Matt Franklin named as author
of letter disowned by Dean Macris

Mayor's Office of Housing Director Matt Franklin,
who drafted an unsigned letter in Planning Director Dean Macris' name,
overseas Macris highlighting "inaccuracies" in the letter that Macris did not approve.
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

By Luke Thomas and Pat Murphy

February 16, 2006, 8:00 p.m

City planner Dean Macris today disowned a letter which Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier told board colleagues came from Macris.

Written on plain stationery with Macris' name but no signature, the letter reversed some Planning Department staff recommendations for revised downtown parking regulations.

Alioto-Pier, an opponent to the new regulations, produced the letter to the Board of Supervisors in its February 7 meeting.

Macris' remarks came today during a break at today's regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting.

"The letter is just plain inaccurate," Macris told the Sentinel.

On February 7, the letter surprised supporters of new parking regulations since planning department staff previously had affirmed the new regulations.

District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly, who authored the legislation, was angered by a sudden about-face.

Daly produced an email from mayoral liaison to the Board of Supervisors, Wade Crowfoot, which indicated Crowfoot arranged a staff meeting at behest of regulation opponent Don Fisher.

Fisher, founder of The GAP, is a major funder of SFSOS, a strident lobbying group often at odds with Daly and political progressives.

At the February 7 board meeting, Daly raised suspicion Macris was not the true author of the letter presented to the board.

Today, Macris confirmed to Planning Commissioners that he did not write the letter.

On his way to a hastily called mayoral staff meeting, following the Planning Commission meeting, Crowfoot told the Sentinel, "It is my understanding Dean approved the letter."

Macris had described the letter as being written by someone in the Mayor's Office but refused to identify its author, Macris responded to Sentinel inquiry.

Later, Macris, Mayor's Office of Housing Director Matt Franklin, and City Policy Planner Marshall Foster, emerged from a meeting with the Mayor, crossed the hall, and began a closed-door meeting in Mayoral Press Secretary Peter Ragone's office. Ragone arrived a few moments later and told the Sentinel comment about the letter's authorship would be forthcoming.

The Sentinel was invited into Ragone's office shortly after a San Francisco Chronicle reporter exited. In the room were Macris, Franklin and Foster.

When questioned about the authorship of the letter, Franklin told the Sentinel the letter was drafted on the morning of February 7, between Larry Badiner, Marshall Foster and himself.

Franklin explained Foster's role in drafting the letter saying Foster was, "the man who put fingers to the keyboard," but was not involved in drafting the language of the letter.

Franklin then turned to Macris and said, "You did approve the letter."

In an about face, Macris told the Sentinel he had approved a letter, but emphasized that he had not approved the letter that was drafted.

"I didn't authorize an inaccurate letter," Macris explained.

"I had authorized a letter but not the one that was finally drafted," Macris added.

The Sentinel asked Macris how a letter he approved ended up not being accurate.

"There was haste to get this letter out," Macris said.

Macris explained he was in Boston when he received a call from Foster who called to read the drafted letter over the phone.

At the Sentinel's request, Macris was asked to highlight the inaccuracies in the drafted letter. Macris underlined one of several inaccuracies before Franklin hastily concluded the meeting.

"You can add the inaccuracies to your article at a later time," Franklin suggested.

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