February 20, 2008
Ex-councilman pushes for message ban in meetings
Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that a councilman called on the city's elected officials Tuesday to stop using e-mail and text messaging during public meetings unless they are willing to disclose details of the messages.
"David Keller said private notes sent during deliberations -- possibly from lobbyists, residents or council members themselves -- violate open-meeting laws and threaten the integrity of the decision-making process.
"The whole purpose in having public meetings and discussions is that the public sees what's on the table," said Keller, who left office in 2000. "The only way for the council to have a clear sense of what's going on is to just ban it."
A Petaluma council committee is scheduled to take up the issue later this month."
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