Thumbnail image for America’s Cup: Billionaires Play, Residents Pay

America’s Cup: Billionaires Play, Residents Pay

by Larry Bush 06.21.2013

The America’s Cup slipped into town with its first events with little fanfare a week or more days ago, accompanied by the sound of ringing cash registers for Larry Ellison even while his event committee appears likely to leave San Francisco taxpayers to foot millions more in costs than originally promised. Ellison will garner millions […]

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Friends of Ethics Supports Herrera, Chiu Reform Proposals

by Larry Bush 06.21.2013

Friends of Ethics is pleased to support your proposed reforms to the City’s good government laws. We see this legislation as an initial and exciting step in moving forward ethics reform. Toward that end, we urge the following amendments, along with the inclusion of several additional features, which we list separately. On the sections on […]

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Renne: More To Come on SFHA

by Larry Bush 06.21.2013

Law enforcement officials at the federal and local level are showing a strong interest in whether former mayor Willie Brown was at the center of an effort to rig a Housing Authority contract, CitiReport has learned. City Attorney Louise Renne now also is undertaking an investigation into “procurement manipulation” following a new request from the […]

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Ethics Commission: Failing The Public Again

by George Wooding 06.21.2013

It is now more important for the Ethics Commission to protect “City Family” officials than it is to provide justice for San Francisco citizens.  The Commission’s new job is to shield City agencies and politicians from their political wrongdoings. One of the main functions of the Ethics Commission is to review and enforce Sunshine Ordinance […]

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Larry Bush: SFT Remarks at Awards

by Larry Bush 05.20.2013

Larry Bush was named an Unsung Hero by San Francisco Tomorrow at its annual Awards Dinner. Below are his remarks: I came to San Francisco 30 years ago in the first years of the AIDS epidemic. I was a reporter in Washington, and traveled the country reporting on politics and increasingly on AIDS. I came […]

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Thumbnail image for CitiReport Looks at SF Ethics, 2011-2013

CitiReport Looks at SF Ethics, 2011-2013

by Larry Bush 05.10.2013

When CitiReport relaunched in January 2011 it was with the intent of providing information and commentary on the workings of City Hall and in particular the junction of ethics, money and politics. Over the past two years, our attention has returned repeatedly to the city’s Ethics Commission, the current city laws and how they are […]

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Washington, Sacto Want End to Dark Money

by Larry Bush 05.10.2013

It’s an age-old cry from unions facing management demands for cost-cutting measures that hit workers in the paycheck: “Open The Books.” Or, as Ronald Reagan said of the Russians, “Trust but Verify.” In either case, the goal was the same: finding a way to a level playing field that didn’t leave one side vulnerable to […]

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The Chiu-Herrera Reforms

by Larry Bush 05.10.2013

It may be no coincidence that the last time San Francisco forced ethics reforms on City Hall was during Willie Brown’s term as mayor. At that time, Brown’s administration was pockmarked by the influence of political consultants and lobbyists, from his former aide Billy Rutland to his campaign strategist Jack Davis. A cadre of political […]

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The Ethics Reform On the table

by Larry Bush 05.10.2013

Chiu, Herrera Put Ethics on the Agenda Board President David Chiu and City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s proposed ethics reforms would force into the open a flow of money aimed at influencing City Hall that has been hidden by custom and law, identifying how play-to-pay politics tips the scale on decisions that cost taxpayers in swollen […]

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Thumbnail image for Open Letter to Ethics Commissioners: Get to Work!

Open Letter to Ethics Commissioners: Get to Work!

by Larry Bush 05.09.2013

(Following a Harvey Rose report comparing Los Angeles and San Francisco Ethics Commissions for policies and practices, as requested by Supervisor David Campos, the Board’s Rules Committee directed Ethics to hold hearings on the report. That was in June. Eleven months later Ethics has yet to hold a commission meeting on the report. Two earlier […]

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