Message from the Chair

By Elizabeth G. Pianca*

It has been an honor to serve as the Chair of the Public Law Section. As my term ends and I turn over this responsibility to John Appelbaum, who will lead the Section with great energy and enthusiasm, I would like to thank the members of the Public Law Section Executive Committee and personnel at the State Bar.

The members of the Executive Committee have volunteered tirelessly this year to bring opportunities to further educate and promote to members of the Section and the State Bar a multitude of issues facing public law practitioners. And they have done so as volunteers, often spending many hours after work and on the weekends to plan a conference, edit an article for this Journal, or conduct due diligence on an award nominee or applicant to the Executive Committee.

The State Bar staff – including Pam Wilson, Tricia Horan, Stephanie Carman, Julie Martinez, Raven Ogden, Annie Tsai, and Michael Mullen – have steadily assisted the Section in achieving its mission. The staff has done this work amidst the imposition of the new Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requirements and uncertainty about the future of the State Bar. From my observations, the State Bar staff care deeply about the work of this Section, and all the State Bar sections, and they work hard to support this work.