Peskin’s ’16 campaign under ethics audit CITY INSIDER
The author of an ethics bill targeting San Francisco’s major political donors is also the subject of an Ethics Commission audit, which could lead to thousands of dollars in fines.
The audit of Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s 2016 campaign committee found several instances of campaign contributions not disclosed properly or money spent unlawfully. Each could lead to a fine of $5,000, or three times the amount of money in question — whichever is greater. The report, which will now go to the Ethics Commission’s enforcement team, coincides with Peskin’s push at the Board of Supervisors for new campaign finance transparency laws.
His proposal would require major donors to report their business ties in the city, and mandate that all committees sponsoring television ads disclose their top three sources of funding. It goes before the full board and Ethics Commission on Tuesday. Peskin named his bill the AntiCorruption and Accountability Ordinance, and said it takes aim at violations “as serious as coordination between an independent expenditure committee and a campaign, which can rise to the level of criminality.”
He said that by comparison, the findings against his 2016 re-election campaign are small and inconsequential.
“People who run for office get audited by the Ethics Commission, as they should,” he said. “It’s a complex area of regulation. It’s not uncommon for people to make small mistakes and receive small fines.”
Critics have called Peskin’s proposal onerous. Some say it seeks to regulate a campaign strategy used by the city’s moderates, who are Peskin’s political adversaries.
Peskin’s political allies, the progressives, tend to use slate mailer organizations to get their message out. These organizations are regulated by the state. — Rachel Swan Double dipping: State Sen. Scott Wiener , DSan Francisco, endorsed Supervisor London Breed’s mayoral bid on Monday during a brief campaign rally at Jane Warner Plaza in the city’s Castro district. It’s the second candidate for mayor Wiener has pledged to support, following his endorsement of Mark Leno last year.
Wiener declined, however, to say which of the two would be his first pick in the city’s rankedchoice ballot system.
“They’re both exceptional candidates, and either one would be a great mayor,” he said.
Wiener and Breed overlapped for four years while both served on the Board of Supervisors. During that time, Wiener said he “witnessed firsthand her leadership and her ability to bring people together to solve hard issues.”
While on the board, Wiener and Breed collaborated on several pieces of legislation, including bills to revamp the city’s bus and train fleets and expand the city’s clean energy program.
Should Breed become mayor, she could also help marshal support for Wiener’s ambitious bill, SB827, which seeks to grow housing stock by increasing density along transit corridors.
The bill has proved to be divisive in San Francisco, in part over concerns about how much local control would be ceded to the state on critical housing decisions. Breed has signaled her support for the bill, but has said she wants to see greater protections put in place to guard against displacement and a clearer definition of what constitutes a “transit corridor.”
Breed touted her longstanding relationship with Wiener, whom she said “I love and I admire and I respect tremendously. There is no greater advocate we can have in Sacramento right now.” — Dominic Fracassa Still waiting: Earlier this month, Mayor Mark Farrell announced the opening of 54 new psychiatric beds at St. Mary’s Medical Center on Stanyan Street to help mentally ill homeless people.
But the beds aren’t ready yet, according to the Department of Public Health. A spokeswoman for the department said they still need to be approved by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, which regulates health care facilities.
The state office has to sign off on capital program changes in acute care hospitals, said Department of Public Health spokeswoman Rachael Kagan.
— Rachel Swan Email: cityinsider@ sfchronicle.com, rswan@ sfchronicle.com, dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfcityinsider @rachelswan @dominicfracassa