Before the political shenanigans go any further, the full Gilroy
City Council should do what should have been done in the first
place and make the Open Government Commission a citizen board.
Before the political shenanigans go any further, the full Gilroy City Council should do what should have been done in the first place and make the Open Government Commission a citizen board.
No other city commission is populated with Council members. Neither should this one be. Not only shouldn’t the foxes be watching the hen house, but Gilroy residents should be given sway in how their government conducts business. And there’s little business more important to government than the transparent dissemination of information.
Unfortunately, Mayor Al Pinheiro and his political crony, Councilman Dion Bracco, have inappropriately used their majority vote on the OGC to advance their agenda. Whether to increase the local campaign spending limit to $35,000 per race from the current $25,000 may be a legitimate topic, but what does it have to do with the Open Government Commission? It’s a topic that should be discussed from the onset by the City Council as a whole. Why the topic came up at all, absence of any transparent reason, is also a mystery.
But it gets worse. Mayor Pinheiro apparently believes that the OGC upon which he sits should preside as judge and jury over election ethics complaints. Happily, this idea went nowhere. But that doesn’t change the fact that a mayor who does not see the inherent conflict of interest in taking such a position, is one who should be looking for a place that crowns princes instead of a city that elects its representatives.
Cleverly crafting proposals under the auspices of the OGC is yet another unfortunate manifestation of poor city leadership. All the election-related proposals should have been dealt with before the full Council in a study session. That brings focus, that gives members a chance to weigh in during the process from the outset and is inclusive instead of being viewed as a sneak attack. Frankly, it only exacerbates the fractious nature of the Council and does nothing for the greater good in Gilroy.
The Open Government Commission was created to ensure that people have access to what their government is doing, to clarify procedures for obtaining government records, to spell out the rules for closed meetings and to define the procedure for appeal if records are denied.
Sticking to that mission is important so that the OGC maintains its credibility. The first step in that direction should be replacing Councilmembers with citizens. After all, in this country the government does – or at least should – belong to the people.
