Date: February 5, 2024
To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: Patrick Ford, Executive Director
Subject: Agenda Item 4 – Executive Director’s Report for February 2024
Summary and Action Requested
This report provides various programmatic and operational highlights since the last report.
No action is required by the Commission, as this item is for informational purposes only.
Staff Update – Acting Director of Enforcement
I am excited to share that Jeff Zumwalt will be serving as the Commission’s Acting Director of Enforcement effective Monday, February 5th and until the position is filled on a permanent basis. Jeff previously served as the Acting Director of Enforcement from October 2021 until February 2022.
Jeff joined the Ethics Commission as an Investigative Analyst in July 2017 and was promoted to Senior Investigative Analyst in February 2019. In that role he has conducted research and investigations into alleged violations of laws within the Commission’s jurisdiction. His work has included intake, witness interviews, preliminary reviews, case preparation and settlement negotiations. Prior to joining the Commission, Jeff served as a Detective with the Police Department at Virginia Tech, where his work included leading a large public embezzlement investigation for the department, case review and management, and coordination with other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. He also produced legal and administrative documents for supervisors, legal officers, and local, state, and federal government officials. Jeff also served for six years as a Police Officer with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC, where he handled dozens of investigations and was a recipient of the Medal of Valor and 15 Letters of Commendation for outstanding service. Jeff did his undergraduate work in Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland and holds a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Tech.
November 2024 Election Update
Following the January 31st filing deadline for campaign committees covering the second half of 2023, campaign finance dashboards are now available for both 2024 elections on the San Francisco Ethics Commission website. The dashboards allow the public to research the finances of campaigns including donors and expenses. Advanced capabilities such as searching by employer or occupation, and viewing a map of aggregate contributions are also available.
This year the Ethics Commission introduced two new offerings for consuming campaign finance data. The “Daily Digest Dashboards” for March and November present a simplified view of local campaign finance disclosures that is updated automatically every day, and the “Local General Purpose and State Committees Dashboards” offer a view into the campaign filings of local and state level committees that fund local campaign committees.