Govt Oversight Projects

The following COPs Program projects have the Project Type parameter set to Govt Oversight.

Project	Description	Parent Project	Curator	Status
California Energy Commission	Oversight and coordination with this govt institution		Ray Lutz	Active
California Legislature	Track bills and provide oversight			Active
California Public Utilities Commission	Oversight of the CPUC, which regulates for-profit orgs that provide energy, transportation, communication in CA		Ray Lutz	Active
City of El Cajon	Oversight of City of El Cajon and El Cajon City Council		Raymond Lutz	Active
COPs Chapter San Diego East County	Local Government Oversight	Cops Chapters		Active
Court Operations Oversight	Track Judicial Operations, Judges, etc.		Ray Lutz	Active
CrowdWatch	Crowd-sourced data collection and review	Easy Voting, Election Audits, Election Integrity, Election Team, Snapshot Protocol, Snapshot Protocol	Ray Lutz	Inactive
Govt Info Map	Establish standards for reporting information about govt organizations to allow a comprehensive "map" to be developed.			Active
Grossmont Healthcare District	Board Oversight		Raymond Lutz	Active
Grossmont Union High School District	Oppose the sad story of a high school district taken over by religious radicals and left in disarray. Now, they've done it again.		Raymond Lutz	Active
La Mesa Spring Valley School Board	Oversight of board, and most recently, the banning of the President's address.		Raymond Lutz	Inactive
Lakeside Fire Board	Oversight of the Lakeside Fire Board		Raymond Lutz	Inactive
Padre Dam Municipal Water District	Oversight of this governmental body		Raymond Lutz	Inactive
Police Dept Oversight	General topic on Police Department Oversight		Ray Lutz	Active
San Diego LAFCO	Oversight of this governmental body		Raymond Lutz	Active
San Diego Reinvestment Task Force	This committee decides on how money that the city may have is reinvested. Bankers sit around the table. Oppty to get money moved from banks to local community banks.		Ray Lutz	Active
Stieringer Employment Scam	Grossmont Healthcare Board member James Stieringer resigned to slip into a $60K/year position he helped create.	Grossmont Healthcare Board	Raymond Lutz	Closed
Unexpected Deaths at Grossmont Hospital	After being cited by the California Medical review board, the community became aware that the District Board was unaware of these events, despite a clear expectation by the community that they stay perform hospital oversight.	Grossmont Healthcare Board	Raymond Lutz	Closed

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How to locate an appropriate governmental body that needs oversight

To find an appropriate governmental body or official to oversee, looking up all your elected officials and government bodies using your local Registrar of Voters.

• San Diego County Registrar of Voters: http://www.sdvote.com (Click on "Your Representatives" and enter your address.)

For example, one COPs participant receives the following list for his districts:

• State and Federal Officials - These need oversight but you probably can't go to the meetings, and there are other groups who routinely monitor these representatives
  • 36TH SENATORIAL DIST - State Senator
  • 52ND CONGRESSIONAL DIST - Federal House of Representatives
  • 77TH ASSEMBLY DIST - State Assembly
• Local Government - These govt bodies desperately need oversight, with many having no one at all routinely reviewing their operation
  • 2ND SUPERVISORIAL DIST - County Board of Supervisors
  • 3RD BD OF EQUAL DIST - Board of Equalization (tax board)
  • 3RD CO BD OF EDUCATION - County Board of Education
  • CAJON VALLEY UNION SCHL
  • GROSSMONT CUY COMM COLLEGE
  • GROSSMONT HEALTHCARE DISTRICT
  • GROSSMONT UN HIGH SCHL
  • HELIX WTR IRR - 2 DIV
  • RCD OF GREATER SD CO - County Recorder
  • SAN MIGUEL FIRE PROT
  • SD CO WATER AUTHORITY
  • VALLE DE ORO COMM PLAN - Community planning group
• Judicial - These are relatively difficult to provide oversight and are not recommended for COPs participants.
  • EL CAJON JUDICIAL
  • SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
• And there are many more that are not listed here, such as CERT - Community Emergency Response Teams, etc. and combined bodies, such as:
  • LAFCO - San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is a state chartered regulatory agency
  • SANDAG - San Diego Association of Governments

To find out when and where the groups meet, more information is available from the County, City, or State that has jurisdiction over each group. Find out when and where they meet, get the agenda if you can before the meeting, and start going. Make yourself a fixture at the meeting. Remember that you have the right to see any documents they are working on, including detailed agendas prior to and during the meeting.

You don't have to be in the respective district to attend the meeting and provide oversight. All members of the public have equal rights in the meeting, and in some ways, it is easier if you have no obvious financial interest in the outcome.

It is a good idea to introduce yourself to the chair prior to the meeting so there is no confusion about the fact that you are with COPs and are there to provide citizen oversight. Don't abuse your power as a citizen, particularly when working with volunteer bodies, such as the community planning groups.

If you have any further questions, please contact Raymond Lutz, COPs Coordinator.