Skip to content

Acting Executive Director’s Report — February 6, 2023

English

February 6, 2023

To: Members of the Ethics Commission

From: Gayathri Thaikkendiyil, Acting Executive Director

Subject: Agenda Item 6 – Acting Executive Director’s Report for February 2023

Summary and Action Requested

This report provides various programmatic and operational highlights since the last Executive Director’s Report. No action is required by the Commission, as this item is for informational purposes only.

Staff News

Effective Monday February 6, 2023, Michael Canning will serve as the Acting Policy and Legislative Affairs Manager (1824) to lead the Commission’s ongoing policy and legislative priorities until that vacancy is filled. Michael joined the staff in April 2021 as Policy Analyst. Following the February 2022 vacancy in the Policy Division’s lead position, Michael was appointed to serve as the Acting Senior Policy Analyst in April 2022. In that role, Michael provided important continuity for the Commission’s policy work, including the Government Ethics and Conflicts of Interest Review Project. In November 2022, Michael became the 1823 Senior Policy Analyst, following the reclassification of positions in the Policy Division. Prior to joining the Commission, Michael worked as Voting Information Director at MapLight, where he led the development of Voter’s Edge, an online tool that helps members of the public with information about political candidates. Michael has experience performing market and policy research and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and project management within multiple Non-Governmental Organizations and private consulting firms. His prior areas of work have included campaign finance, political campaigns, food security, and labor issues. Michael holds a dual master’s degree in Public Policy and Business Administration from Mills College and received his BA in Political Science from American University in Washington, D.C.

Biennial Code Update

On January 31, the Board of Supervisors passed on first reading, the Ordinance to amend the City’s Conflict of Interest Code following the 2022 biennial review process required by state law. This Ordinance amends the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code to update the Conflict of Interest Code’s Form 700 (Statement of Economic Interests) filing requirements by adding, deleting, and changing titles of certain designated officials and employees to reflect organizational and staffing changes, and by refining disclosure requirements for certain designated officials and employees. Amendments add, delete, and change departmental designated filer listings since the Code was last amended in 2020. The Ordinance appeared as Item 28 on the Board of Supervisor’s January 31 meeting agenda and among other departmental changes reflects the proposed Ethics Commission Code changes that were adopted at the Commission’s August meeting. The Ordinance is Item 8 on the Board of Supervisor’s February 7 meeting agenda, where it may be finally passed by the Board. If approved by the Board of Supervisors, the Ordinance will be sent to the Mayor for her signature. If the Mayor signs the Ordinance, it will become effective 30 days after being signed.

Behested Payments

At the Commission’s December meeting, the Commission voted to approve new regulations regarding the City’s behested payment rules at the December meeting. On December 12, Staff referred the approved regulations to the Board of Supervisors, where the Board has a 60-day period in which they can veto the regulations with a two-thirds vote. If the Board does not vote to veto within the 60-day period, the regulations will become effective at the end of the 60-days on February 7, 2023. Staff is planning to update the Commission’s website to reflect the new regulations on February 7 and to send out a public notice through the Interested Persons List to notify the public of the changes.

Revenues Report

The table below reflects revenues received by the Commission for Fiscal Year 2023 as of February 6, 2023.

Account DescriptionFY22-23 Original Budget  FY22-23 Actuals
Campaign Consultant Registration Fee$7,000$6,450
Lobbyist Registration Fee$85,000$44,500
Campaign Consultant Fines$2,000$50
Campaign Disclosure Fines$50,000$5,656
Statement of Economic Interests Fines$1,250$0
Lobbyists Fines$2,000$2,450
Other Ethics Fines$7,500$23,638
Other General Government Charges$2,450$0
Total$157,200$82,744

I look forward to answering any questions you may have at the upcoming Commission meeting.

Posted on
Posted in Commission Meeting Documents, Executive Director's Reports

We are continuously increasing the number of translated pages on this site. Materials on this website that are not currently translated may be translated upon request. Contact us to provide feedback on this page.

Estamos aumentando continuamente el número de páginas traducidas en este sitio. Los materiales de este sitio web que no están traducidos actualmente pueden traducirse previa solicitud. Contáctenos para proporcionar comentarios sobre esta página o solicitar traducciones.

我們正在不斷增加本網站翻譯頁面的數量。本網站上目前未翻譯的資料可根據要求進行翻譯。聯絡我們以在此頁面上提供回饋或要求翻譯。

Patuloy naming dinaragdagan ang bilang ng mga isinalin na pahina sa site na ito. Ang mga materyal sa website na ito na hindi kasalukuyang isinasalin ay maaaring isalin kapag hiniling. Makipag-ugnayan sa amin para magbigay ng feedback sa page na ito o humiling ng mga pagsasalin.