I. Introduction
This Audit Report summarizes the audit results of the committee, Gavin Newsom for Mayor, Identification Number 1290430 (“the Committee”), for the period from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. The audit was conducted to determine whether the Committee materially complied with the requirements of the Political Reform Act (“the Act”) (California Government Code section 81000, et seq.) and San Francisco’s Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (“CFRO”) (San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code section 1.100, et seq).
II. Audit Authority
San Francisco Charter section C3.699-11 authorizes the Ethics Commission to audit campaign statements that are filed with the Commission along with other relevant documents to determine whether a committee complied with applicable requirements of State and local laws. Section 1.150(a) of the CFRO requires the Commission to audit all candidates who receive public financing. The Commission randomly selected the Committee for audit.
III. Audit Scope and Procedures
This audit was performed in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. The audit involved a review of the Committee’s records for the period covered by the audit. This review was conducted to determine:
- Compliance with all disclosure requirements pertaining to contributions, expenditures, accrued expenditures, and loans, including itemization when required;
- Compliance with applicable filing deadlines;
- Compliance with restrictions on contributions, loans, and expenditures;
- Accuracy of total reported receipts, disbursements, and cash balances as compared to bank records; and
- Compliance with all record-keeping requirements.
The Commission posts audit reports to its web site and, in cases of apparent violations of law, forwards them to the appropriate enforcement agency.
IV. Committee Information
The Committee was formed in September 2006 to support the election of Gavin Newsom to the office of Mayor in the November 6, 2007 general election. James R. Sutton served as the treasurer. The Committee was active as of December 31, 2007.
V. Audit Findings
For the period covered by the audit, the Committee received $1,874,634 in contributions and incurred $1,614,621 in expenditures.
The Commission determined that there were no material findings with respect to the audit of the Committee. The Committee substantially complied with the disclosure and record keeping provisions of the Act and CFRO.