File No. 20122 Item No. 5
SUNSHINE ORDINANCE TASK FORCE AGENDA PACKET CONTENTS LIST
Complaint Committee Date: May 18, 2021
D Petition/Complaint Page:_ Memorandum - Deputy City Attorney Page:_ ~ Petitioner/Complainant Supporting Documents Page:_ d Respondent's Response Page:_ D Public Correspondence Page:_ D Order of Determination Page:_ D Minutes Page:_ D Administrator's Report Page:_ D No Attachments
OTHER D D D D D D D D D
Completed by: _ __:C_;:_._.::;L::..;::e.....,gc.::.e-=-r ______Date 5/14/21
*An asterisked item represents the cover sheet to a document that exceeds 25 pages. The complete document is in the file.
P521 Sunshine Ordinance Task Force Complaint Summary
File No. 20122
Thomas Busse v. City Attorney's Office
Date filed with SOTF: 11/6/2020
Thomas Busse (584 Castro Street, San Francisco, 94114) (Complainant) Dennis Herrera ([email protected]); John Cote ([email protected]) Odaya Buta (odaya.buta@sfcityattyorg) City Attorney's Office ([email protected]) (Respondents)
File No. 20122: Complaint filed by Thomas Busse against Dennis Herrera and the City Attorney's Office for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Section 67.21 failing to respond to a records request in a complete and timely manner.
Administrative Summary if applicable:
Complaint Attached.
P522 )_
Complainant/Peti,tioner' s .. Document Submission
P523 Thomas J. Busse 584 Castro Street #388 San Francisco, CA 94114
November 1, 2020
Sunshine Ordinance Task Force City Hall, Room 244 San Francisco, CA 94102
Re: Complaint against The City Attorney
Dear Sir or Madam:
I wish to make an officia I complaint against the City Attorney for violation of Section 67 of the Administrative Code.
On September 1, 2020, I made a Public Records Request for a 2004 City Attorney investigation into election Fraud in 2003 involving an entity known as the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG). The report is referenced in the In October, 2020, I received the attached letter from the City Attorney's office claiming my request was "voluminous." As of the date of this request, I have still not received the report, in violation of the time requirements of Section 67 of the Administrative code, irrespective of the IDR waiver under current Public Health Orders.
My belief is the City Attorney is stalling concerning the report because it has inform<\tion damaging to Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris. In 2003, former DPW head Mohammed Nuru ran a voter intimidation racket to throw the District Attorney race for Harris - the DCCC' s favored candidate. Mohammed Nuru was the former ED of SLUG. I was informed about fraud in the 2003 San Francisco District Attorney Race by the late Police Commission President Julius Thurman. He was a personal friend of mine and formerly sat on the board of an arts organization which I ran. When I started investigating his death, the death ofSululagi Palega Sr. (SLUG's recruiter), and the decapitation of Harris's neighbor Brian Egg on Clara street, I received a "friendly" visit from the US Secret Service who forced me to take down my blog, covertcalifornia where I chronicled local public corruption and SFPD complicity.in covering-up the above murders which were favorable to the Harris Campaign. It was in this context 1) Zula Jones was let off with a slap on the wrist and 2) Nuru was arrested on initially flimsy charges. In addition, there was a military angle to the above murders. I felt there was more to the story and important clues would be found in the City Attorney's 2004 report.
The City Attorney's sudden case of "because coronavirusitis" is impeccably timed. I affirm the above information is correct.
P524 City confirms workers' charges I SLUG employees were coerced t ... https://www.sfgate.com/politics/a1iicle/City-confirms-workers-cha ...
News II Politics ·City confirms workers• charges I SLUG employees were coerced to vote for Newsom
Ilene Lelchuk, Chronicle Staff Writer Updated: Jan. 26, 2012.10:53 a.m .
1 .... • \1'lf:h! ~~iljjf~fifcSah •F.fonClscCileague of Urban Gardeners illei;ally spent thousands of taxpayer dollars coercing its low-income workers to vote and campaign for Gavin Newsom during last year's mayoral race, a city attorney's
inv-$:1,~tigation found.
A report summarizing the findings -- prepared by City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office in support of a city controller's decision to bar the nonprofit group from receiving future funding -- confirmed Chronicle reports of alleged abuses at the nonprofit organization.
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The Chronicle reported in January that street-sweepers working for the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners in a city-funded employment training program were pressured to cast absentee ballots and walk precincts for the Newsom for Mayor campaign.
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2 of6 P525 1111/2020, 1:59 PM Respondent's . Docume·nt Submission
P526 I (BOS)
From: Buta, Odaya (CAT)
Dear Ms. Leger1
Thank you for your email notifying the City Attorney1s Office regarding the above-referenced complaint. We intend to submit a written response 1 as you have suggested. But I write to note that the deadline in your 1 email is not accurate. On March 23 1 in the Mayor s Fifth Supplement to her Emergency Proclamation 1 the Mayor temporarily suspended deadlines for the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force to make determinations and for parties to submit information to the Task Force. The pertinent section of the Mayor1 s order is in section 7{e) on page 9 of this document. Your email states that the City Attorney must submit a written response within five business days 1 but that deadline has been suspended by the Mayor while departments deploy 1 resources for other purposes related to the emergency. In compliance with the Mayor s order1 we will prepare and submit a response in the near future1 but we will not be able to submit it within the five-day deadline mentioned in your email.
