Michael A. Harris dies at 92; journalist’s stories led to Brown Act

Michael A. Harris, a retired San Francisco Chronicle investigative reporter who wrote a series of articles that inspired the Brown Act, California’s open-meetings law, died Oct. 2 at his home in Chevy Chase, Md., after a brief illness, the Chronicle reported. He was 92.

In 1952, Harris wrote a 10-part series for the Chronicle called “Your Secret Government,” which outlined how boards of supervisors, city councils, school districts and other governmental bodies could sidestep oversight by journalists and citizens by meeting in private. The series prompted Assemblyman Ralph M. Brown (D-Modesto) to write legislation enacted in 1953 ensuring that meetings of public agencies were conducted in public. The law also requires governmental agencies to announce in advance when and where meetings will be held so interested citizens may attend.

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FOR THE RECORD:

A previous version of this article identified Terry Francke as general counsel of the California First Amendment Coalition. Francke was with that group from 1990-2004. He is now with Californians Aware.

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Harris was asked to write the preface to the Brown Act:

“The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them,” the preamble declares. “The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”

Terry Francke, general counsel of the the nonprofit organization Californians Aware, said: “Anyone who has ever been helped by (public) access to meetings owes a debt of gratitude to Michael.”

In 1990, Harris was honored with the James Madison Freedom of Information Award for his role in the law’s enactment.

Harris was born in New York and served in the Army Air Forces during World War II as a navigator. He joined the Chronicle in 1951.

Harris left the newspaper in 1994, served a term as a city councilman in Sausalito and was a member of the governing board of Marin County’s Family Service Agency. His wife, Barbara, served as a Sausalito schools trustee. The couple moved to Maryland in 2008.

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