November 4, 2024
To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: Kyle Kennedy, Engagement & Compliance Manager
Subject: Agenda Item 5: Quarterly Engagement & Compliance Report
Summary & Action Requested
This report provides general programmatic updates and data about the operations of the Commission’s Engagement and Compliance Division.
No action is required by the Commission, as this item is for informational purposes only.
Campaign Finance Update
November 5, 2024 marks the first election in San Francisco since the contests for Mayor and other citywide elective offices were consolidated with the presidential general election. This means that citywide contests now coincide with the contests for the odd-numbered supervisorial districts, resulting in nineteen local elective offices appearing on the November ballot. Division staff have overseen a busy election season, timely processing and reviewing forms from candidate, primarily formed, general purpose, and major donor committees. This work is vital to ensuring that committees are able to effectively comply with the law and that the public has ready access to this information.
Campaign Finance Filings
As of October 31, campaign committees have filed a total of 571 Form 460s (campaign statement) and a combined 1,200 24-hour reports (including Form 496 for independent expenditures and Form 497 for contributions over $1,000). The Division receives these filings through NetFile and conducts a facial review of each filing. The table below summarizes the major filings received and reviewed by the division. This does not count other campaign finance filings, such as threshold notices, electioneering communication disclosures, and member communications disclosures.
| Form/Filing | Number Received & Reviewed |
| FPPC Form 460 – July Semi-Annual | 237 |
| FPPC Form 460 – 1st Pre-Election Report | 159 |
| FPPC Form 460 – 2nd Pre-Election Report | 175 |
| FPPC Form 496 – Late Contribution Reports | 595 |
| FPPC Form 497 – Late Expenditure Reports | 605 |
| TOTAL | 1,771 |
November 2024 Election – Campaign Spending Totals
Thus far, the 2024 election has involved the expenditure of significant sums on the various local contests appearing on the ballot. In total, committees have spent approximately $57.7 million across all of the local contests. This includes spending on the Mayoral election, supervisorial races, fifteen local ballot measures, and various other local elective offices (school board, city attorney, district attorney, sheriff, treasurer, and community college board).
Spending on the Mayoral Election
As of October 31, there has been a total of $30.5 million spent on the November 2024 mayoral election. This includes spending on nine separate candidates in the race. Of this spending, $15.4 million was spent by the candidates’ own committees, while $15.1 million was spent by other committees in the form of intendent expenditures. The chart below shows all reported spending in the Mayoral election as of October 31.
Total Spending on 2024 Mayoral Election by Candidate (through 10/31/24)
Spending on Board of Supervisors Contests (Districts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11)
As of October 31, there has been a total of $9 million spent on the November 2024 Board of Supervisors contests. This includes spending on twenty-nine separate candidates across the six districts appearing on this year’s ballot. Of this spending, $5.5 million was spent by the candidates’ own committees, which $3.5 million was spent by other committees in the form of intendent expenditures. The chart below shows all reported spending in the supervisorial contests as of October 31.
Total Spending on 2024 Supervisorial Elections by District and Candidate (through 10/31/24)
Spending on Ballot Measures
As of October 31, there has been a total of $16.5 million spent on ballot measure contests in the November 2024. This includes spending on all fifteen ballot measures. The chart below shows all reported spending as of October 31.
Total Spending on November 2024 Ballot Measures (through 10/31/24)
Advice, Guidance, & Support
A key part of the Division’s ongoing operations is to provide timely and accurate responses to advice questions and technical support requests across all our programs. Thanks to the full deployment of the Commission’s online support portals earlier this year, Division staff are able to track all advice requests and measure response times. Since July 1, E&C staff have received and resolved 512 advice questions and support requests. The charts below summarize these requests by month for all programs, as well as by month for the campaign finance and ethics advice programs.
Total Number of Support Cases (Advice Questions and Technical Support) for all E&C Programs (since 7/1/24) – by month
Number of Support Cases (Advice Questions and Technical Support) for the Campaign Finance Program (since 7/1/24) – by month
Number of Support Cases (Advice Questions and Technical Support) for the Ethics Program (since 7/1/24) – by month
Prop D Implementation
Division staff have worked diligently and completed implementation of the provisions of Prop D on time. Staff created a brand-new interactive online Annual Ethics Training that all Form 700 filers will be required to complete. This training provides a broad overview of the state and local ethics rules that officers and employees must follow. Division staff also updated guidance materials on the agency website to reflect the changes brought by Prop D.
Prop D added penalties for officers and employees who fail to disclose personal, professional, or business relationships with individuals who are the subject of governmental decisions being made by the officer or employee. To aid in compliance, Division staff created a template Relationship Disclosure Form that employees can use to more easily satisfy this requirement.
Finally, Division staff continue to work on implementation of the new Departmental Gift Disclosure requirement. Help material has been shared with departmental contacts, and E&C staff will be holding two office hour sessions in November to demonstrate completion of the form and answer questions departments may have about this new requirement. The first filing will be due December 16th and will report all gifts received by departments between November 1st and November 30th.
Ongoing FY25 Initiatives
Now that the bulk of Proposition D implantation and 2024 election work is completed, the Division will be turning to new initiatives. In particular, staff will be revamping the Commission’s website to enhance the information that is available on the site and to further improve the site’s navigability. The main goals of the website improvement project are (a) to increase the site’s usefulness as a self-help tool for those who are subject to the laws administered by the Commission, and (b) to provide the public with enhanced access to important public information.
Additionally, the Division will be focusing on further standardizing and documenting its core operating procedures. Many of Engagement and Compliance’s basic processes are already documented, but developing new written protocols and revising and improving the existing ones will help to better ensure consistency, efficiency, and business continuity. This is a shared goal across all staff divisions for FY25.
I look forward to reporting on the progress of these and other initiatives in future quarterly reports. Any Commissioner feedback on the contents of future reports is welcomed.