Sincerely1
Odaya Buta Paralegal Office of City Attorney Dennis Herrera www.sfcityattorney.org
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This message and any attachments are solely for the intended recipient and may include privileged or confidential information. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately, and permanently delete this message and any attachments.
From: SOTF1 (BOS}
Sent: Thursday1 November 121 2020 5:00 PM To: Feitelberg, Brittany (CAT)
Good Afternoon:
The City Attorney's Office has been named as a Respondent in the attached complaint filed with the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. Please respond to the attached complaint/request within five business days.
1 P527 The Respondent is required to submit a written response to the allegations including any and all supporting documents, recordings, electronic media, etc., to the Task Force within five (5) business days of receipt of this notice. This is your opportunity to provide a full explanation to allow the Task Force to be fully informed in considering your response prior its meeting.
Please include the following information in your response if applicable:
1. List all relevant records with descriptions that have been provided pursuant to the Complainant request. 2. Date the relevant records were provided to the Complainant. 3. Description of the method used, along with any relevant search terms used, to search for the relevant records. 4. Statement/declaration that all relevant documents have been provided, does not exist, or has been excluded. 5. Copy of the original request for records (if applicable).
Please refer to the File Number when submitting any new information and/or supporting documents pertaining to this complaint.
The Complainant alleges: Complaint Attached.
Cheryl Leger Assistant Clerk, Board of Supervisors Tel: 415-554-7724
lf:t;• Click here to complete a Board of Supervisors Customer Service Satisfaction form.
The Legislative Research Center provides 24-hour access to Board of Supervisors legislation, and archived matters since August 1998.
Disclosures: Personal information that is provided in communications to the Board of Supervisors is subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act and the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance. Personal information provided will not be redacted. Members of the public are not required to provide personal identifying information when they communicate with the Board of Supervisors and its committees. All written or oral communications that members of the public submit to the Clerk's Office regarding pending legislation or hearings will be made available to all members of the public for inspection and copying. The Clerk's Office does not redact any information from these submissions. This means that personal information-including names, phone numbers, addresses and similar information that a member of the public elects to submit to the Board and its committees-may appear on the Board of Supervisors website or in other public documents that members of the public may inspect or copy.
2 P528 CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
DENNIS J. HERRERA DIRECT DIAL: (415) 554-4700 City Attorney E-MAIL: ODAYA.BUTA@SFC!TYATTY.ORG
Date: October 8, 2020
Thomas J. Busse 584 Castro Street . Sa ' . ·'.~''' ..
to the voluminous nature of your PRA request, and the realities of the
-,,,v•c,vv, including limited access to physical files in the office, we will need to
produce th(d, documents on a rolling basis. We anticipate needing a few months to complete the entirety of our :;_'.\
production, with periodic rolling productions as we are able to do so. This anticipated timeline is our best
estimate currently, but may be subject to change based on our document review as well as any changes in
workplace realities due to the pandemic.
Sincerely,
Odaya Buta
Odaya Buta Paralegal Office of City Attorney Dennis Herrera odaya.b [email protected] www.sfcityattorney.org
CITY HALL · 1 DR. CARLTON B. GOODLETI PLACE, ROOM 234 · SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.94102-5408 RECEPTION: (415) 554-4700 · FACSIMILE: [415) 554-4715
P529 Leger, Che I (BOS)
From: SOTF, (BOS) Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2020 5:00 PM To: FEITELBERG, BRITTANY (CAT) Cc: BUTA, ODAYA (CAT); 'Cote, John (CAT)'; Cityattorney Subject: SOTF - Complaint Filed with the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force - File No. 20122 Attachments: SOTF - Complaint Procedure 2019-10-02 FINAL.pdf; 20122 Complaint.pdf
Good Afternoon:
The City Attorney's Office has been named as a Respondent in the attached complaint filed with the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. Please respond to the attached complaint/request within five business days.
The Respondent is required to submit a written response to the allegations including any and all supporting documents, recordings, electronic media, etc., to the Task Force within five (5) business days of receipt of this notice. This is your opportunity to provide a full explanation to allow the Task Force to be fully informed in considering your response prior its meeting.
Please include the following information in your response if applicable:
1. List all relevant records with descriptions that have been provided pursuant to the Complainant request. 2. Date the relevant records were provided to the Complainant. 3. Description of the method used, along with any relevant search terms used, to search for the relevant records. 4. Statement/declaration that all relevant documents have been provided, does not exist, or has been excluded. 5. Copy of the original request for records (if applicable).
