Campaign Finance Audit Report: Vallie Brown for Supervisor 2020

FPPC ID #: 1426782
January 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020

Introduction

Public disclosure of election campaign activity is essential to voters making informed decisions. The Political Reform Act (California Government Code [CA Gov. Code] Section [Sec.] 81000 et seq.) and supporting regulations, and the San Francisco Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance (San Francisco Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code [SFC&GCC] Sec. 1.100 et seq.) and supporting regulations, were established to impose reasonable disclosure requirements to reveal information about election campaign activity. By requiring proper and timely disclosure of campaign activity pertaining to contributions, loans, expenditures, and accrued expenditures, the laws and regulations are designed to inform voters and deter improper practices.

To promote campaign compliance with laws and regulations, the San Francisco Ethics Commission (hereinafter “the Commission”) conducted an audit of Vallie Brown for Supervisor 2020: 1426782 (hereinafter “the Committee”) covering the audit period January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. This Audit Report summarizes the results for the audit.

Authority

The Commission has a duty and responsibility under San Francisco Charter Sec. C3.699-11(4) to audit campaign statements and other relevant documents that are filed with the Commission to ensure compliance with applicable state and city campaign finance laws and regulations. Under SFC&GCC Sec. 1.150(a), all candidate committees whose candidates have received public financing must be audited and committees that have not received public financing may be randomly selected for audit at the discretion of the Executive Director of the Commission.

Objectives and Scope

The objective of the audit was to reasonably determine whether the Committee substantially complied with requirements of the Political Reform Act Sec. 81000 et seq. and supporting regulations, and the San Francisco Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance Sec. 1.100 et seq. and supporting regulations. The audit was performed based on a review of the Committee’s filings and records covered by the audit period to determine, among other things:

As a recipient of public financing, the Committee was subject to mandatory audit.

Nothing in this report shall be interpreted to prevent an enforcement action by the Commission or another appropriate agency for conduct in violation of the law, whether or not that conduct is covered by this report.

This report will be forwarded to the Commission’s Enforcement Division for review to determine whether any further action may be warranted.

Auditee Information

Background

At all times relevant to the audit, the Committee’s primary purpose was to support the election of Vallie Brown to the Board of Supervisors, District 5, for the City and County of San Francisco in the November 3, 2020, election. During the period covered by the audit, the Committee’s Treasurer was Vallie Brown and the Assistant Treasurer was Patricia Mar (View Avenue Group). The Committee was established on May 28, 2020, and terminated on February 1, 2021.

Committee Reported Activity

	Total Funds Raised	Total Expenditures Made
Private Contributions	$246,449
Public Funds Received	$255,000
	$501,499	$501,499

The committee activity totals were taken from disclosure statements filed with the Commission covering the period January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

Audit Respondent

The Audit Respondents identified below were the primary audit contacts during the audit and responded to audit inquiries and requests on behalf of the Committee. Jesse Mainardi was retained by the Committee for legal counsel and View Avenue Group was retained for compliance reporting matters.

Jesse Mainardi

Mainardi Law

315 Montgomery Street, 9^th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94104

Patricia Mar & Tricia Waineo

View Avenue Group

393 – 7^th Avenue, Suite 301

San Francisco, CA 94118

Audit Finding

The CA Gov. Code Sec. 81000 et seq. and supporting regulations, and SFC&GCC Sec. 1.100 et seq. and supporting regulations, require campaign committees to timely disclose information about election campaign activity and adhere to applicable campaign activity limits, restrictions, and prohibitions.

The following finding was noted during the audit:

Campaign Disclosure Statements

Under SFC&GCC Sec. 1.161(b)(3), candidate committees must disclose information related to the distribution of mass mailings on an Itemized Disclosure Statement (Form SFEC-161) within five business days of the mail date. If the mail date occurs within the last 16 days before an election, Form SFEC-161 must be filed within two calendar days of the mail date. Per review of disclosure statements filed by the Committee, Auditor identified three Form SFEC-161s that were not timely filed by the required deadline. See table below. The Respondent stated “Based on the Audit Findings and Conclusion by the San Francisco Ethics Commission, the Committee believes it has substantially compiled with the requirements of the Political Reform Act and San Francisco Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance and their supporting regulations.”

Mass Mailing Description	Mass Mailing Drop Date	Required Disclosure Date	Date Reported	Days Late
Mailer #3 – Making Things Worse	10/1/20	10/8/20	10/09/20	1
Mailer #6 – Hypocrisy	10/19/20	10/21/20	10/22/20	1
Mailer #7 – Black Lives Matter	10/22/20	10/24/20	10/25/20	1

Conclusion

Except as indicated in the Audit Finding section above, and in our opinion, the Committee substantially complied with the requirements of the Political Reform Act Sec. 81000 et seq. and supporting regulations, and the San Francisco Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance Sec. 1.100 et seq. and supporting regulations.