June 2009City Attorney Hosts Media RoundtableBy Jonathan FarrellSpecial from the San Francisco Neighborhood Newspaper Association Last month City Attorney Dennis Herrera invited San Francisco’s neighborhood newspapers to City Hall for a roundtable discussion. Herrera told the dozen editors, publishers and reporters present that he was “a newspaper junkie.” Herrera and his staffers Matt Dorsey and Jack Song believe local media provides valuable services to the public. “There are so many important issues and concerns that you neighborhood papers have covered that the mainstream media has barely mentioned,” Herrera said. The City Attorney’s office provides legal services to the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, San Francisco Unified School District and the City and County of San Francisco’s (CCSF) 94 departments, boards, commissions and offices. Herrera stated that he and his office must remain politically neutral. “We are not allowed to endorse or promote any candidates for office or any ballot initiatives.” According to Herrera, his department, like other municipal agencies, has experienced budget cuts over the past several years. His office had 225 attorneys when he took over seven years ago. Today there are 185. Herrera’s office has been described by American Lawyer magazine as “one of the most aggressive and talented city law departments in the nation.” The City Attorney’s office handles some 8,000 cases a year. Herrera meets weekly with his top managers to hammer out legal strategies and work on legislation, such as the City’s petition to legalize same-sex marriages at the California Supreme Court. In a response to questions about a recent proposal by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi to impose fines on the delivery of free newspapers to those who don’t want them, Herrera said that to hinder newspaper distribution would be to quell free speech. According to Herrera, access to newspapers is vital to keeping the public informed. “Many people, especially older generations that are not as tech savvy or simply those who do not have access to a computer, rely on printed material,” said Herrera. Herrera said his fondest triumph so far was obtaining a $1 million settlement, which was used as seed money to establish the Willie Mays Boys and Girls Club in Bayview. Other groups and individuals, including the mayor’s office, raised additional funds to make the project a reality. |
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