Public officials are responsible for enforcing our laws. When they themselves engage in corrupt practices—like accepting bribes, laundering campaign funds, or engaging in cronyism—it erodes public trust and sets a dangerous precedent. Their misconduct sends a signal: that unethical behavior is tolerated and even rewarded, leading to a cascading effect of dishonesty and disregard for the rules. 

City Hall insiders have created a culture of lawlessness in San Francisco. Be it open-air drug markets, organized retail theft, or reckless driving, they’ve sent a message that misdeeds don’t have consequences in San Francisco anymore —because their own seldom do. 

The lack of accountability fosters an environment where transparency is absent, and the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by the interests of the insider machine. This not only hampers effective governance but also discourages civic engagement, as residents lose faith in their government. It is imperative to address these issues head-on and implement stringent ethics reforms to restore integrity and trust in our city’s leadership. 

End Money Laundering Via Ballot Measure Committees 

To address the issue of candidates laundering money from a ballot measure committee that is not subject to a $500 contribution limit to benefit their candidate committee, we must require that reimbursements for shared expenses require concurrent public disclosure to the Ethics Commission breaking down staff time and details about how other resource allocations relate to each committee.   

Close the Slush Fund Loophole

To avoid the slush fund and pay-to-play schemes we’ve seen from other candidates, we must prohibit the mayor and sitting members of the Board of Supervisors from simultaneously sitting on the DCCC or accepting money into a DCCC account. 

Fully Fund Investigations, Enforcement, and Audits 

While the current mayor attempted to defund the Ethics Commission, I commit to fully funding it. I will ensure the San Francisco Ethics Commission has the Enforcement Division staffing necessary to conduct investigations faster, bringing clarity to the public and individuals under investigation. I will also fund the Audit Division, which is woefully behind on conducting proactive audits, and require audits to be complete within one year of the election.   

No Free Lunch

When a meal or reimbursement for a meal above $500 is charged to campaign accounts, we must require the disclosure of the names of guests and purpose to the Ethics Commission and public. 

Implement Probation for Past Offenders

I support increased investigative scrutiny of elected officials and candidates with past findings of significant misconduct for their next two election cycles, while raising filing fees on these candidates to pay for the added staffing enforcement. The Ethics Commission should have the discretion to waive this requirement for minor violations.   

Create Enhanced Ethics Enforcement Dashboard

My administration will help integrate machine learning into the Ethics Enforcement Dashboard for greater public transparency, efficiency, and analysis. The model can be trained to analyze campaign finance reports, lobbying disclosures, conflict of interest statements, gifts and behested payments, appointments to boards and commissions, and city contracts for conflicts of interest and misconduct and enable Ethics Commission staff to customize it for confidential internal use.