As many of you know, we've been trying to obtain fairness for all pilots at Torrey Pines since the founding of our club. Since Torrey is owned by the City of San Diego, that often means working with City officials and speaking at City meetings.
In the dim past, the public was allowed to address the City Council at each meeting in accordance with the Brown Act (a California law that attempts to ensure open government). However, in recent years, the Council has claimed that all of its meetings during the week (typically Monday and Tuesday) are really just one meeting.
So they only gave the public the chance to speak at one of those meetings.
Just recently, however, a new organization (the Center for Local Government Accountability) has been established, and they challenged this ridiculous rule in court. So far, it looks like they're winning, and this past week, the City Council allowed the public to speak at both the Monday
and Tuesday meetings.
I'm not sure where the CLGA stands in the "leftness" or "rightness" of the political spectrum, and I may find myself in disagreement with them on future issues. But standing up for the public's right to speak is something that
everyone should endorse, and for that reason I plan to be supportive of the CLGA as an organization for the people.
So, with those thoughts in mind, I'd like to post some information from an email message that I just got from the CLGA. It looks like they're holding a workshop teaching people how to be effective in dealing with local government. That sounds like a great idea, and I plan to attend myself. I encourage everyone who cares about local government (whether it involves hang gliding or not) to get involved with groups like the CLGA to ensure that our government is indeed accountable to the people.
Here's what I've gotten from the CLGA:
CLGA Email wrote:
Dear Members,
There will be a workshop that will be held on Saturday, November 15, 2104 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the First Unitarian/Universalist Church on 4190 Front Street. It is geared towards San Diego Beach communities (although all are welcome, there will be future workshops for other communities), and I invite you to forward the attached newsletter and/or flyer to friends and colleagues who are active in those communities. Additionally, you will find the latest news about the CLGA’s activities in the November newsletter.
As always feel free to contact me to discuss appearing with a neighborhood group to give a community-specific talk.
Sincerely,
Craig Sherman, Executive Director
clgagroup@gmail.comOffice Ph: 619-702-7892
Attachment:
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CLGA Announcement wrote:
LEARN THE TOOLS AND RULES TO PROTECT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GOVERNMENT DECISION-MAKING,
BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!
......................................
This workshop is designed for community leaders and citizen activists who want to be informed
about what actions local government may be planning or approving in your neighborhoods that can or
will affect your quality of life. Obtaining public information about local projects is often a mystery,
and delay can preclude you from having a voice in your neighborhood. The workshop will focus on the
rules and tools available to monitor local government actions to ensure that you and your
neighborhood can have a say or wage an opposition before it’s too late.
..........................................
The presenter, Craig A. Sherman, is a local attorney with over 20 years legal experience in
environmental, land use and other property related matters. A large percentage of his practice has been
devoted to public interest environmental law where he has obtained numerous victories and successes
for his citizen group clients via judgments and settlements in cases involving urban development.
......................................
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2104 - Time: 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: First Unitarian/Universalist Church - 4190 Front Street - across from UCSD Med Center
(Directions: Go north on First Avenue from Washington St, turn west on Arbor Dr, turn into First
UU parking lot (parking will be validated)
......................................
This workshop is co-sponsored by the Center for Local Government Accountability (CLGAinfo.org)
and Neighborhoods for Clean Elections. For more information and to reserve a spot in the workshop,
contact John Hartley at 619-299-8870 or
hartley2k@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLGA Newsletter wrote:
CLGACenter for Local Government AccountabilityNovember 2014 ISSUE No. 1
--- BRIGHT START FOR CLGA ---CLGA WEBSITE IS RUNNING AND NEW MEMBERS WELCOMEThe CLGA website is up and running at
www.clgainfo.org and those interested may sign up using our online membership form.
SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL TO HOLD MONDAY NON-AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTStarting Monday, October 27, 2014, San Diego City Council will hold Monday non-agenda public comment in response to the lawsuit filed by the CLGA. See
www.clgainfo.org for more details on the suit.
SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY MEMBERS FRUSTRATED BY LACK OF ACCESS TO COUNCIL MEMBERS;
CLGA REQUESTS PUBLIC RECORDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS San Diego constituents have long been frustrated by a lack of access to their own city council members while big interest groups get private meetings. In response to complaints that it has heard from a number of different individuals and neighborhood groups, the CLGA has investigated and found that out of San Diego’s nine council members, only President Pro Tem has a calendar that covers the entire current year on San Diego’s Council District website. Council member Mark Kersey has his calendar available only for the months of January and February of 2014. No other council member has a calendar on the Council District website.
The CLGA has made public records act requests on council members who do not have a full calendar on their Council District website for the council member’s calendar covering the current year. Additionally, the CLGA has made record requests on all council members for each council member’s policy on how that member determines which constituents or interest groups the member will meet with.
As a supporter of public involvement in local government, the CLGA believes in an open and transparent city council and believes that constituents have a right to meet with their council members about district and neighborhood concerns. The CLGA will post the results of its records requests on its website at
http://www.clgainfo.org when available for all the citizens of San Diego to be informed about the policy of their council members in meeting with constituents and for a record of who their council member has been meeting with over the past year.
EVENTS:CLGA SPONSORED SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS The following announcement is for a seminar/workshop by Craig A. Sherman targeted to the central city beach areas of San Diego. Be on the look-out for future events for your neighborhood!
SEMINAR/WORKSHOP FOR SAN DIEGO BEACH COMMUNITIESLEARN THE TOOLS AND RULES TO PROTECT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GOVERNMENT DECISION-MAKING,
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!This workshop is designed for community leaders and citizen activists who want to be informed about what actions local government may be planning or approving in your neighborhoods that can or will affect your quality of life. Obtaining public information about local projects is often a mystery, and delay can preclude you from having a voice in your neighborhood.
The workshop will focus on the rules and tools available to monitor local government actions to ensure that you and your neighborhood can have a say or wage opposition or support before it’s too late.The presenter, Craig A. Sherman, is a local attorney with over 20 years legal experience in environmental, land use and other property related matters. He has obtained numerous victories and successes for citizen group clients via judgments and settlements in cases involving urban development.
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2104 - Time: 2:30 – 4 p.m. Location: First Unitarian/Universalist Church - 4190 Front Street - across from UCSD Med Center (Directions: Go north on First Avenue from Washington St, turn west on Arbor Dr, turn into First UU parking lot (parking will be validated)
This workshop is co-sponsored by the Center for Local Government Accountability (
CLGAinfo.org) and Neighborhoods for Clean Elections. For more information and to reserve a spot in the workshop, contact John Hartley at 619-299-8870 or
hartley2k@aol.com 
