John St. Croix

The Real Ed Lee -- A Vicious Parody -- Distributed By Leland Yee Campaign

Once the bizarre and inexplicable has been parodied -- then what? ​Earlier this month, San Franciscans walking down the stairs of their homes were surprised to stumble over The Ed Lee Story, a groveling campaign bio penned in the style of a Dick-and-Jane reader as produced by the Commissariat of E ... 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 Mustache: How Much Did it Cost?

What could Rose Pak possibly do with 20,000 mustaches?​Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the Run, Ed, Run campaign was back in June when Chinatown power broker Rose Pak ran out and purchased 20,000 stick-on mustaches, like the one Ed Lee wears, to pass out at the Giants game where the m ... More >>

Bevan Dufty's Campaign Might be Unstable, but It's Not Nefarious

Bevan's campaign, if nothing else, is entertaining ​The day after the June 30 campaign finance deadline, mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty fired off an e-mail to his supporters congratulating them for helping him reach a milestone mark in his once troubled campaign: He had raised more than $1 million. ... More >>

Warren Hellman Leaves Prop. B Campaign -- Shocks Prop. B Backers

Joyce GoldschmidWarren Hellman has moved on to Plan B...​No obligation for campaign to return Hellman's $50KThe No on Proposition B camp -- the union-backed assault on the measure that would mandate workers up their pension and health care contributions -- released a shocker today. An e-mail hit S ... More >>

Was Dennis Herrera's Op-Ed on Alioto-Pier Term Limits Case Ethical?

Can Dennis do what he did? ​It's not every day Dennis Herrera will launch a media onslaught to publicize his appeal of a long-running case in which he was legally licked -- but that's just what San Francisco's city attorney did yesterday. Herrera was on TV, his 42-page appeal in the Michela Alioto ... More >>

S.F. Voter Pamphlet to Cease Listing Which Candidates Agreed to Spending Limits

​If you offer your vote according to which candidate accepted to spend no more than the city's voluntary expenditure ceiling -- there must be some of you -- well, then we've got bad news. You're going to have to do a little more work to figure out who's minding the city's rules and who's potential ... More >>

'Friends of Entertainment Commission' Web Site Traced to Controversial Entertainment Commissioner

The San Francisco Entertainment Commission has been having a rough go of it lately. The seven-member board of political appointees, tasked with regulating the city's nightclubs, has presided over a local nightlife scene that has become infamous for its violence. The commission has also come under fi ... More >>

Supervisor Asks Ethics Commission to Investigate Mayor ... Whom Commission Depends on for Its Funding.

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 mem ... 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 >>

S.F. pays lobbyist to advocate for government secrecy, critics say

San Francisco Lobbyists' Failure to Report Their Activities -- For Years -- Was No Secret

​The San Francisco Examiner this week reported that while the lobbyists San Francisco employs to push for the city's interests in Sacramento and elsewhere are required to file reports detailing how they're spending nearly half a million dollars of public money four times a year, they have, in ... More >>

For Entertainment Purposes Only

The Entertainment Commission is supposed to regulate S.F. nightclubs, but it won't — and often can't — punish scofflaws. The results are sometimes tragic.

Graft and Gaming

City employees are bleeding the city to death. One way is legal and the other is not.

Clerk of Board of Supervisors Falls on Sword, Claims Supes' Failure to Obey Law Was All Her Fault (Even Though It Wasn't)

Angela CalvilloAs noted previously on this page, we've always admired Board of Supervisors Clerk Angela Calvillo's professionalism and steadiness when dealing with deranged lunatics during public comment sessions at meetings. And now we add that we can add that we admire her candor in claiming total ... More >>

Going Legit: Following SF Weekly Story, Board of Supes Now Plans to Obey Law It Flouted For Years

Earlier this week, we wrote about a law meant to ferret out campaign finance corruption voted into existence by the Board of Supervisors and affirmed by Mayor Gavin Newsom -- that neither the Supes nor Newsom have ever bothered to make even a minimal effort to follow. Capping everything off, the cit ... More >>

It's the Law ... Sort Of

Mayor, Supes won't follow law they approved. Ethics Commission won't enforce it.

Mayor, Supes Flout the Law -- But That's Okay. Ethics Commission Won't Enforce It.

If none of the elected officials who voted a law into existence can be bothered to follow it, and the government commission charged with implementing it opts to not enforce it (even after the law is approved by voters) -- well, what does that say? It says it's just another working day here in San Fr ... More >>

Where's the Fire? Union's Chron Ad, Campaign Stir Accusations of Improper Lobbying.

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 t ... More >>

A 'Gold Mine' Denied: Ethics Commission Spurns Rule Changes That Would Have Eased Big Donations -- For Now

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 ... More >>

Checkin' It Out

Former building commish took money from woman with business before the commission.

Can PG&E Make Carmen Chu into a Star? You Bet, Kiddo!

Gavin Newsom's out-of-town businesses with SF addresses

Law Requires Lobbyists to Disclose Little

Guv candidate Gavin Newsom eligible for $48,000 campaign donations

Chicken John Campaign Funds Denied ... Again

Chicken John Gets Another Crack at Funds

Do Nonexistent City Officials File Imaginary Paperwork?

Naked Ambition

S.F. taxpayers might be underwriting the nudist agenda of one wacky mayoral candidate

A Fine Mess

Letters to the Editor

November 8-14, 2006

Stealth Dollars

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