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Have city leaders accommodated your needs?
To the Editor:
The city’s elected officials and staff members, as well as its commissions, boards and agencies, conduct the people’s business. The people do not cede to these individuals and entities the right to decide what their constituents should know about the operations of local government.
That’s what the San Francisco Sunshine ordinance says. And the same goes for Berkeley. Government business is our business, and it invariably works better and more equitably when its operations are open to public view.
Yet many of us – reporters, commissioners and other citizens – have been thwarted when we’ve tried to gather information from, and gain timely access to, the city government and school administration. The Berkeley Citizens Sunshine Coalition wants to know if you’re getting all the information you need to fulfill your role in government, or if your attempts to gain access have been stymied... and if so, how. We invite your specific suggestions for better communication to and from government. We also want to know where Berkeley is doing a good job in keeping its citizens informed on and involved in the operations of government.
Please visit us at Berkeley Citizens Sunshine Coalition, 2887 College Ave. #338, Berkeley, CA 94705-2154; or e-mail your comments to our open “bulletin board” at B–Sunshine@yahoogroups.com or our more private mailbox at Berkeleysunshine@yahoo.
com.
Berkeley Citizens
Sunshine Coalition
