Date: June 9, 2025
To: Members of the Ethics Commission
From: Patrick Ford, Executive Director
Subject: Agenda Item 4 – Executive Director’s Report
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.
Budget Update
On May 30th, Mayor Lurie released the proposed two-year budget for FY26-FY27. Under this proposal, four currently funded staff positions at the Ethics Commission would be eliminated. In addition, two vacation positions would be deleted from the Department’s org chart. These positions have been held open to meet attrition savings targets.
The four funded positions proposed for elimination are the same ones identified by the Commission earlier this year in its 15% budget reduction scenario, as required by the Mayor. Those positions are:
- Senior Program Administrator (Engagement and Compliance Division)
- Training Design Specialist (Engagement and Compliance Division)
- Policy Research Specialist (Policy Division)
- Payroll Clerk (Operations Division)
In February, the Commission submitted a request to preserve the department’s current staffing capacity. That request proposed retaining the Senior Program Administrator and Policy Research Specialist positions, reclassifying the Training Design Specialist to a Senior Program Administrator, and replacing the Payroll Clerk position with a work order for administrative services through the City Administrator’s office. The request also included reclassification of three positions in the Enforcement Division and one position in the Electronic Disclosure and Data Analysis (EDDA) Division to reflect the increased level of work expected from those roles. None of these proposed changes were incorporated into the Mayor’s proposed budget.
The staffing reductions proposed for the Ethics Commission appear to be significantly more severe, in proportion to departmental size, than those proposed for the City overall. The Mayor’s proposed staffing reduction amounts to approximately 14% of the Commission’s funded positions (4 of 28 funded positions), compared to a citywide reduction of about 1.4% (470 of 33,262 funded positions). This places the Commission’s reduction at roughly ten times the citywide rate, relative to department size.
With the Mayor’s proposed budget now published, the Board of Supervisors will begin its phase of the budget process. The Board’s Budget and Appropriations Committee will begin its budget hearings on Wednesday, June 11th. I am scheduled to present to the Committee regarding the Commission’s budget on both June 11th and June 18th.
The Board may make adjustments to the Mayor’s proposed budget before passing it and may increase or reduce a department’s funding through the “add back” process. Add backs are typically small relative to the size of the total budget. However, in the past the Commission has had its budget changed through the add back process, and at times the change has been significant. In 2023, for example, the Board restored funding for several positions that the Mayor had proposed to eliminate. Conversely, in 2024, the Board reduced the Commission’s budget by cutting position reclassifications the Mayor had proposed.
To help inform its work, the Board of Supervisors receives reports from its research and analysis branch, the Budget and Legislative Analyst (BLA). The Commission will be the subject of an upcoming BLA budget report, which is currently in development and has not yet been released.
Staffing Update – Deputy Director Recruitment
I am excited to announce that Zachary D’Amico began work as the Commission’s Deputy Director on May 27th. Zach has been a Senior Investigative and Legal Analyst with the Commission Enforcement Division for three years. In that capacity, Zach has led many major, complex enforcement matters, including the Commission’s first administrative hearing in recent years and the largest penalty ever assessed by the Commission. Together with Director of Enforcement Bisi Matthews, Zach developed the Commission’s Enforcement Hearing Guidebook and has been instrumental in analyzing the developing updates to the Commission’s Enforcement Regulations.
Before joining the Commission, Zach held roles in legal compliance and policy advising in Los Angeles. At HBO, Zach guided film production operations through the early stages of COVID-19 safety compliance, enabling a major film shoot to safely return to in-person operations. Zach worked on Capitol Hill, serving as legal counsel to Senator Elizabeth Warren. In this role, Zach worked on policy issues of national significance, including Senate investigations of financial institutions. Zach also served as policy director for Senator Warren’s 2018 reelection campaign. Prior to working for the federal government, Zach was an associate at O’Melveny & Meyers. Zach holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA in political science from Villanova University.
Proposition E Commission Streamlining Task Force
In the November 2024 election, San Francisco voters approved Proposition E. Prop E “create[s] a Commission Streamlining Task Force (Task Force) to review the structure of the City’s commissions and recommend to the Mayor and the Board by February 1, 2026, how the City could change, eliminate or consolidate commissions to improve the administration of City government.” The Commission Streamlining Task Force consists of five appointed members, and the Task Force has begun holding regular public meetings.
Prop E requires the BLA to assist the Task Force by “prepar[ing] a report on how much it costs the City to support each current commission, and how much it would save if certain commissions were eliminated or consolidated.” Commission staff responded to a detailed questionnaire that assesses the staff time and other costs associated with supporting meetings of the Ethics Commission. Staff also provided information to the City Administrator’s office, which is also supporting the Prop E Task Force. This information concerned the Commission’s current membership, its rate of meeting cancellations in CY2024, and its Charter mandates. Staff will continue to monitor the Prop E streamlining process and provide information as needed. Staff are prepared to advocate for the Commission’s continuation in its current form so that it can continue to operate effectively and independently to meet the critical mandates established by the voters over 30 years ago.
End of FY25 Processes – PPAR and Annual Report
Fiscal Year 2025 will end on June 30th, and Staff are engaged in end-of-fiscal year activity. The process of closing our FY25 PPARs and initiating FY26 PPARs is underway. The PPAR (performance plan and appraisal report) is the City’s standard planning and performance review template for all City employees. It provides a standard process for managers to identify goals and projects for the fiscal year and to set expectations with team members. At the end of the fiscal year, the same document is used to measure progress on goals and to evaluate performance. PPARs are a core part of the Commission’s planning, coordination, and employee feedback strategies. By the end of June, all employees will have their FY25 performance reviews completed. By the end of July, all employees will have their FY26 PPAR plan in place.
Staff are also beginning the process of developing the FY25 annual report. I am targeting the August or September Commission meeting to present a draft of the report for commissioner feedback. Please contact me with any concepts or requests for the report. The Commission accomplished many significant things in FY25 that will be worth highlighting.
Special Elections Announced – District 4 Recall; District 2 Special
District 4 Recall Election
A recall election of District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio has been announced for September 16th. Commission staff are currently preparing for this special election.
The Engagement and Compliance Division has already been providing guidance and assistance during the petition gathering phase and are now turning their attention to successful administration of the pre-election filing deadlines. Staff have recently created updated filing schedules for the election and will be communicating with committees to ensure compliance with training and other requirements. The Division also anticipates an increase in campaign finance advice questions in connection with the recall.
The EDDA Division is currently creating a new campaign finance dashboard for use in the recall election. The dashboard will be similar to what was used in prior elections but will implement a new model that is more user friendly and requires less manual updating by staff.
The Enforcement Division anticipates a potential increase in campaign finance complaints in connection with the recall election and is prepared to address them.
Because the recall of an elected official is a ballot measure contest, public financing is not available in the contest. There will therefore be no need to administer the public financing program in connection with this election.
District 2 Special Election
Separately, a special election for District 2 Supervisor will occur on June 2, 2026 as part of the 2026 midterm primary election. Supervisor Catherine Stefani vacated the District 2 seat on the Board of Supervisors after being elected to the California State Assembly in November 2024. Mayor Breed appointed Supervisor Stephen Sherrill to fill the vacancy, and the special election in June 2026 will decide who will fill the remainder of Stefani’s term. Commission staff will be supporting all of the compliance and enforcement dimensions of this special election. In addition, public financing will be available to candidates running in the special election. This will require the Audits Division to administer the program for D2 candidates running in June at the same time as administering the program ahead of the November 2026 election, which will involve six Board contests. This will increase the amount and complexity of public financing work that takes place during FY26.