Sheila Perez, a member of the Charter Review Commission, presented a retrospective titled “Lessons from the 2013–2014 Charter Review Commission,” urging the current panel to avoid past mistakes including conflicts of interest and limited public outreach.

Perez said the earlier panel had included elected officials, city employees and people with close professional ties to the administration; she argued that such appointments can create questions about impartiality and reduce trust. She noted that a later change to the charter now prohibits elected officials and city employees from serving on a charter review commission; Perez described that change as a safeguard.

Perez asked the commission to consider a public application and nomination process, conflict-of-interest disclosures and residency verification. She also urged multilingual outreach and stronger representation for renters, youth, immigrants and other marginalized communities.

Perez reviewed several past charter amendments and said some changes—she cited removal of a CPA requirement for the auditor as an example—had the effect of narrowing independent oversight. She asked members to review the 2002–2023 list of charter amendments, and she offered to circulate copies of amendments and referenda for commissioners’ study.

The commission agreed to review the prior amendments and to return to these topics in future meetings. Perez said the commission should ensure referendum language presented to voters is clear and translated into the city’s dominant languages.