When the San Francisco Police Commission began repeatedly canceling meetings this spring, it raised questions about whether Mayor London Breed, who has made her disdain for the commission very clear, was behind it.
Breed, as mayor, appoints the majority of the Police Commission’s members. But ever since she fell out with her own appointee, Max Carter-Oberstone, in 2022, she has worked to stymy the powerful commission that sets policy for the San Francisco Police Department. In March, voters approved Prop. E, her measure to restrict the commission’s policy-setting abilities.
And then the cancellations started. Of the past eight scheduled meetings going back 11 weeks, five were canceled: One in March, two in April, and two this month. The reasons: vacancies, and absences for personal and business reasons. Maintaining a quorum — at least four out of the seven commissioners are needed for the body to meet — became more difficult after April 30, when two of Breed’s four appointees, Debra Walker and James Byrne, vacated their seats.
Breed submitted her nominations for the two seats on April 17, more than a month and a half later than required by the city charter, thereby ensuring vacancies through at least mid-June and making canceled meetings all the more likely.
“It is unusual for us to cancel this many,” Carter-Oberstone said. “It’s not unusual for one or two people to have a personal or professional conflict.”
Now, with two empty seats on the commission, Carter-Oberstone said, any two absences leaves the body unable to meet.
What’s next for the commission?
Breed’s nominations will likely be considered next week by the Board of Supervisors’ rules committee.
The committee, comprised of Hillary Ronen, Ahsha Safaí and Shamann Walton, will consider approving Walker to reclaim her previous seat, and recently retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge C. Don Clay to fill Byrne’s seat.
After the Rules Committee hears the nominations and takes an advisory vote, the full board will vote on whether to approve the appointments. The committee has rejected only two of Breed’s appointees in the last four years — one withdrew and the other failed to win full board approval. It is unclear how the committee’s upcoming vote will go.
While Walker, an artist who has served on multiple city commissions and task forces, has little experience in law enforcement or the criminal justice system, Clay appears extremely qualified.
A new face on the police commission
Clay served as a judge from 2003 to this March, when he retired. Prior to his judicial election, he worked as the First Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of California, and from 1981 to 2002 he practiced criminal and civil law in Alameda County, in his own private practice and as a partner in other law firms.
In contrast to Breed’s other, more conservative mayoral appointments to the police commission — like Byrne, Yee and Walker, who rarely criticized the police department they were charged to oversee — Clay appears more familiar with the criminal justice system and appears to have a more balanced approach to police accountability.
In 2006, Clay sentenced a Berkeley police officer who stole heroin and methamphetamine from an evidence locker to a year under house arrest or an alternative program instead of jail, citing the officer’s record of good conduct.
As a judge in 2009, Clay ruled that the BART police officer who shot Oscar Grant in the back and killed him on New Year’s Day should go to trial on murder charges — a significant ruling, as local police officers rarely see criminal repercussions for killings in California.
Clay appears to have support across the aisle.
Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin favors Clay’s nomination to the police commission, and is “impressed” by his qualifications, according to his legislative aide. Carter-Oberstone said Clay appeared “very well-qualified to be a police commissioner.”
“I have no agenda on anything,” Clay said in an interview with Mission Local, noting that, as a judge, he could not get involved in police issues or politics.
Clay acknowledged his ruling on the Oscar Grant case — which received national attention, in part because the shooting was captured on cell phone cameras and allowed the public to see the shooting for themselves. Since those days, he said, progress has been made in police accountability.
“Now you see these [police violence] cases being charged all across the country,” Clay said.
A longtime San Francisco resident, Clay said “it’s all about public service for me, and giving back to the community.” That objective led him to a judgeship, and has now brought him to accept the call to join the police commission.
Clay, who also worked in private practice for many years before he became a judge, pointed to his long time doing felony work, reviewing police files for decades as an attorney, and his familiarity with law enforcement and the complaints that are made in the courtroom as experiences that qualify him for the role.
Inspector General Terry Wiley, who is tasked with oversight of the Sheriff’s Department and is also a candidate for Clay’s recently vacated judge seat in Alameda County, said Clay is a “heavy hitter” with the “highest integrity.”
“What makes him unique is that he started off as a criminal defense attorney, so he is in one aspect of law enforcement in defending his client, and then, as a judge, he now has to be someone who calls the balls and strikes,” Wiley said. “And so, I think he brings a somewhat unique experience to the police commission.”
Wiley called Clay “one of the best defense attorneys in California, and very very well respected by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office,” which he said was a good indicator of a skilled attorney.
Clay said he is not familiar with the history of police criminal accountability in San Francisco, or the Police Commission’s work, but he is looking to learn.
In trying to read up on recent happenings at the commission, he learned of a walkout by two of Breed’s appointees led by Walker last year, in an effort to block discussion of Breed’s ballot measure, Prop. E. The loss of quorum forced commissioners to halt the meeting.
