Sponsored by Empower DC, DC We the People, Protect McMillan Park, DC Fiscal Policy Institute, and DC Open Government Coalition
All registered candidates for the DC Council Chair and At-Large seats are invited to complete this survey. The survey seeks to educate voters about the candidates’ positions on a number of opportunities to make DC government more accountable, open, and responsive to DC residents. The completed surveys will be posted on sponsors’ websites and distributed widely to voters.
Government Responsiveness, Openness & Integrity
1. A recent audit showed that many DC government agencies failed to comply consistently with FOIA requests. Do you support or oppose amending the District’s Freedom of Information Act to strengthen the law and limit the exemptions, such as the Open Government Act of 2010 (Bill 18-077)? Please explain.
I support the intent of this bill to defend the integrity of the FOIA process, especially in light of its continual disrespect by Peter Nickles. But the devil is in the details. If elected I would consult legal advice regarding its provisions (I am not a lawyer, rather a human rights and peace activist as well as an environmental scientist). My tentative critique on this bill: The establishment of an Open Government Office with power to sue is a positive step, but since its Director is appointed by the Mayor (with consent of the Council) undue concentration of power may result with potential politicization of this Office. A more accountable structure would be a Board of Directors with voting power, with community representation recommended by a grassroots process involving ANCs and community organizations supporting tenants and workers (e.g., DC Jobs with Justice, Empower DC, TENAC).
The subversion of the FOIA process by Peter Nickles, DC’s Attorney General must be strongly opposed. I testified against Nickels’ confirmation: http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org/testimony/nickles_confirmation.
One glaring example stands out: “Websites describing the city’s procurement process and providing information on contracts that have been awarded are helpful. But they do not provide a meaningful window into how the government is spending tax dollars. The D.C. government has not been so forthcoming with records related to expenditures on specific contracts. For example, it denied a D.C. resident’s request for details of a $50 million expenditure for improvements to the privately-owned Verizon Center, forcing him to sue for access.” (http://www.dcogc.org/node/1205).
2. With projects such as the McMillan Reservoir, many residents feel like they have not had access to key documents related to the proposed development. What would you do to make sure that public has access to financial and development documents related to development projects with sufficient time to understand and respond before any final action is taken?
I would support legislation to set a deadline in making hard copies and online access forsuch documents fully available for public view. The FOIA suit of The McMillan Park Committee for should be fully supported.
3. Tax abatements are increasingly being awarded for development projects. These abatements cost the District tens of millions of dollars every year. Yet, there is little evaluation done to see if the project actually needs a subsidy to move forward. The “Exemptions and Abatements Information Requirements Act of 2009” would require the Office of the Chief Financial Officer to conduct an analysis to determine if the project needs the subsidy to move forward. Would you support this legislation? Are there other ways in which you would make tax abatements and exemptions more transparent to the public?
Yes I support the bill in question as a step forward to insure full accountability for tax abatements. Public City Council hearings must be held following the completion of the required analysis by the OCFO. A public periodic hard copy and continuous online access of all tax abatements and exemption should be required; many jurisdictions already do this, why not DC? But in addition to full and timely transparency, claw back requirements are imperative to insure real community benefits, especially the provision of truly affordable housing and local small business development consistent with community input.
4. The DC Council holds breakfast meetings that are closed to the public, even though debate and decision-making occurs and a quorum of members are in attendance, which is a “council meeting” as defined by DC Code. How would you strengthen DC’s Open Meetings Law to ensure that the DC Council, State Board of Education, and decision-making boards and commissions meet in public whenever discussing an issue on which action may be taken? Do you support the Open Government is Good Government Act of 2010?
A quorum for City Council meetings is 7 (9 for emergency action). Very commonly public hearings are held with only one or two Councilmembers present. I assume the bill referred to in this question is not designed to close off such meetings since that would represent a huge step backwards, making our legislative process even more opaque than it is now. The breakfast meetings should be open to public observation even if only two Councilmembers are present.
5. As part of the Obama Administration’s open government initiatives, the White House along with several high ranking officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder, are making their daily calendar public, including a list of meetings with outside groups and individuals. To bring sunshine to our local government, do you commit to posting each week a schedule of your meetings with external stakeholders? Why or why not?
Yes, of course, hard copies should be available in the Wilson Builiding on a weekly basis with continuously updated public online access.
Strong Oversight
6. One of the primary responsibilities of a Council member is to make sure that government agencies are delivering excellent services to DC residents while efficiently and effectively utilizing tax dollars. What specific tools and methods will you put in place, and within what time period after taking office, to conduct rigorous oversight?
If not implemented before my election, I would vigorously support legislation for the establishment of an Open Government Office charged to conduct such oversight, in addition to evaluating performance data (see my answer to question 11).
7. Some advocates feel that emergency legislation is overused and used often when the legislation doesn’t meet the true intent of emergency legislation. What will you do to limit the use of emergency legislation, including legislation introduced by you?
Yes, I agree, the option to introduce emergency legislation, which does not require public hearings, is abused. The blatant disregard of rules and legislation and non-compliance with timely access of basic data by the Executive has been a major factor in driving emergency legislation in recent years. This Executive blockade must end. This issue should be first and center on the agenda of our new Mayor, hopefully not the incumbent.
Accessible Government and Increased Public Involvement
8. Advocates argue that the DC budget process could be significantly improved by providing greater budget transparency. Do you support requiring that the annual Budget Request Act be treated like every other D.C. law, requiring two separate votes at least 14 days apart? And, second, do you support the publication of the budget documents, including at least the Budget Request Act, Budget Support Act and all Committee prints, for public review at least two business days before the final vote is taken? What other measures do you propose to improve the transparency of DC's budget process?
Yes, of course. In addition the practice of shifting funds from one program to another by the Executive must be curbed. The Council and public often learn about this after the fact (e.g., raiding TANF for the summer job program for youth). Once elected and before my inauguration I will learn about other desirable measures from those who have been in the trenches doing battle for a survival budget that better meets unmet needs by convening a Peoples Town Hall for a Fair Budget and Tax System.
9. One of the major criticisms of the DC budget documents is that they lack spending detail on the programs and services that the public uses. Would you support adding more line item spending detail to the DC budget so that the public can more easily track spending on actual programs and services? What else would you do to improve the transparency of the DC budget documents?
Yes, again. The Fair Budget Coalition, of which I am a long standing member and supporter, has consistently demanded the recommended approach of this question.
10. Typically, City Council hearings are held downtown during regular working hours, making it difficult for residents to participate. For example, at the request of advocates, special Saturday hearings have been held on the topics of child care and education, but these were not permanent commitments and those topics are not the only issues that directly impact the public. What will you do if elected to make more hearings and other important meetings accessible to DC residents who have difficulty attending during weekday work hours?
I would strongly push for many more hearings be held on Saturday, and on weekday evenings. If necessary, I would submit legislation to require this approach.
11. Often, critical performance data is not collected and/or available to the public in a transparent manner by DC agencies. What would you do if you were elected to increase the amount of quality performance data and how would you make the data more accessible to the public?
I support the establishment of an Open Government Office, as proposed by Bill 18-777, the Open Government Act of 2010. This Office should be established with sufficient resources to track and report the performance data to the public. The performance of the Office itself should be made accountable to the public in the form of reports and public hearings. Please do not interpret this proposal as support for an even more bloated District Government bureaucracy. The elimination of Mayoral control of schools and in particular the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education is imperative (please see my answers to Communities for Education Organizing Candidate Questionnaire at http://www.statehood4dc.com/schwartzman/public_education ).
