By Norma Damashek
Here’s what the Zen manual advises for a stress-free existence: notice… let it go… then smile.
Truth is, I’m not ready for bliss. And it’s not for lack of trying. You know how it is once you’ve noticed certain things… how can you let them go? Maybe tomorrow.
Right now I can’t help noticing someone’s big bad joke. Here’s how it goes:
A guy walks into a bar, orders a beer on tap, and announces that the annual advent of Sunshine Week is just around the corner. That’s the time when good-thinking people (journalists included) spend a few days promoting the public’s right to know what goes on behind the thick curtains of government. Some call it transparency.
The point of Sunshine Week is to remind citizens that we need and have the “right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business,” and moreover that the “meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.” You could call it an indispensable tenet of democracy.
So the bartender says to the guy, “Bad timing, fella. Last guy who walked in here with that kind of talk got the kishkes knocked out of him. The bigshots concocted a chorus line of big and little ladies to nail him for ogling and they walloped him black and blue. Poor schnook — he may have been a great political liberal but everyone knows you’re your own worst enemy if you’re a lousy flirter. He’s a pariah, now.”
So the guy gulps down another home brew and says to the bartender, “Fooled ya baby! I’m really here to report that Sunshine Week’s been rained out — by executive order. Your pretender-to-the-throne Todd Gloria just set the date for a City Hall book burning. Who would’ve thought such an up-and-coming Democrat could be so… undemocratic.”
It’s a true story. The joke’s on us. Council president Todd Gloria waited till his next-to-last day as placeholder for Bob Filner’s vacated mayor’s seat to decree that city emails older than one year shall be automatically deleted. Discarded. Purged. Deep-sixed.
Is this his idea of what a “strong mayor” is all about, making up regulations to deliberately shut out the public?
DATE: February 27, 2014
TO: All City Employees
FROM: Todd Gloria, Interim Mayor
SUBJECT: Administrative Regulation 90.67, Electronic Mail (E-mail) Retention and Deletion
On February 27, 2014, Administrative Regulation (A.R.) 90.67 regarding e-mail retention and deletion was implemented. As noted in A.R. 90.67, e-mails that are older than one year will be automatically deleted from the City’s E-mail Systems. To date, the City has not deleted e-mails and this has resulted in our City E-mail Systems being overburdened. This A.R. was implemented to address the storage capacity issues which, if unaddressed, would require the City to purchase hardware for additional storage capacity in the future.
On March 28, 2014, the Department of Information Technology will begin automatically deleting e-mails that are older than one year from the City’s E-mail Systems. Furthermore, e- mails will also be deleted on a daily basis if the e-mails are older than one year. E-mails deleted from the City’s E-mail Systems will be permanently unavailable unless City staff takes affirmative steps to retain them outside of the City’s E-mail Systems…
The California Constitution states that “the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny” but apparently certain people in San Diego don’t think public scrutiny is such a great idea, after all.
Surely I’m not alone in wondering whether Mr. Gloria et. al. (the City Attorney and a top city official signed off on this scorched-earth plan) have some serious personal concerns about the contents of City email communications, calendars, and memos from the time period before, leading up to, and during Bob Filner’s abbreviated mayoral stint in office.
Does it make you wonder what might be lurking in these communications? fundraising shenanigans? issues involving the (former and/or newly appointed) police chief? impetuous amorous exchanges? permit improprieties? collusion to oust a sitting mayor? Do you wonder why “the writings of public officials” are to be deleted before the public can lay eyes on them?
It’s a dark and slippery slope, a new low for San Diego, when destroying public records becomes standard operating procedure.
Fortunately, our new mayor Kevin Faulconer has the power to restore the City’s integrity by immediately rescinding Administrative Regulation 90.67. We’re impatiently waiting and watching.
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You got to be smoking something, Norma, if you think that the new mayor will rescind Gloria’s order. I think you can have a baby before that happens.
*lol* Yeah, what Judi wrote. Unfortunately.
More lawsuits… more bad publicity at home and across the nation… NOT what any smart new mayor would choose as he steps up to the city’s executive office. Not unless he’s also worried about what’s in those emails…
Assuming he’s in the clear, he’s got no choice but to “reconsider” the appropriateness of destroying city employee electronic correspondence. The City Attorney might be advising him otherwise, however.
San Diego can’t have nice things like transparency because of a storage capacity issue? Seriously? What next– throwing out books at the library because there aren’t enough book shelves?
Hey why don’t they get their own 1 terrabyte hard drive for about $150. Then they can store emails for the next 100 years. After that, who cares?
You have to wonder what law enforcement types, maybe even Bonnie Dumanis, might have to say about the destruction of public records. Will she or won’t she?
And if there’d been a public records destruction act in New Jersey would we have come to know that Don Christie’s va fonguls were burning in the oven? Or that Gov. Scott Walker’s people in Wisconsin were using their systems to pump out letters to constituents of the governor and writing blog streams with fictitious tags?
Todd Gloria is fully under suspicion, an embarrassment and obstacle to good government.
Guaranteed we won’t hear a peep from District Attorney Dumanis (let alone from new Police Chief Zimmerman) about the legality of the city-email-deletion mandate. The bigger question is, will we find out what is motivating City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, COO Scott Chadwick and — until we hear something to the contrary — Mayor Kevin Faulconer to ally themselves with Councilman Todd Gloria in his attempt to deny the public’s right to know?
Freedom of Information Act… Matt potter where are you? Somebody ought to knock the “kishkes” out of Gloria. Norma Chavez ACLU time to step up! Or maybe a grand jury investigation is in order?