Date: February 12, 2021
Contact: Pat Ford (415) 252-3100
At its monthly public meeting today, the San Francisco Ethics Commission approved a settlement agreement fining an employee of the City and County of San Francisco $2,500 for engaging in activities prohibited under the law as incompatible with the duties of public service.
In the Stipulation, Decision, and Order approved today, the Commission fined former Department of Human Resources (DHR) training manager Dante King for violating San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code section 3.218 by uploading to his personal consulting business website in or around March 2019 DHR training seminar sign-in sheets and course evaluations to promote his work among potential clients for his personal consulting business. King also embedded on his personal business website a video that DHR had paid for and produced, together with SFGovTV, that featured King promoting the work he did with and for the City and County. Before moving to a position with the City’s MTA, King managed a learning and development team in the Human Resources Department, conducted training workshops for City officers and employees, and created City training modules on equity, diversity and inclusion. By using materials created on City time, in City facilities, and with City equipment to promote his personal business, the Stipulation found, King violated the prohibition in City law that prohibits employees from using City work-product in exchange for anything of value and without appropriate authorization. As part of the stipulated agreement, King acknowledged the violation and agreed to pay the $2,500 fine.
City law requires each City department to have a Statement of Incompatible Activities that identifies activities that are incompatible with their City employment in that department and are therefore prohibited. These departmental Statements are designed to help ensure that those who work for the City do not use their City position, title, or access to City resources and materials to advance their own personal gain or interests. Statements of Incompatible Activities for each department of the City and County of San Francisco are available on the Ethics Commission’s website at www.sfethics.org.
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The San Francisco Ethics Commission was created directly by the City’s voters with the passage of Proposition K in November 1993 and is responsible for the independent and impartial administration and enforcement of laws related to campaign finance, public financing of candidates, governmental ethics, conflicts of interests, and registration and reporting by lobbyists, campaign consultants, permit consultants, and major developers.
Our mission is to practice and promote the highest standards of integrity in government. We achieve that by delivering impactful programs that promote fair, transparent, and accountable governmental decision making for the benefit of all San Franciscans. Public service is a public trust, and our aim is to ensure that San Franciscans can have confidence that the operations of the City and County and the decisions made by its officials and employees are fair, just, and made without any regard to private or personal gain.