About CFAC

The California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) is a public benefit nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and defending the people's right to know. We focus on assisting people having difficulty participating in their government.

• Origins, Purposes and Mission
• Officers, Directors, Staff
• Structure
• Financial Support

CFAC Activities:

• HOTLINE legal service used by journalists, civic activists and public officials seeking advice about open government law
• Public Training Seminars on the Ralph M. Brown Act and California Public Records Act
• CFAC books and guides to open government law
• Weekly e-mail newsletter with open government news
• Litigation when necessary to force recalcitrant government agencies to obey open government law (CFAC Litigation Policy)
• Legal assistance through a network of attorneys specializing in First Amendment rights
• Sponsor legislation to improve public access to government (Proposition 59)
• Annual conference where people passionate about government transparency converge and learn from each other 
• Assistance to local groups developing "Sunshine" laws providing increased public access to local government
  

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California First Amendment Coalition
534 Fourth Street, Suite B
San Rafael, CA 94901
Phone: (415) 460-5060; Fax: (415) 460-5155
E-mail: cfac@cfac.org

Origins, Purposes and Mission

The California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) was formally established in April 1988. It is a nonprofit public benefit corporation organized under the laws of California and enjoys tax exempt status as a Section 501 (c) (3) corporation under the Internal Revenue Code. CFAC spent its first two years building financial support through media contributions while operating a legal assistance HOTLINE, with services provided by attorneys of the Oakland law firm of Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May.  In April of 1990 it engaged its first staff, a full-time executive director/general counsel.

CFAC's primary purpose has been the advancement of the public's right to participate in government and obtain government records by working to improve compliance with state and federal laws.

CFAC's mission comprises communication about developments in open government law; education of journalists, the public and government officials about their respective rights and obligations under open government law; litigation when necessary to force compliance with open government standards; and sponsorship of legislation where necessary and consistent with CFAC's purposes.

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Structure

CFAC is a true coalition with board of directors whose members represent a number of pre-existing groups of media professionals with a common interest in First Amendment issues:

• The California Newspaper Publishers Association
• The California Broadcasters Association
• The California Society of Newspaper Editors
• The Radio-Television News Directors Association
• The Society of Professional Journalists
• The Associated Press News Executives Council
• The California Chicano News Media Association

The CFAC Board of Directors also includes journalists and civic activists not associated with journalism organizations.   "Members At Large" and "Public Member" positions on CFAC's board of directors. CFAC's board of directors meets four times a year. Meeting locations generally alternate between northern and southern California. Board meetings are open to the public, with time allotted for public comment.

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Financial Support

CFAC  exists on membership dues, contributions, fees for services and income from a few modest endowments.  We are proud to have hundreds of civic activists as members as well as most major daily and weekly California Newspapers, many television stations and civic organizations.   Primarily because its function requires complete liberty to criticize and oppose governmental secrecy and interference with free speech, the Coalition does not solicit and has never received grants from public agencies.

Significant startup support was provided by the Legal Defense Fund of the national Society of Professional Journalists. The year 1991 marked that organization's final installment of a three-year, $25,000 matching grant to CFAC to support its Hotline and other activities.

In 1992, CFAC received a $50,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for a special project to work with local public agencies in developing public information policies that, wherever possible, go beyond the minimum requirements and accommodate greater access to meetings, records and other information.

Also in 1992, Rowland and Patricia Rebele of Aptos created an endowment fund to support CFAC, administered by the San Francisco Foundation, and since then have contributed $300,000 to the fund. Rowland "Reb" Rebele, former president of CFAC's board of directors, is publisher of the Paradise Post in Butte County and owns interests in several newspapers outside California. In 1988 he served as president of the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

CFAC's Founding Members  (Contributors during startup who made significant donations)

Blade Citizen of Oceanside (now North County Times); California Freedom of Information Committee; California Society of Newspaper Editors; Champion Publications, Chino; Ernst & Young; Five Cities Times-Press-Recorder, Arroyo Grande; Holtville Tribune; Imperial Valley Press; Lesher Communications, Inc.; Los Angeles Daily News; Los Angeles Times; Mort Levine;  Marin Independent Journal; Mariposa Gazette; McClatchy Newspapers; Metro, San Jose; Orange County Register; Palo Alto Weekly; Press-Enterprise, Riverside; Rowland Rebele; San Francisco Bay Guardian; San Francisco Chronicle; San Francisco Independent; San Jose Mercury News; San Mateo Times; Society of Professional Journalists, Central California and Nevada Pro Chapters; University of Southern California; and Howard Williams.

