Petrelis Files

Sup. Breed Ceases Keeping a Written City Hall Calendar

The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force's complaint committee last week affirmed that the president of the Board of Supervisors, London Breed, is required to provide me and any member of the public with her work calendar. I lodged a complaint with the SOTF because of the various hurdles and delays Breed employed before turning over thirteen-months of monthly calendars.

My request last week to Breed for her February through April 15th calendar brought forth this email from her staffer Conor Johnston:

"Because of the voluminous nature of the documents that we will need to search to respond to your request, and because of the need to consult with another interested department, we are in invoking an extension under Administrative Code section 67.25(b). You will have a response by April 26."

But yesterday, I received this curious reply from her new aide Christine Keener, who until recently was an aide in Bevan Dufty homeless coordinator's office:

"Good Afternoon Mr. Petrelis, Supervisor Breed has not maintained a calendar since February 1st, 2015. Per, the charter rules, Supervisor Breed is not required to keep a calendar."

So, the aides had to examine voluminous records, when they don't exist, and then they discover boss Breed stopped keeping a written calendar the day the last date on the calendar of my previous public records request?

Accepting the ludicrous statement in the email from yesterday at face value, it's shocking the POBOS, President of the Board of Supervisors, it's disturbing that Breed has apparently ceased maintaining a calendar simply because this member of the public wanted it made transparent. What does that tell you about the POBOS's commitment to City Hall transparency?

I've lodged a new complaint with the SOTF about this matter and look forward to hearing members of that body question the POBOS and her aides.

San Francisco taxpayers deserve to know how Breed spends her legislative day and who she meets with. I can't believe a very busy supervisor is not keeping a written calendar.