Campaign Ethics

Chicken John Campaign Funds Denied by City of SF

Paper Trails

City Slackers

A guide toSan Francisco political corruption -past, present, and future

The Last Seduction

Spurned by term limitations, Willie Brown turns his political affections on San Francisco. But how long will our small-town ways hold his fancy?

Stealth Dollars

Questionable political donations are flowing into the city's most controversial political race

Tilting at Political Windmills

Some people, like attorney Paul Melbostad, just don't know when to quit. Bully for him.

Follow the Money

Why does Gavin Newsom need a backer like the California Urban Issues Project?

Plugged

An elections commissioner's on the hot seat after his name appears on a DA's endorsement list

Cothran

An elections commissioner's on the hot seat after his name appears on a DA's endorsement list

Judging Matthew Rothschild

Why is the Democratic Party elite backing an underqualified party operative for the local judiciary?

Making the Democratic Party Safe for Democracy

Reformist Dems pour sand in the machine's money gears

Good Government Advocate Joe Lynn Rises From the Dead -- Almost

Joe Lynn -- a former commissioner and staffer with the Ethics Commission and a self-admitted good government kvetch who was a fixture at the commission's meetings -- is now able to do something many people dream about, but few experience. He can read his own obituaries. Lynn told SF Weekly he's le ... More >>

Ethics Commission Whistleblower Lawyers Up, Charges Retaliation

​Some of you may remember a June 29 article we ran here about how the city's Ethics Commission sure seemed to be going out of its way to not cite and fine Supervisor Carmen Chu -- a moderate represented by lawyer and mayoral svengali Jim Sutton. Meanwhile, progressive Supes Gerardo Sandoval and Ch ... More >>

Fight Ends For Good Government Advocate Joe Lynn, Who Dies at 64

Over the summer, Joe Lynn's condition grew so dire that his close friends gathered for somber discussions about the pending decision to pull the plug. At the time, one of them told me "It will take a miracle" for Lynn to ever wake up again. And yet, after 50 days in California Pacific Medical Cente ... More >>

Ethics Commission Manages to Push Out Three-Time Whistleblower Oliver Luby

​Oliver Luby, the Ethics Commission's fines collection officer, once told us that he'd fine his own mother if he caught her bending the rules -- and he meant it. In some lines of work, that kind of commitment earns one a ticket straight to the top. In San Francisco -- and all too many other locale ... More >>

Dennis Herrera, Running for Mayor, to Farm Out City Attorney Cases

Dennis Herrera doesn't want to hear your legalistic questions about the mayoral race...​City Attorney Dennis "He's Running For Mayor!" Herrera last week announced that, yes, he's running for mayor. Less publicized was a memorandum Herrera sent around the city announcing he plans on recusing both h ... More >>

Good Scout, Bad Boy: Examining the Virtues of Leland Yee

Dennis Herrera doesn't want to hear your legalistic questions about the mayoral race...​City Attorney Dennis "He's Running For Mayor!" Herrera last week announced that, yes, he's running for mayor. Less publicized was a memorandum Herrera sent around the city announcing he plans on recusing both h ... More >>

Why the Ethics Commission Cleared the Run, Ed, Run Campaign of Any Wrongdoing

S.F. Ethics Commission hard at work​Yesterday afternoon, just after Mayor Ed Lee declared his candidacy for mayor, the Ethics Commission cleared Progress for All, the campaign that worked to get Lee into the election, of any illegal wrongdoing. But right before making that decision, the commission ... More >>

Ed Lee's Alleged Money-Laundering Is Manna From Heaven for Dennis Herrera

Vivianist1 via Flickr Frenemies?​City Attorney Dennis Herrera is calling for a criminal investigation into new allegations against his rival Mayor Ed Lee, who is accused of  laundering money for his campaign through business associates as a way sidestep campaign contribution limits.The Bay Ci ... More >>

Adachi Campaign Alleges Lee Door Hangers Violate Campaign Finance Law

Ed Lee​Interim Mayor Ed Lee is facing new allegations of wrongdoing on the eve of the election, capping a slew of ethical complaints that has dogged his campaign this fall.Public Defender and mayoral contender Jeff Adachi says he filed a complaint with the San Francisco Ethics Commission this morn ... More >>

No Disclosures: New Ethics Committee Rules Gag Reporting of Election Funds

Ed Lee​Interim Mayor Ed Lee is facing new allegations of wrongdoing on the eve of the election, capping a slew of ethical complaints that has dogged his campaign this fall.Public Defender and mayoral contender Jeff Adachi says he filed a complaint with the San Francisco Ethics Commission this morn ... More >>