Mayor Daniel Lurie is doubling down on keeping his October call with President Trump under wraps, and it’s creating a serious transparency problem in San Francisco.

Last month, the city’s Sunshine Ordinance Task Force ruled that the mayor’s office improperly withheld records about the call, which Lurie claims prevented a federal immigration enforcement surge. But here’s the thing: even after that rebuke, Lurie’s team is still refusing to release anything, arguing that lawyer involvement means attorney-client privilege protects everything.

The task force wasn’t having it. Members, including attorney Dean Schmidt, basically called out the mayor’s office for treating the mere presence of city attorneys as a blanket excuse to hide documents. Schmidt said it was “inconceivable” that there were zero non-privileged materials, even in redacted form. The whole situation started when transparency advocate Hazel Williams filed a complaint back in October, and Lurie’s legislative and ethics secretary, Dexter Darmali, responded by straight-up asking her to withdraw it.

Williams found that move deeply offensive. “It feels like public records law is there in name only,” she told reporters. “They’re basically saying, ‘Our internal decision trumps everything else’.” And honestly? She has a point. This isn’t just about technicalities, it’s about whether regular people get a say in major city decisions.

The secrecy is especially sus because reporting shows billionaire business leaders also had conversations with Trump around the same time, and their influence may have contributed to canceling the enforcement surge. Immigrant justice organizer Julien Ball from the Democratic Socialists of America pointed out the obvious problem: “Do we have a system where elected officials make decisions based on input from the people, or is it based on back-channel discussions between a few billionaires?” He’s right, immigrant communities directly affected by ICE raids should be part of these conversations, not frozen out while wealthy elites whisper in the president’s ear.

Documents show the mayor also had calls with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, but there are no notes, summaries, or follow-up communications from those exchanges either. It’s a pattern that screams “we don’t want scrutiny”.

The task force’s compliance committee will eventually review whether Lurie’s office complied with the order, though no meeting has been scheduled yet. If they’re found in violation, the ethics commission could step in. Meanwhile, public pressure is mounting, the Democratic Socialists of America collected over 100 signatures on a form letter demanding full disclosure.

Williams said it best: transparency isn’t just about good government vibes. It’s about real consequences for immigrants facing raids and surveillance. “We just have to trust that they know what’s best?” she said. “That’s very oligarchical, not very democratic”.