San Francisco’s Ethics Commissioners are political neophytes, unfamiliar with the city’s ethics laws and campaign finance rules, despite a city charter that stipulates appointees must have experience in government ethics laws, campaign finance and public information. In one recent example, the Commission had to turn to the assigned Deputy City Attorney to determine that it [...]
Lee vs. Nuru: Not Happening!
(photo credit: Luke Thomas, Fog City Journal. Left to right, Mayor’s Chief of Staff Steve Kawa, Rose Pak, Mohammed Nuru, former mayor Willie Brown) It came and went in the blink of an eye. The Chronicle gave it one story, six paragraphs on page C-3 on March 2. No editorial, no commentary from Chuck Nevius. No [...]
Inside the Willie L. Brown Money Machine
For several generations of San Franciscans, the mention of a political machine meant one thing: the Burton Machine. Under the auspices of Phil Burton, a loose coalition of liberals united on issues as diverse as opposition to the Viet Nam war and urban poverty, along with environmentalists and disenfranchised minorities, began to cooperate on an [...]
Part II — The Willie Brown Money Machine
(photo of Mayor Ed Lee and former Mayor Willie Brown courtesy of Luke Thomas/Fog City Journal) PART TWO Brown-Lee Partnership Spells Money, Also Trouble As Mayor, Brown was viewed by many – including federal investigators – as playing fast and loose with city contracts going to contributors and allies. This March, Brown’s controversial handling of [...]
Mythologizing Gavin Newsom
It is, we are told, spelled out in the City Charter. “Official misconduct means…conduct that falls below the standard of decency, good faith and right action impliedly required of all public officers…” What that means – and doesn’t mean – comes through in sharp relief if you substitute the name Gavin Newsom for Ross Mirkarimi. [...]
Who Are the Ethics Commissioners?
San Francisco’s Ethics Commissioners are political neophytes, unfamiliar with the city’s ethics laws and campaign finance rules, despite a city charter that stipulates appointees must have experience in government ethics laws, campaign finance and public information. In one recent example, the Commission had to turn to the assigned Deputy City Attorney to determine that it [...]
