To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: LeeAnn Pelham, Executive Director
Subject: Agenda Item 8 – Executive Director’s Report for the October 2019 Commission Meeting
Summary
This report provides various programmatic and operational highlights to date since the last monthly Executive Director’s Report.
Action Requested
No action is required by the Commission, as this item is for informational purposes only.
Staffing News
As we have turned to a busy Fall at the Ethics Commission, there are a number of news items and announcements to share regarding Staffing changes.
I am delighted to announce that Johnny Hosey has been appointed as a permanent exempt Engagement and Compliance Officer (1844) effective September 21, 2019. Johnny first joined the Commission staff in May 2012 as a special projects Campaign Finance Assistant. Before joining the Commission, Johnny worked as a Public Service Trainee with the SF Department of Health, and as an intern in the office of then-Supervisor Jane Kim during his undergraduate years at San Francisco State University, where he earned his BA in Speech and Organizational Communication. In December 2016 Johnny was named Education and Compliance Assistant (1842) and he began serving as an Engagement & Compliance Officer in an acting capacity in September 2017. In that role, Johnny supported compliance efforts across program areas and played a crucial role in providing assistance to candidates and committees for the June 2018, November 2018, November 2019, and Trustee elections. Reflecting the increasing scope and complexity of work performed by the Commission’s Engagement & Compliance Division, a new 1844 position was authorized and funded beginning with the Commission’s budget adopted for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019. Under the continued direction of Deputy Director and Chief Programs Officer Gayathri Thaikkendiyil, the E&C division is continuing to further strengthen the effectiveness and broaden the impact of the Commission’s disclosure and compliance operations across all program areas. We are excited to welcome Johnny to this role on a permanent basis as he continues to contribute his knowledge and experience to achieving the Commission’s broad compliance and engagement mandates as new requirements of the law are operationalized.
I am also happy to share news that Tyler Field has been appointed as our new Information Systems Engineer (1042), also effective September 21st. The IS Engineer position was newly authorized and funded as a permanent exempt position in the Commission’s FY20 budget for a limited term project designed to better engage and equip the public to be active participants in and more informed about local elections. In part, the project will focus on the integration of Ethics Commission databases for Statement of Economic Interests (“Form 700”), lobbyist, and campaign finance disclosures by using application programming interfaces or “APIs” with the City’s DataSF system. That integration will provide more robust and timely public access to Ethics Commission disclosure information for improved access and usability with improved research tools, along with enhanced data visualizations. In this new role, Tyler will also conduct outreach to directly engage stakeholders to promote improved awareness and to develop opportunities for partnerships in more broadly leveraging disclosure data and new research tools. In addition, Tyler will be working on completing the Commission’ transition to electronic filing for all local forms. Tyler first joined the Commission in January 2018 as an Information Systems Business Analyst for a limited term project that was primarily focused on working on a project with Netfile to produce the Campaign Finance API that will now be used to empower others to do more timely and informative research. His previous experience includes roles as an Informatics Engineer and in designing and building in both brick-and-mortar and digital environments. He holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Since establishment of the Commission’s dedicated Policy unit in 2017, the role of the Commission’s lead policy position to handle the most complex policy initiatives – a permanent exempt Senior Policy Analyst (1823) — has also expanded into assuming greater day to day responsibility for the Commission’s significant legislative affairs and growing media communications work. In recognition of this increased focus and the specialized legislative and in-depth legal research skills this work has involved, the working title of that lead policy position is being updated to better reflect the day to day duties currently being performed. As a result, Pat Ford became Senior Policy and Legislative Affairs Counsel effective September 21, 2019. As many of you know, Pat first joined the Commission as a Policy Analyst in July 2017, experienced with campaign law compliance and reporting, and as a former corporate attorney where he engaged on issues related to regulatory compliance and corporate governance, as well as contracts, venture capital financings and merger and acquisitions. He was appointed Senior Policy Analyst in July 2018. Pat holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the UC Santa Barbara and a JD from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific, where he was a member of the Law Review.
Over the past 18 months Amy Li led the Audit Division during a period of transition as both Acting Interim Audit Supervisor (1822) and, since late February 2019, as Principal Program Manager for Audits (1824). Amy recently decided to return to her role as Auditor (1822) within the division, and I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank her for her willingness to contribute her talents, skills, and knowledge to the audit team’s work over that extended period. Information regarding next steps related to the permanent civil service 1824 position will be provided as it becomes available. In the interim, to continue to provide day to day support for the audit division’s assigned work and achievement of its fiscal year objectives, Auditor Robb Hodge (1822) took on the expanded role of Lead Auditor effective September 21, 2019. In this role Robb assumes added responsibility for the day to day operations and management of audit projects, including planning and assigning work and monitoring audit progress to ensure its completion, acting as point person for the division across program areas and with external stakeholders as needed, and assisting with various ongoing administrative duties. Robb has been a member of the Audit division since joining the Commission staff in February 2018. Prior to joining the Commission Robb had over five years of political reform compliance and reporting experience with two Bay Area political law firms that specialize in political reform compliance. He also has prior supervisory experience with the Strawberry Recreation District, where he supervised a staff of 30 including recruitment and hiring, payroll processing and staff training and managed recreation programs including program scheduling, budgeting, and purchasing. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Denison University.
Lastly, I am sorry to announce that Information Systems Senior Business Analyst Arnoldo Calderon (1053) has decided to accept a new position in the private sector and his last day on staff is Friday, October 11. Arnoldo joined the Commission staff in August 2018 from the Department of Public Health, where he was an IS Business Analyst (1052). During the past year, in addition to day to day maintenance and support of the Commission’s IT systems, Arnoldo worked on a variety of projects including IT project planning and preparation for the Citywide electronic filing of Form 700. He also automated the Enforcement Division’s caseload reporting tool for improved facility in reporting to the Commission on monthly caseload data and electronic forms to enable filers to comply with behested payment disclosure reporting under the Anti-Corruption and Accountability Ordinance (ACAO). Earlier this year Arnoldo earned his certification as a Project Management Professional, and in his new position with Ernst & Young as a Program Management Senior he will engage with clients to establish and manage program and governance structures tracking performance across workstreams. We are sorry to say farewell to Arnoldo but wish him all continued success in his work.
We are continuing to work closely with DHR Client Services to fill the vacant Senior Clerk (1406) position and to make progress on posting the job announcement for the vacant Senior Investigative Analyst (1822) position. We also will be taking steps to begin recruitment for the 1053 position to fill the new vacancy on our Electronic Disclosure and Data Analysis team. More updates on these fronts will be shared as they become available.
Revenues Report
Table 1 shows the revenues received by the Commission during the fiscal year that began on July 1, 2019, as of October 9, 2019.
Table 1- Summary to Date of FY19-20 Revenues
| Source | FY 19-20 Budgeted Amount | FY 19-20 Receipts as of October 9, 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Lobbyist Registration Fees | $85,000 | $7,500 |
| Lobbyists Fines | $2,000 | $1,050 |
| Campaign Consultants Fees | $7,000 | $6,550 |
| Contact Lobbyist and Other e.g., copies made by public | $2,450 | 0 |
| Statement of Economic Interests Filings-Late Fees | $1,250 | $100 |
| Campaign Consultant Fines | $2,000 | $50 |
| Campaign Finance Fines (includes late fees and forfeitures) | $50,000 | $43,494 |
| Ethics, Other/ Administrative Fines Levied by the Commission | $7,500 | $11,000 |
| Major Developer Fee | $0 | 0 |
| Total | $157,200 | $69,744 |
I look forward to answering any questions you might have at the upcoming Commission meeting.