march 2024 primary
Yes On Prop D
Changes to Local Ethics Laws
Every few years, San Francisco’s government seems to be rocked by a major corruption scandal. Want less of that? Vote yes on Prop D. This measure implements new guidelines around gift-giving to city employees and creates new disclosure rules for relationships and contact between private individuals and public servants—it’s a necessary step to create a better government that’s less prone to corruption.
ENDORSEMENT TEMPERATURE: FINALLY.
The Context
This measure, authored by the Ethics Commission, stems from a corruption scandal that engulfed San Francisco City Hall over three years ago. After the arrest of the former Department of Public Works Director and bribe aficionado Mohammed Nuru, and subsequent charges against more than a dozen other city officials and contractors, the Ethics Commission wants to mitigate potential future corruption by implementing stricter regulations and training for city officials. Conservative media already has a field day ragging on San Francisco—City Hall doesn’t need to give them easy reasons to trash our city.
Because corruption in city government is incredibly harmful for residents—it makes our city less effective, less responsive, and destroys the public’s trust in their officials. This measure introduces a bunch of new guardrails to try to tamp down on corruption, including introducing more explicit prohibitions on gift-giving and bribery, setting new restrictions on accepting gifts for city employees, and making city officials personally responsible for not disclosing relationships that could be conflicts of interest. While we probably won’t ever be able to eradicate corruption completely, this measure is an earnest attempt to add some regulations where there were none.
Anything Else I Should Know?
Since Mohammed Nuru's arrest in 2020, further investigations revealed a wider range of corruption involving other city officials and contractors. Despite the urgency for reforms, propositions that were scheduled to be on the ballot twice in 2022 were delayed, allegedly due to stall tactics used by city unions. And due to a measure approved by city voters that shifted elections to even years, the measure couldn't appear in 2023, which is why there’s been such a lengthy delay getting these reforms on the ballot.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action (tsfaction.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.