For years, El Cerrito residents have requested greater transparency, easier access to public meetings, and more opportunities to participate in local government. Instead of expanding access, our city has quietly moved backward—removing remote public comment, ending livestreams of critical boards and commissions, and limiting public visibility into the decisions that shape our community.
Now, with the passage of Senate Bill 707, the State of California is requiring a higher standard of accessibility and public engagement. And El Cerrito’s long-standing model of restrictive transparency is about to face serious pressure.
As residents, we should understand what SB 707 actually does, how El Cerrito currently operates, and why change is long overdue.
The City Has Been Moving Backward on Public Access
During the pandemic, cities across California adapted quickly. They livestreamed meetings, enabled remote comment, expanded video archives, and allowed working families and seniors to participate without being physically present.
Most cities kept these practices because they increased civic participation.
El Cerrito did the opposite.
What El Cerrito Eliminated:
- Remote public comment at City Council meetings
- All livestreaming and recordings of boards and commissions
- Hybrid participation options
- Archived video access for non-Council meetings
Today, if you want to speak, you must show up in person—no matter your schedule, disability, family obligations, or health concerns.
This is not just inconvenient.
It is exclusionary.
Boards and commissions—where policy ideas are formed, vetted, and shaped—now operate with virtually no visibility and no public comment unless you are physically in the room.
That’s not modern governance.
It’s a step back into the 1990s.
What SB 707 Actually Is—And Why It Matters Here
“SB 707” refers to two very different California laws. Only one impacts public transparency:
The Brown Act Reform Bill of 2025 (SB 707)
This bill modernizes and strengthens California’s Open Meeting Law. It expands teleconferencing rules, strengthens public-access protections, and requires certain government bodies to offer remote participation.
Key Requirements for Eligible Legislative Bodies (including City Councils):
- Remote access must be provided (phone or audiovisual).
- Remote public comment must be allowed.
- If remote access fails, the meeting must recess until restored.
- Agencies must provide language access and public outreach.
This is a floor, not a ceiling.
Cities can exceed these standards—but El Cerrito has shown no interest in doing so.
The Loophole El Cerrito Is Relying On
SB 707 does not require boards and commissions to offer livestreaming, remote access, or remote public comment. So, while the City Council will be forced to comply with these new standards, the city’s other public bodies will remain in the dark unless the City chooses to be transparent.
And so far, they have chosen not to.
City’s current stance:
- City Council:
Will have to restore remote public comment under SB 707—but only because it is required. - Boards & Commissions:
- No livestreams
- No recordings
- No remote comment
- No intention to restore any of these options
This is not an oversight.
It’s a decision.
A decision to keep early-stage policymaking out of the public eye.
Yet these bodies—such as the Financial Advisory Board, Arts & Culture Commission, Planning Commission, Environmental Quality Committee, and others—are where significant policy recommendations originate.
If you eliminate visibility there, you eliminate meaningful participation.
The Cost of a Closed Government
El Cerrito faces significant challenges:
- A fragile budget
- Major pension obligations
- Aging infrastructure
- Rising service needs
- Large development decisions
- Transportation and safety investments
Good decisions require a well-informed and actively engaged community.
When public access shrinks:
- Trust erodes
- Accountability weakens
- Special interests gain influence
- Public confidence in decisions collapses
- Residents disengage or feel deliberately excluded
A city cannot claim to value transparency while constructing barriers that keep the public out.
We Deserve a Transparent City—Not the Minimum Required by Law
El Cerrito can choose transparency anytime.
However, it consistently chooses the bare minimum.
Nothing in SB 707 prevents the city from:
- Livestreaming board and commission meetings
- Allowing remote public comment for all bodies
- Recording and archiving all public meetings
- Providing hybrid participation options
- Supporting remote participants with translation
- Publishing materials earlier and more consistently
Many cities across the state already do all of this because they see transparency as a public right, not an administrative burden.
El Cerrito should be leading—not lagging.
Now Is the Time to Act
Transparency doesn’t happen unless residents demand it.
If you believe El Cerrito deserves open government, accessible meetings, and meaningful public input, here’s what you can do:
1. Email the City Council Today
Tell them you expect:
- Remote public comment
- Livestreaming of all public meetings
- Archived recordings
- Policies that encourage—not discourage—public participation
Write to your elected officials:
- Mayor Carolyn Wysinger – cwysinger@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Mayor Pro Tem Gabe Quinto – gquinto@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilmember Lisa Motoyama – lmotoyama@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilmember Rebecca Saltzman – rsaltzman@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
- Councilmember William Ktsanes – wktsanes@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
City Clerk (official correspondence):
cityclerk@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us
2. Speak at City Council Meetings
Use your voice—because the city needs to hear it.
Inform them that access, transparency, and trust are essential to you.
Show up. Speak up.
Bring neighbors with you.
3. Vote for Transparency
When leaders seek your vote, ask a straightforward question:
Do you support livestreaming and remote public comment for all public meetings?
If the answer is anything less than “yes,” that tells you everything you need to know.
Your vote is your leverage.
Use it.
**El Cerrito belongs to all of us.
It’s time for a government that behaves like it.**
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 