would take on the responsibility for learning that and respecting the knowledge of the task force that