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Officers, Directors, Staff

CFAC Staff

Peter Scheer, Executive Director. A lawyer and journalist, Scheer was editor of The Recorder, a daily legal newspaper in San Francisco, and publisher of Legal Times, a Washington, DC-based weekly on law and lobbying. Scheer practiced appellate law in Washington, DC, both in the U.S. Justice Department and in private practice. He was a partner in the Washington, DC firm of Onek, Klein & Farr, and was general counsel to the National Security Archive. Scheer was recently awarded the James Madison Freedom of Information Award by the Society of Professional Journalists for his work bringing California's landmark open-government initiative, Proposition 59, to the public.

Kelly Dunleavy, Executive Assistant. Kelly graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007, with a B.A in International Political Economy. While at school, Kelly was the Editor-in-Chief for the Berkeley Political Review, as well as a member of the Triathlon team. She has written for a number of local papers and was the Assistant Editor for the now defunct Senses Magazine.

CFAC Board of Directors

Paul Gullixson, President of the Board, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Member at Large

Rick Pullen, Dean of the College of Communications, Cal-State, Fullerton, Member at Large

Dick Rogers, Reader Representative, The San Francisco Chronicle, CFAC President and Member At Large

Mel Opotowsky, newspaper consultant and former managing editor, The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, representing California Society of Newspaper Editors, CFAC Treasurer and Sustaining Member

William S. Johnson, Publisher, Palo Alto Weekly, representing California Newspaper Publishers Association, Sustaining Member

Bruce B. Brugmann, Editor and Publisher, San Francisco Bay Guardian; representing Society of Professional Journalists; CFAC President 1993-1995, Sustaining Member

Duffy Carolan, Attorney, Davis Wright Tremaine, San Francisco, Attorney Member

James M. Chadwick, Attorney, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary, Public Member

Dawn Garcia, Knight Fellowships, Stanford University, Public Member

Dan Gillmor, Center for Citizen Media, Author of We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, Member at Large

Ray Herndon, Regional Computer Projects Editor, Los Angeles Times, Member at Large

Allen McCombs, Publisher, Chino Champion; representing California Newspaper Publishers Association, Member at Large

K.C. Meadows, Ukiah Daily Journal, representing California Society of Newspaper Editors, Sustaining Member

Steve Montiel, USC Institute for Justice and Journalism, Public Member

Karl Olson, Attorney, Levy Ram & Olson, Attorney Member

John Raess, Associated Press SF Bureau Chief, Member at Large

Rowland Rebele, Newspaper Consultant, Aptos, major CFAC benefactor, Member at Large

Arnold York, Publisher, Malibu Times, representing California Newspaper Publishers Association, Sustaining Member

Kevin Bankston, Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation; San Francisco, Attorney Member

David E. Lee, Executive Director, Chinese American Voters Education Committee (CAVEC)

CFAC Fellows:

Dan Weikel, Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, representing Society of Professional Journalists, Sustaining Member

Carole Wagner Vallianos, Attorney, Manhattan Beach, Public Member

Barbara Inatsugu, open government activist, Santa Monica, Public Member

Morton I. Levine, Publisher Emeritus Milpitas Post, Member at Large since 2000

Barbara Blinderman, Attorney, Moskowitz, Brestoff, Winston & Blinderman; Los Angeles, Attorney Member

Martin Weinberger, Publisher, Claremont Courier

Michael Hoffman, Ventura County Star, representing California Society of Newspaper Editors, Sustaining Member

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