Draft Minutes – January 17, 2025 – San Francisco Ethics Commission

Draft Minutes of the Regular Meeting of
The San Francisco Ethics Commission
Friday, January 17, 2025

Hybrid meeting conducted in-person in City Hall Room 400, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, and also held online as a Remote Meeting via WebEx and aired live on SFGovTV

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, and Commissioners Karen Francois and Yaman Salahi, participating, a quorum was present. Vice-Chair Flórez Feng and Commission David Tsai had excused absences.

STAFF PRESENTING: Kevin Kincaid, Online Meeting Moderator; Pat Ford, Executive Director; Michael Canning, Policy and Legislative Affairs Manager; Zachary D’Amico, Senior Investigative Analyst; Eric Willet, Senior Administrative Analyst.

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY PRESENT: Kathleen Radez, Deputy City Attorney.

MATERIALS DISTRIBUTED:

Item 1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Chair Theis Finlev called the meeting to order at 10:04am and stated that members of the public may participate in-person or remotely.

Meeting Moderator Kevin Kincaid summarized the procedures for participation by members of the public for the meeting.

Item 2. Public comment on matters not appearing on the agenda.

Public Comment: No public comment was received, and the item was closed.

Item 11, Discussion and possible action regarding request for waiver of compensated advocacy prohibition for Hans Baldauf, was taken out of order at the discretion of the Chair. Michael Canning presented. The Ethics Commission considered a waiver of the compensated advocacy prohibition in the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code (C&GCC) for Historic Preservation Commissioner Hans Baldauf. This rule generally prevents City officers from receiving compensation to influence government decisions on behalf of others. Baldauf, a licensed architect, has requested a waiver to engage in such communications with certain City departments (e.g., Port Commission, PUC, Public Works, etc.) but not with the Historic Preservation Commission or Planning Commission, where he serves. His firm, BCV Architecture + Interiors, would be impacted if he cannot engage in advocacy, as it is a key part of his profession.

Staff recommend granting a limited waiver, applicable only to specific City departments and for communications on behalf of his firm or its clients, and only when other qualified firm members are unavailable. Baldauf would also need to comply with other Ethics rules, including recusing himself from matters where he has a financial interest. Staff advised the Commission to approve the waiver if it finds that the need for Baldauf to perform his duties outweighs any risks of undue influence.

Chair Finlev responded, saying he very much supports staff’s recommendation. Chair Finlev stated his only question to Mr. Baldauf is if he had any issues with the way the waiver is outlined. Before Mr. Baldauf spoke, Chair Finlev asked Commissioner Salahi and Commissioner Francios for their comments on the matter. Both replied that they had nothing further to add. Mr. Baldauf spoke and thanked the Commission, expressing his reasons for the waiver request and not wanting to be construed as being a lobbyist. Under this item, the Commission took the following action and provided an opportunity for public comment.

Motion 250117-01 (Finlev / Salahi): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to approve the limited waiver requested by Hans Baldauf.

Public Comment:

No public comment was received on the item.

CONSENT CALENDAR: Item 3, 4, and 5

Under its Consent Calendar, provided the opportunity for public comment on all Consent Calendar item and voted 3-0 to adopt a motion by Chair Finlev and seconded by Commissioner Salahi to approve the following consent calendar item that required action by the Commission:

Item 3, Draft Minutes for November 8, 2024, Regular Meeting

The following Consent Calendar item was informational and required no action by the Commission, but the opportunity for public comment was provided.

Item 5, Engagement and Compliance Manager’s report dated January 13, 2025

The following Consent Calendar item was pulled from the Consent Calendar for further discussion by the Commission, and the opportunity for public comment was provided. This item was also informational and required no action by the Commission.

Item 4, Executive Director’s report dated January 13, 2025

Chair Finlev expressed his excitement to see all the new staff mentioned in the Executive Director’s report and took the opportunity to welcome everyone to the Commission as well as to thank staff for all the hard work put in during the hiring process. Commissioner Salahi echoed Chair Finlev and mentioned he was impressed with the great additions and their extensive backgrounds. Director Ford expressed his gratitude to Deputy Director Gayathri Thaikkendiyil and Senior Human Resources Analyst Nikki Chew for all their work to get all of the recruitments completed, as well as all the managers who participated in the interview process.

Public Comment:

No public comment was received on the item.

Motion 250117-02 (Finlev / Salahi): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to approve the consent calendar item requiring action by the Commission.

REGULAR CALENDAR

Item 6. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Proposed Stipulation, Decision and Order In the Matter of Randy Collins.

