‘Moral turpitude’
proposal raises
questions from board

By Harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

Lynne Matusow, vice chairwoman of the Downtown Neighborhood Board, has raised questions about a proposal to allow removal of neighborhood board members for "moral turpitude."

"First, I have no idea what it (moral turpitude) means," Matusow said. "Your definition and my definition might not agree, and of the 1 million people on this island, we might have 1,500,000 definitions of it. Given what's going on in Washington right now, you get these opinions that if they're out to get you, they'll find a way to get you - like the Republicans are going after Bill Clinton."

The term is not defined in proposed amendments to the Neighborhood Plan.

The amendments will be considered at a regular meeting of the Neighborhood Commission at 6:30 today in the City Council chambers.

They are merely proposals that will be farmed out to committee, said Hisako Takakuwa, commission community relations specialist. "We're not adopting anything."

The Neighborhood Plan is the legal framework for neighborhood boards, she explained. "It's not the commission's rules."

Proposed wording under a "sanctions" heading dwells on circumstances under which "the commission may conclude that the board or individual members thereof should be censured, suspended or removed."

"Does this apply to board functions, or is this moral turpitude 24 hours a day, 365 days a year?" Matusow asked.

"I think this thing is just going way too far. Why has this come from the mayor?" she asked.

"I don't know of any provision where (neighborhood) commissioners can be removed because of moral turpitude." Elected legislative bodies usually sanction members themselves, or the electorate holds wayward office holders accountable, Matusow said.

"Let the voters make the decision," she said.