SaveMUNI recently sent the following letter to the SFMTA Board of Directors urging them to allow unlimited remote public comment at Board meetings.
June 18, 2023
Dear President Aiken and Members of the SFMTA Board of Directors,
I am writing on behalf of SaveMUNI regarding your current policy restricting remote public comment at Board meetings to only ten minutes. For the reasons below, SaveMUNI urges you to change this policy to permit unlimited remote public comment.
This policy unfairly discriminates against people with disabilities and many others, including working people, caretakers and seniors for whom traveling to City Hall is difficult, if not impossible. It also requires people to disclose their disabled status, which could be a violation of patient privacy regulations.
The goal of public comment is to give everyone in the City a voice in our government, and unlimited public comment accomplishes just that. It allows everyone to participate in the democratic process and does not create a two-tiered system of public participation.
SaveMUNI joins with over one hundred organizations in San Francisco, representing the disabled, seniors and good government advocates, and with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors which recently voted to allow unlimited public comment, in supporting unlimited remote public comment at your meetings.
While we understand that unlimited public comment may make meetings longer, we believe this occasional inconvenience is outweighed by the importance of full participation in government by all San Franciscans. SaveMUNI urges you to reconsider your policy on this matter.
Sincerely,
Bob FeinbaumPresident,
SaveMUNI