Minutes of the Regular Meeting of
The San Francisco Ethics Commission
Friday, March 22, 2024
Hybrid meeting conducted in-person in City Hall Room 416, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, and also held online as a Remote Meeting via WebEx and aired live on SFGovTV
(Approved April 12, 2024)
Note: SFGovTV provides a continuous archive of audio, video, and Caption Notes recordings of Ethics Commission meetings that allows viewers to watch those meetings online in full at the viewer’s convenience. These archives of Ethics Commission meetings may be accessed at SFGovTV at http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=142.
(Note: A complete recording of this meeting can be found on SFGovTv.)
COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: With Chair Theis Finlev, Vice Chair Argemira Flórez Feng, and Commissioner Yaman Salahi participating, a quorum was present. Commissioner David Tsai and Commissioner Karen Bell Francoise had excused absences.
STAFF PRESENTING: Eric Willett, Online Meeting Moderator; Patrick Ford, Executive Director; John Kim, Senior Program Administrator.
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Bradley Russi, Deputy City Attorney
MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED:
- Draft Minutes for February 9, 2024, Regular Meeting
- Executive Director’s Report dated March 18, 2024
- Director of Enforcement’s Report dated March 18, 2024
- Staff memo regarding the Hearing on the Merits in the Matter of Paul Allen Taylor, Case No. 20-243 (1920-31) dated March 18, 2024
- Presentation on Lobbyist Program
Item 1. Call to order and roll call.
Vice Chair Finlev convened the meeting at 10:09am and stated that members of the public may participate in-person or remotely.
Meeting Moderator Eric Willett summarized the procedures for participation by members of the public for the meeting.
Item 2. Public comment on matters not appearing on the agenda.
Under Item 2, the Commission provided the opportunity for general public comment on matters not appearing on the agenda but within the Ethics Commission’s subject matter jurisdiction.
Public Comment:
No public comment was received and public comment on the item was closed.
CONSENT CALENDAR Items 3, 5, and 5
The Commission took up its Consent Calendar, provided the opportunity for public comment on all Consent Calendar items, and voted 3-0 to adopt a motion by Vice Chair Flórez Feng and seconded by Chair Finlev to approve the following Consent Calendar items that required by the Commission:
- Item 3. Draft Minutes of the Ethics Commission February 9, 2024, Regular Meeting
The following Consent Calendar items were informational and required no action by the Commission, but the opportunity for public comment was provided.
- Item 4. Executive Director’s Report
- Item 5. Director of Enforcement’s Report highlighting Enforcement Division Operations
Public Comment:
No public comment was received and public comment on the item was closed.
Motion 240322-01 (Flórez Feng / Finlev): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to approve consent calendar item requiring action by the Commission.
REGULAR CALENDAR
Item 6. Discussion and Possible Action regarding Hearing on the Merits In the Matter of Paul Allen Taylor, Case No. 20-243 (1920-031)
Chair Finlev provided a brief overview of the case to date.
Chair Finlev and Commissioner Salahi shared their thoughts on the proposed findings of the case, particularly Mr. Taylor’s role in causation.
All commissioners certified that they have heard the testimony and reviewed the evidence.
The Commission voted 3-0 to approve a motion by Chair Finlev, seconded by Commissioner Flórez Feng, that enforcement staff have proved by preponderance of evidence that Taylor violated the charges in counts 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8.
240322-02 (Finlev / Flórez Feng): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) that enforcement staff have proved by preponderance of evidence that Taylor violated the charges in counts 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8.
Chair Finlev asked Deputy City Attorney Russi if the Commission should motion on counts 3 and 5, even though he believes it will not pass, for the sake of the record.
Russi confirmed that this should be done for the record.
Commissioner Salahi stated that he is not convinced that there is enough evidence on the record that Taylor violated the charges in counts 3 and 5.
The Commission voted 2-1, with Salahi in dissent, to approve a motion by Chair Finlev, seconded by Commissioner Flórez Feng, that enforcement staff have proved by preponderance of evidence that Taylor violated the charges in counts 3 and 5. The motion was not approved with Commissioner Salahi opposed.
240322-03 (Finlev / Flórez Feng): Moved and seconded, that enforcement staff have proved by preponderance of evidence that Taylor violated the charges in counts 3 and 5. The motion failed (2-1) with Salahi in dissent.
The Commission discussed the amount of the penalties.
Chair Finlev read the proposed penalties for the record:
Count 1- $1700, Count 2- $1700, Count 4- $500, Count 6- $500, Count 7- $500, Count 8- $750.
The Commission voted 3-0 to approve a motion by Chair Finlev, seconded by Commissioner Salahi, that based on the evidence submitted and the consideration of the penalty factors and relevant circumstances that the appropriate penalties be set as stated above.
240322-04 (Finlev / Salahi): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) that based on the evidence submitted and the consideration of the penalty factors and relevant circumstances that the appropriate penalties be set as stated above.
Chair Finlev confirmed with Russi that the Commission should adopt the findings and delegate a commissioner to make the conforming changes to the findings.
The Commission voted 3-0 to approve a motion by Chair Finlev, seconded by Commissioner Flórez Feng, to adopt the draft findings of fact and conclusions of law prepared by the Commission as amended by today’s discussion and to delegate to Chair Finlev to finalize.
240322-05 (Finlev / Flórez Feng): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to adopt the draft findings of fact and conclusions of law prepared by the Commission as amended by today’s discussion and to delegate to Chair Finlev to finalize.
Public Comment:
No public comment was received and public comment on the item was closed.
Item 7. Presentation on Lobbyist Program by Engagement and Compliance Division
Senior Program Administrator John Kim gave a prepared presentation.
Chair Finlev asked what triggers filing requirements.
Kim confirmed that once a contact lobbyist makes contact on behalf of an employer or client.
Public Comment:
No public comment was received and public comment on the item was closed.
Item 8. Items for Future Meetings (Discussion and Possible Action)
Chair Finlev stated that enforcement actions should not be on the consent calendar. He also stated that items where it’s anticipated that many members of the public would like to be involved should be on top of the agenda. Items with no action items should be near the end of the agenda.
Ford stated that the commission can operate with enforcement items automatically be pulled from consent calendar.
Commissioner Flórez Feng stated she did not have an issue with this.
Commissioner Flórez Feng requested an update on Prop D progress and next steps at the next meeting.
Public Comment:
No public comment was received and public comment on the item was closed.
Item 9. Additional opportunity for public comment on matters not appearing on the agenda pursuant to Ethics Commission Bylaws Article VII Section 2.
Public Comment:
No public comment was received and public comment on the item was closed.
Item 10. Adjournment.
The Commission adjourned at 11:10am.