CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
Campaign Finance Audit Report
Connie Chan for Supervisor 2020
FPPC ID #: 1424489
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 & Government 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”) engaged Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP (MGO) to assist in assessing election committees’ compliance with applicable requirements. This report summarizes the audit results on the Connie Chan for Supervisor 2020 #1424489 committee (hereinafter “the Committee”) covering the period of January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.
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 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 committee 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 filing and records covered by the audit period to determine, among other things:
- Compliance with campaign activity disclosure and record-keeping requirements, and
- Compliance with applicable campaign activity limits, restrictions, and prohibitions.
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 in this report.
The report will be forwarded to the Commission’s Enforcement Division for review to determine whether any further action may be warranted.
Committee Information
Background
The Committee’s primary purpose was to support the election of Connie Chan to the Board of Supervisors, District 1, of the City and County of San Francisco (“City”) in the November 3, 2020 election. During the period covered by the audit, the Committee’s Treasurer was Esther Marks. The Committee is ongoing and was established on January 17, 2020.
Committee Reported Activity
| Total Funds Raised | Total Expenditures Made | |
| Private Contributions | $122,410 | $308,981 |
| Public Funds Received | $255,072 |
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 respondent identified below was the primary audit contact during the audit and responded to audit inquiries and requests on behalf of the Committee.
Esther Marks
Treasurer
125 Upper Terrace
San Francisco, CA 94117
Audit Findings
The CA Gov. Code Sec. 81000 et. Seq and supporting regulations, and SFC&GCC Sec. 1.100 et. Sec 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 findings were noted during the audit:
Monetary Contributions
- Under SFC&GCC Sec. 1.114(b) and Regulation 1.114-1, no corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership shall make a contribution to a candidate committee. Under SFC&GCC Sec. 1.114(f), candidate committees that receive contributions that do not comply with the contribution requirements shall forfeit the amount received to the Commission for deposit in the General Fund.
Two contributions totaling $750 were accepted by the Committee from prohibited sources.
| Source | Date | Amount | Forfeited to Commission |
| Food 24 Market LLC | 03/06/2020 | $500.00 | Yes |
| Yu Accountancy Corporation | 05/02/2020 | $250.00 | No |
Ms. Marks stated that an error was made by accepting these contributions.
- SFC&GCC Sec.1.109(a) states, “All candidates and committees that are required to file statements prescribed by this Chapter shall maintain detailed accounts, records, bills, and receipts as necessary to prepare those statements. Each candidate or committee shall retain for a period of four years detailed information and original source documentation supporting those statements.”
Out of 65 contributions examined, records were not maintained to substantiate the occupation and employer information of 5 disclosed contributors.
| Contributor | Date | Amount | |
| 1. | Bradley Wiedmaier | 09/10/2020 | $ 500 |
| 2. | Chest Cheung | 10/02/2020 | $ 200 |
| 3. | Michael Tong | 09/14/2020 | $ 150 |
| 4. | Sauting Leewong | 09/21/2020 | $ 500 |
| 5. | Tracy Lee | 09/24/2020 | $ 500 |
| $ 1,850 |
Ms. Marks stated that “After I scanned all documents to submit to Ethics Commission and submitted October 23, 2023, I threw out donor envelopes as it took a lot of space, and I thought scanning of documents was sufficient.” Ms. Marks added that she contacted the contributors and obtained signed statements regarding the missing occupation and employer information.
Campaign Disclosure Statements
- Under SFC&GCC Sec. 1.152(a)(1) and Regulation1.152-1(a), candidate committees are required to file Form SFEC-152: Threshold Notice with the Commission disclosing when they have received contributions or made expenditures that equal or exceed $10,000 within 24 hours of reaching or exceeding that amount.
The SFEC 152 Form required to be filed at the initial $10,000 threshold was filed 4 days late.
| Threshold Level | Date Reached | Date Filed | Days Late |
| $10,000 | 2/19/2020 | 2/24/2020 | 4 |
Ms. Marks stated that the $10,000 threshold was reached on February 23, 2020, and the corresponding SFEC 152 Form was filed within 24 hours on February 24, 2020.
Rebuttal to Audit Respondent’s Statement.
A chronological summation of contributions received from January 17 through February 19, 2020 results in a total amount of $10,048. This amount triggered the requirement to file a SFEC 152 Form no later than February 20, 2020.
Conclusion
Except as indicated in the Audit Findings 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.