Please refer to the File Number when submitting any new information and/or supporting documents . pertaining to this complaint.
The Complainant alleges: Complaint Attached.
Cheryl Leger Assistant Clerk, Board of Supervisors Tel: 415-554-7724
flfltJ• Click here to complete a Board of Supervisors Customer Service Satisfaction form.
The Legislative Research Center provides 24-hour access to Board of Supervisors legislation, and archived matters since August 1998.
Disclosures: Personal information that is provided in communications to the Board of Supervisors is subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act and the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance. Personal information provided will not be redacted. Members of the public are not required to provide personal identifying information when they communicate with the Board of Supervisors and its committees. All written or oral communications that members of the public submit to the Clerk's Office regarding pending legislation or hearings will be made available to all members of the public for inspection and copying. The Clerk's Office does not redact any information from these submissions. This means that personal information-including names, phone numbers, addresses and similar information that a member of the public elects to submit to the Board and its committees-may appear on the Board of Supervisors website or in other public documents that members of the public may inspect or copy. 1 P530 Le er, Cheryl (BOS)
From: SOTF, (BOS) Sent: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 10:04 AM To: Heckel, Hank (MYR); 'Ahimsa Porter Sumchai MD'; Ahimsa Porter Sumchai MD; Cox, Andrew (POL); Pera, Arran (POL); '[email protected]'; Vien, Veronica (DPH); '[email protected]'; Shaub, Margot (LIB); 'San Francisco Living Wage'; COTE, JOHN (CAT); BUTA, ODAYA (CAT); FEITELBERG, BRITTANY (CAT); Cityattorney Subject: SOTF - Complaint Committee: May 18, 2021; 5:30 PM; remote meeting Attachments: SOTF - Complaint Procedure 2019-10-02 FINAL.pdf
Good Morning:
Notice is hereby given that the Complaint Committee (Committee) of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (Task Force) shall hold hearings on complaints listed below to: 1) determine ifthe Task Force has jurisdiction; 2) review the merits of the complaints; and/or 3) issue a report and/or recommendation to the Task Force.
Date: May 18, 2021
Location: Remote Meeting
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Complainants: Your attendance is required for this meeting/hearing.
Respondents/Departments: Pursuant to Section 67.21 (e) of the Ordinance, the custodian of records or a representative of your department, who can speak to the matter, is required at the meeting/hearing.
Complaints:
File No. 20011: Complaint filed by Ahimsa Porter Sumchai against Mayor London Breed and the Office of the Mayor for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Sections 67.15, 67.5 and 67.6, by failing to have a meeting quorum, failing to notice the time and place of the meeting, failing to allow public comment at the Mayor's Hunters Point Shipyard Citizens Advisory Committee meetings on July 17, 2019, January 27, 2020 and January 28, 2020.
File No. 20120: Complaint filed by Ileina Afuha'amango against the Police Department for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Section 67.21, by failing to respond to a records request for public records in a timely and/or complete manner.
File No. 20119: Complaint filed by Theo Emison against the Department of Public Health for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Section 67.21 by failing to respond to a request for public records in a timely and/or complete manner.
File No. 20056: Complaint filed by Anonymous against The Public Library for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Sections 67 .21 (b )(1) by failing to respond to a records request in a complete and timely manner
1 P531 File No. 20112: Complaint filed by Karl Kramer against The Mayor's Office for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Section 67.21 by failing to respond to a records request in a timely and/or complete manner.
File No. 20122: Complaint filed by Thomas Busse against the Dennis Herrera and the City Attorney's Office for allegedly violating Administrative Code (Sunshine Ordinance), Section 67 .21 failing to respond to a records request in a complete and timely manner.
Documentation (evidence supporting/disputing complaint)
For a document to be considered, it must be received at least five (5) working days before the hearing (see attached Public Complaint Procedure).
· For inclusion in the agenda packet, supplemental/supporting documents must be received by 5:00 pm, May 13, 202]; .
Cheryl Leger Assistant Clerk, Board.of Supervisors Tel: 415-554-7724
lil.f)• Click here to complete a Board of Supervisors Customer Service Satisfaction form.
The Legislative Research Center provides 24-hour access to Board of Supervisors legislation, and archived matters since August 1998.
Disclosures: Personal iriformation that is provided in communications to the Board of Supervisors is subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act and the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance. Personal information provided will not be redacted. Members of the public are not required to provide personal identifjJing information when they communicate with the Board ofSupervisors and its committees. All written or oral communications that members of the public submit to the Clerk's Office regarding pending legislation or hearings will be made available to all members of the public for inspection and copying. The Clerk's Office does not redact any information ji·om these submissions. This means that personal iriformation-includi71g names, phone numbers, addresses and similar information that a member of the public elects to submit to the Board and its commJttees-may appear on the Board ofSupervisors website or in other public documents that members ofthe public may inspect or copy.
2 P532