The seat designated for a minority-community journalist on San Francisco’s open-government watchdog commission, the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, is soon to become vacant. The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter, has nominating authority for the seat (#4) and hopes to interview candidates (via Zoom) the week of March 20-24.
The Task Force comprises 11 voting members. It normally meets the first Wednesday each month, starting at 4 p.m., and has a handful of committees that also meet monthly. Meeting lengths vary with agenda lengths and the level of complexity of items on the agendas. Generally, members spend 10-20 hours a month on Task Force business. They serve without compensation or expense reimbursement but are eligible for the excellent health coverage offered to city employees.
Task Force Seat #4 is designated, under Sunshine Ordinance Article IV, Section 67.30(a), for “a journalist from a racial/ethnic-minority-owned news organization, a journalist whose work focuses on issues impacting minority racial or ethnic communities, or a journalist who works with a media organization or publication whose target audience is a minority racial or ethnic community.” In addition, all Task Force members “must have experience and/or demonstrated interest in the issues of citizen access and participation in local government.” Task Force members must be San Francisco residents, though the Board of Supervisors, which has the ultimate appointing authority, may waive that requirement.
Anyone interested is encouraged to visit https://spjnorcal.org/2023/02/
Richard Knee
Guild Vice President, California
