The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force in San Francisco has unanimously voted to urge the release of documents related to a phone call between Mayor Daniel Lurie and former President Donald Trump that took place on October 22, 2022. The commission, which oversees public-records law, determined that Lurie may have improperly withheld information regarding the high-profile conversation, which is believed to have influenced the withdrawal of federal forces from the Bay Area.
Concerns have been raised that Lurie may have negotiated an agreement during this call, prompting scrutiny over his office’s refusal to disclose related documents. Although Lurie’s office has stated that no promises were made during the call, it has denied several public records requests pertaining to the discussion. The Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, composed of ten members, has indicated that Lurie could be in violation of the law by broadly claiming that certain records, such as notes from the call, are exempt from public disclosure.
Before the vote, Lurie’s office maintained in a letter that the only records associated with the call consist of a “legal consultation” between the mayor’s office and the city attorney. They argue that these documents fall under attorney-client privilege and are thus exempt from release. The letter emphasized that these records do not pertain to the conversation with Trump but relate to an executive directive issued by Lurie in preparation for potential federal deployments.
During the nearly three-hour meeting, frustration mounted among task force members regarding the mayor’s office’s initial failure to provide even the call logs for the day, which are typically public documents detailing the date, time, and participants of phone calls. Commissioner Ankita Mukhopadhyay Kumar expressed disbelief at the lack of transparency, stating, “Do they really believe that we are that stupid?” Another commissioner, Maxine Anderson, echoed her sentiments, urging the mayor’s office to acknowledge its responsibility to the public.
The task force has previously ruled that Lurie violated state law by withholding records associated with the call. The only public documentation of the conversation was a call log released in October, which indicated that Lurie spoke with Trump from 19:30 to 19:55 regarding the potential cessation of federal deployment in San Francisco. During this call, Trump had promised a “surge” of immigration forces to the area, but after intervention from billionaire allies of Lurie, both leaders reportedly agreed to cancel the deployment.
The matter has now been forwarded to another committee within the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. This committee could determine that Lurie committed a “willful” violation if the records are not subsequently produced, which would escalate the issue to the city’s ethics commission. Despite this potential pathway, the ability of both commissions to compel the mayor’s office to release documents remains limited.
As the situation unfolds, the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force continues to advocate for greater transparency and accountability from the mayor’s office. The public’s access to information regarding government actions is a fundamental principle that the commission seeks to uphold.