“I hope that would never happen,” Clay said. “You got a job to do, you’ve got to engage, that’s just life … you’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some, but you don’t leave.”
Excellent article. Thank you Ms. Balakrishnan and Mission Local. This right here is a crystal clear example of London Breed’s powertrippy mayoral management/governance style. As we recently discovered with the outrageous and unprecedented (also illegal) practice of Breed REQUIRING her commission appointees to SIGN SECRET UNDATED LETTERS OF RESIGNATION as part of receiving their commission jobs, here Breed spends her energy and power on hobbling the Police Commission……..a Machiavellian workaround to insure that this essential oversight body cannot properly meet or do its job. How gross! It’s more important to Breed that the Police Commission serve her agenda (kiss my ring) than that they provide San Franciscans with transparency and oversight of our highly paid police force. Remember: creating the appearance of chaos and ineptitude by an oversight body like the Police Commission is a page out of the newly formed Astroturf groups’ (TogetherSF, GROWSF, WESF, Neighbors for a Better SF) playbook; they are stoking their stupid ballot measures to do with gutting commissions and oversight. It is striking that Breed and the Astroturf groups seek to gut essential citizen oversight by these important commissions. More “streamlining” by greedy opportunists and power trippers. All of this is extremly insulting to San Francisco voters.
Goodbye Police Commission. The Billionaire clique behind Network State, Big Money SF and the others have made clear their first priority is to buy the SFPD. Full support for the POA, getting rid of Boudin and the takedown of the largely symbolic Police Commission (Prop E) have been their big moves so far. Financing officer vacations and homes will be next. Breed started it with a ” lawnorder” campaign that would have made Nixon blush. Obviously she thought this would win her support from Musk, Tan et al. Poor London. Her overall incompetency has made her only their second or third choice. No matter. The Police Commission failed spectacularly in its efforts to penetrate the SFPD bureaucracy. The cops will continue to act without a dollop of accountability until we elect a mayor with guts and political support. Such a figure has yet to make an appearance on the 2024 ballot. The billionaire boys may be good at coding, but they have yet to learn that when it comes to bureaucratic intrigue and inaction, there’s no better than the SFPD, Will bribery be enough?
Mark,
Please join me in calling for an Elected Police Chief.
Michael Hennessey’s idea and a great one.
I listened to him talk for an hour about the various planks in the platforms of past candidates and he even had some flyers from Police Chief candidates that are over 100 years old.
I’m calling for one of the Mayoral candidates to agree to give the Power to Choose a Police Chief back to the People where it belongs !!
Go Niners !!
h.
We need a new rule: If the mayor – any SF mayor – misses a deadline to appoint someone to the Police Commission, the appointment responsibility moves to the Board of Supervisors and the mayor is excluded from the process.
OMG! Genius.
Campers,
Debra did wonderful Progressive work on the DBI Commission for a decade.
She is NOT independent and was one who led embarrassing childish walkout of loyal Mayoral appointees in middle of a meeting.
Thanking the ageless and hard working lady and as the Judge says:
“The Court thanks and excuses Ms. Walker.”
Why not go for the very best possible ?
Joe Garrity.
Retired Police Commander now volunteering and everyone on every side of the Political Spectrum who has met Joe agrees that he is the best cop they ever saw.
I agree and I’m a critic going back to the brick sidewalks of St. Louis, I’ve seen a few thousand of em and worked with em at a shared Police Headquarters and Fire Station as a firefighter in Webster Groves.
Joe Garrity is the best.
h.
Mark,
Please join me in calling for an Elected Police Chief.
Michael Hennessey’s idea and a great one.
I listened to him talk for an hour about the various planks in the platforms of past candidates and he even had some flyers from Police Chief candidates that are over 100 years old.
I’m calling for one of the Mayoral candidates to agree to give the Power to Choose a Police Chief back to the People where it belongs !!
Go Niners !!
h.
So Walker vacated her seat and gets reappointed?
Debra Walker is London Breed’s TOOL.
“I have no agenda on anything,” said Clay…
So why would Breed appoint you if there’s nothing in it for her?
She’s no public servant, it’s a total non-sequitur. Keep digging.
More good news this morning! The Police Commission has long been a huge part of the city’s crime problem.
Neutering it is part of the solution.
You are clueless Chris. Seriously. No police oversight? Let me guess: you are a white dude who recently (within the last 10 years) moved to SF.
Yes because holding people responsible is bad?
Greeny,
We think alike about always and have you met Joe Garrity ?
People are not done just because they’re 80 like me or certainly not Joe who is a good ten years younger and would make great Police Commissioner.
h.
Joe Garrity walked the Tenderloin for years and treated everyone with respect. He promoted to higher rank but still maintained the trust of the community and the officers. By the way he is just a really nice and good person. I had many dealings with Joe over the years and he was always fair, honest and did not play any political games. If a former San Francisco police officer is permitted to be on the commission then Joe would be the perfect appointment to protect the safety of all San Franciscans and visitors to the city. He knows the city inside and out.