Hear No Evil

It's nearly 10:30 p.m. and I'm home from the Measure Y Oversight Committee meeting. I was invited to give a presentation by Chairperson Maya Dillard Smith, as the litigation was finally on the agenda. Better late than never. But in the end, the majority voted to send me packing. Neighbors, an independent oversight committee this is not. The majority is clearly not interested in actually learning about Measure Y and the problems with its administration. They are, in effect, a meaningless joke. You can watch it all for yourselves when it is broadcast on KTOP this Thursday.

After introducing myself and referring them to this blog for background information, I highlighted some of the points in my lawsuit (including the fact that the Oversight Committee itself failed in its duties to ensure that the audit was conducted every year) and indicated that I was there to answer any questions they might have. One of the newly appointed members, Joanne Brown, asked about the components of the tentative ruling and when a final ruling might be expected. After summarizing the main issues and stating that by law the judge has 90 days to issue a ruling, Ms. Brown stated, in essence, that my presentation was premature, and that there was really no need to hear what I had to say because, after all, the ruling wasn't final yet. In addition, she indicated that she didn't want to hear just my side of the story, but wanted to hear from the City Attorney as well.

First of all, Supervising Assistant City Attorney Mark Morodomi was sitting right there. He has been supervising the case from day one, and certainly was qualified to counter anything I might have had to say. Moreover, even if the City Attorney's office was unavailable or not prepared to present at that moment, they could have heard what I had to say, and heard from the City Attorney at a later date. They then could have discussed the issues to their hearts delight.

When it became apparent that some of the members did not want to hear what I had to say, I told them that I had been invited to speak to them, took time out of my evening (and I even missed "House!" - okay, I didn't actually tell them I missed my favorite TV show) to give them information, and that regardless of how the lawsuit turned out, I had spent hours and hours of my own time researching Measure Y and how it had been abused, and I had a wealth of information to share with them. I told them that if they were truly an independent oversight committee, then they should want to hear what I had to say, and that the fact that the final decision has not been issued is not even that relevant. My research brought up very legitimate concerns that they should have been aware of, regardless of whether they constituted legal violations. I also told them that if they decided they did not want to hear from me, I would be very, very offended.

The majority of the committee voted to show me the door. They did not want to hear what I had to say. The fact that an "oversight committee" would not want to become better informed about facts and issues until a final decision on legal liability has been issued makes it abundantly clear that most of the members are intentionally ignorant, impotent and useless. Do they also choose to not to follow the news of things that "might" happen (like Y2K, Hurricane Katrina before it hit, the impacts of global warming, the federal stimulus package etc) and only bother with the news of things that already have happened? Moreover, the City has already announced its intention to appeal the decision if it doesn't go their way, meaning that no final decision could be reached for another year or two. Would they then choose not to be briefed until the matter is decided by the Court of Appeal? Or even the California Supreme Court? Who in their right mind would intentionally choose not to be informed in a situation like this?

Those voting to send me away were clearly afraid that I would make even more public the abuses of those that appointed them to the committee. Or they were trying to shield themselves from criticism (because they never conducted the audit) and the others responsible for this fiasco, and there's plenty of blame to go around. They are puppets. They do not represent your interests. You should be appalled.