Like a bloody steak, the Ethics Commission earlier this week sent back a bevy of proposed rule changes for more cooking and seasoning. Along with good government types, even some members of the commission were flummoxed by the staff-generated proposed changes to the Campaign Finance Reform Ordinance -- all of which would have loosened the scrutiny applied to large contributions to politicians and allowed many more entities contracting with the city government to donate money to the elected offic
Sure you can give a suit like this to a city official. Just remember to report it within 10 days.On Friday we reported on how an ad campaign pushed by San Francisco's firefighter union -- but conspicuously not listing the union's name -- apparently violated San Francisco's lobbying laws. In this city, lobbyists must register with the Ethics Commission -- and unions must register as lobbyists whenever they bend city officials' ears on matter other than wages and hours. After initially denying tha
Whether an orchestrated campaign to spur the general public to call or write their city councilmen is benevolent or nefarious depends upon the cause at hand. But to argue that such a campaign doesn't constitute "lobbying" is to take up a losing battle with the good folks at Merriam-Webster. The ad to the right appeared Thursday on the San Francisco Chronicle's Web page; clicking on it took one to a site called "Save Our Neighborhood Firehouses." You won't find out who wants you to save the fireh
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 leaving California Pacific Medical Center on Thursday, roughly 50 days after he checked in. After undergoing treatment for acute leukemia, Lynn, at one point, was so close to death's door that a group o
Joe EskenaziWill Supervisor John Avalos still be smiling after the Ethics Commission finishes investigating the complaint he made aginst the mayor?By now, political junkies are well-informed about the gathering storm regarding Mayor Gavin Newsom's office leaking a confidential city attorney's memo to the Chronicle. Whether you buy into Newsom's rationale -- which echoes King Louis XIV's pronouncement of l'etat, c'est moi -- or give any credence to the possibility the mayor broke the law is on
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