The Office of Information Practices has concluded that five City Council members unintentionally violated the Sunshine Law when they discussed a resolution during a recess at an Oct. 17 meeting. Sunshine Law breach
ruled unintentionalBy Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.comThe conclusion, in a letter dated Wednesday, comes in response to a complaint by Star-Bulletin reporter Gordon Y.K. Pang.
Pang said then-City Council Chairman Jon Yoshimura and a number of his colleagues gathered near the back of the chambers to discuss a resolution, violating the Sunshine Law, which prohibits more than two members of a decision-making body from having a private discussion regarding official business.
Pang's letter stated that after he voiced his concerns about the closed meeting several times, Yoshimura said to him, "Shut your f------ mouth," and the Council members continued their conversation.
After the discussion, Yoshimura told Pang that he did not like his "cute and snide remarks" and challenged him to file a complaint, Pang said.
Pang filed a complaint Oct. 25.
In a letter to OIP dated Oct. 26, Yoshimura said he approached Council member Gary Okino to discuss the resolution during the recess. As they talked, several other Council members approached, and Yoshimura said he repeated the same information to each of them.
Yoshimura said he did not request the presence of the other members, but he did not ignore them.
The OIP concluded that the initial discussion between Yoshimura and Okino was in accordance with the open-meeting law but that they unintentionally violated it once additional Council members joined the conversation.
"The OIP recognizes that this discussion was held in plain view of the public, yet the public was, in effect, excluded from the meeting because it took place 'out of earshot' of the public attending the meeting," the OIP decision read.
"Further, the recess discussion was not part of the formal record, and members of the public likely assumed no Council business was being discussed as a recess had been called."
While commending the Council for its efforts to accommodate the public and comply with the Sunshine Law, the OIP noted that even perceived violations of the Sunshine Law can cause problems ranging from distrust by the public to lawsuits. OIP advised the Council to refrain from assembling outside a duly noticed meeting.
Yoshimura said yesterday the violation was not intentional.
"Obviously this incident happened during a recess at our regular Council meeting, so this was not a situation where we were discussing matters behind closed doors," he said, adding that the Council members would be more cautious about their conversations.
He said he agrees that decisions need to be made in public but that the Sunshine Law sometimes prevents effective communication.
He noted that the state Legislature is exempt from the Sunshine Law, and "you'll see pods of them talking to each other during recess, before session, after session," Yoshimura said.
"Why is that OK, and what makes it wrong when Council members or commissioners or board members do it?" he said.
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