Senior Investigative Analyst Zach D’Amico presented this proposed stipulation regarding Randy Collins, a former member of the Board of Examiners. The matter consisted of three counts in violation of the Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code..

Chair Finlev clarified the violations are within the statue of limitation but the board didn’t meet during that time, which is correct. Mr. D’Amico mentioned Mr. Collins did not know the Board of Examiners would not meet during this time but was still required to complete the filings but did not have any type of opportunity to influence a government decision at this time.

Chair Finlev asked what the Board of Examiners oversees to which Mr. D’Amico replied that they oversee and determine new construction materials and methods of construction are compliant with current safety rules and regulations around construction and architecture throughout the city. FTF Engineering is a engineering and architectural firm that Mr. Randy Collins worked at.

Commissioner Salahi thanked staff and mentioned he agrees with analysis and outcome especially with the particularly with the unique circumstances of the case. Commissioner Salahi asked if there was any way to identify violations before they become too old to act on. Mr. D’Amico mentioned staff are continually working with the Ethics Commissions Electronic Disclosure and Data Analysis (EDDA) Team to essentially automate some systems to help better identify filers that may be out of compliance.

Commissioner Francios mentioned her concern of Mr. Collins not filing for 3 years. She also asked for clarification on the Commission’s process when one does not file. Mr. D’Amico responded, saying the Ethics Commission sends out regular reminders for deadlines, notifications for being late, and Enforcement staff has a streamlined process in place to identify multi-year non-filers.

Public Comment:

No public comment was received on the item.

Motion 250117-03 (Salahi / Finlev): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to adopt the stipulation In the Matter of Randy Collins.

Item 7. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Proposed SARP Stipulation, Decision and Order In the Matter of Bert Polacci.

Senior Administrative Analyst Eric Willett presented the proposed stipulation regarding Bert Polacci, the Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations at Maximus Real Estate Partners, who has also been a registered lobbyist with the Commission since at least January 2014. The proposed stipulation includes one count for failing to publicly disclose a campaign contribution totaling $10,000 in April of 2022.

No further questions were raised by Commissioners.

Public Comment:

No public comment was received on the item.

Motion 250117-04 (Finlev / Salahi): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to adopt the stipulation In the Matter of Bert Polacci.

Item 8. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Proposed SARP Stipulation, Decision and Order In the Julio Ramos and Julio Ramos for College Board 2024

Senior Administrative Analyst Eric Willett presented the proposed stipulation regarding Mr. Julio Ramos, an unsuccessful candidate in the November 2024 general election. The proposed stipulation involves one count against Mr. Ramos and his campaign committee for failing to include the committee’s proper name and financial disclosure language on their campaign materials.

Chair Finlev inquired about the specifics of the website issues. Mr. Willet explained the website had the incorrect name for his committee listed and failed to include the San Francisco Ethics disclosure language for their financial statement. No other questions were raised by the Commissioners.

Public Comment:

No public comment was received on the item.

Motion 250117-05 (Finlev / Francois): Moved, seconded, and approved unanimously (3-0) to approve the Executive Director to Make Amendments to Ethics Commission Regulations.

Item 9. Presentation, public hearing, and possible action on Ethics Commission budget priorities for the Fiscal Year 2025-26 and Fiscal Year 2026-27

Executive Director Patrick Ford presented the FY25-26 and FY26-27 Budget Overview. The attached overview was presented for informational purposes only as background on the Ethics Commission’s departmental budget. The agenda item was for discussion and possible action should the Commission wish to take action at this meeting after receiving public comment on departmental budget priorities for FY26-FY27. No action was taken at this public hearing.

Public Comment:

No public comment was received on the item.

Item 10. Discussion of Enforcement Regulation Review Project

Senior Investigative Analyst Zach D’Amico presented with information on the department’s efforts to advance cases through the enforcement process, especially focusing on the probable cause, pre-hearing, and hearing phases. Insights gained from recent hearings and cases brought to the probable cause stage highlighted the need for improvements in enforcement regulations.

The regulations, adopted in the late 1990s and last updated in 2018, require revisions to reflect current practices. Key areas needing updates include clarifications on hearing processes, officer appointments, witness questioning, and resolving contradictions within the regulations and other laws.

The Enforcement department has begun a six-month revision process, having spent four months gathering research and feedback. Mr. D’Amico explained the revision process and encouraged commissioners to provide input. Multiple rounds of feedback, including Interested Party meetings, will be held, with final amendments expected by June 2025. No action was taken on this item.