{"id":1219,"date":"2009-05-07T08:16:16","date_gmt":"2009-05-07T16:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2009\/05\/07\/ethics-commission-airs-dirty-laundry\/"},"modified":"2021-03-15T18:54:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T02:54:08","slug":"ethics-commission-airs-dirty-laundry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1219\/ethics-commission-airs-dirty-laundry\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethics Commission Airs Dirty Laundry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"center\"><strong>Inadequate Sunshine  investigation may lead AG Brown to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate  Mayor Gavin Newsom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/author\/jlynn\/\">Joe Lynn<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\">May 7, 2009<\/p>\n<p>By the end of an April 24th  joint meeting of the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and the Ethics Commission,  much had been done to clear the air between the two bodies and to expose  major deficiencies in the way referrals of Sunshine violations are treated  by the Ethics Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Why did the air need clearing?\u00c2\u00a0  What were the deficiencies?<\/p>\n<p>Take the case involving the District Attorney where Ethics Commission Executive Director St. Croix lambasted the Task  Force when he dismissed a case brought by Allen Grossman.\u00c2\u00a0 In a  letter circulated around City Hall for over a month, he charged  that the Task Force knew or should have known that they subjected  the District Attorney&#8217;s office to possible security breaches and acted &#8220;irresponsibly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It turns out that St. Croix never  read the Task Force Order which, contrary to Mr. St. Croix&#8217;s accusation, specifically honored security privileges that the District Attorney might assert.\u00c2\u00a0  When he dismissed the case and made these accusations of irresponsibility,  he had not reviewed the Task Force deliberations; he had not talked  to anyone from the Task Force; he had not talked to the complainant  who brought the original charges.\u00c2\u00a0 He just dismissed the complaint  because he believed there was nothing to back up the findings of an  eleven-person official body of the City and County of San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><!--more--> <strong>Bad blood between  the Ethics Commission and the Task Force<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The problems between the two  bodies have festered for years.<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Two years ago, we    learned that Mr. St. Croix&#8217;s deputy director had initiated a proceeding    against the wife of Task Force member Richard Knee so ridiculous that    the matter ended with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/blogs\/bruce\/2007\/07\/carolyn_knee_is_free_finally_a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>apologies<\/u><\/a> from the Commissioners.\u00c2\u00a0 Member    Knee had voted to hold the deputy director guilty of official misconduct,    yet the deputy director (who oversees the enforcement division) did    not recuse herself from investigating Mr. Knee&#8217;s wife. The Ethics    Commission has never held a hearing on this apparent conflict of interest.<\/li>\n<li>Mr. St. Croix needlessly <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/489\/ambush-at-rulesst-croix-blindsides-comstock\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>inserted<\/u><\/a> himself into the hearings on the renomination    of Doug Comstock, then Chair of the Task Force.\u00c2\u00a0 He accused    Mr. Comstock of having misled the Rules Committee when Mr. Comstock    had got some numbers wrong in a prior hearing.\u00c2\u00a0 In the course of    making the accusation, St. Croix got his numbers wrong.\u00c2\u00a0 It    was St. Croix&#8217;s latest play in an ongoing tit-for-tat game with Comstock.<\/li>\n<li>A public relations    campaign during the WiFi debate successfully labeled serious activists    as wild men whose Sunshine requests were shutting the City down.\u00c2\u00a0    While no evidence could be produced to back up those charges, the damage    was done primarily to Kimo Crossman.\u00c2\u00a0 He was one of many computer    techies who thought &#8211; it turned out correctly &#8211; that the Mayor&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/blogs\/politics\/2006\/08\/why_wifi.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>WiFi<\/u><\/a> deal with Earthlink was a bad deal    for the City.\u00c2\u00a0 In the climate created by the PR campaign, it became    easy to disrespect our Sunshine Advocates and the Task Force.\u00c2\u00a0    Since then, Crossman has shaken the faulty PR image and <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20071030000757\/http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/entry.php?entry_id=3072&amp;catid=4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>emerged<\/u><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0 as one of the most important    Sunshine experts in San Francisco.<\/li>\n<li>Prior attempts to    convene a joint session had been rebuffed.\u00c2\u00a0 Advocates had for a    long time appeared before the Ethics Commission requesting a discussion    of Ethics Charter mandates in enforcing Sunshine laws.\u00c2\u00a0 The meeting    was the first time that Ethics had met with the Task Force, and the first    time in memory that Ethics had agendized any discussion of substantive Sunshine or process issues in its 15-year history.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With this as background  St. Croix&#8217;s recent charge of irresponsibility meant that the air finally  needed to be cleared.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>The dismissal  of the District Attorney&#8217;s official misconduct charges<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The greatest progress in clearing  the air occurred during a discussion of the case involving the District  Attorney that had so exercised St. Croix.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Grossman,  a Harvard Law School graduate and ally of Crossman, had successfully  persuaded the Task Force to order the District Attorney to produce a  computer-generated log that would provide transparency on the office&#8217;s  document deletion practices.\u00c2\u00a0 The order specifically allowed for  redactions due to security concerns.\u00c2\u00a0 The Task Force was not trying  to cause a security breach.<\/p>\n<p>In the YouTube clip below,  we join Member Craven&#8217;s description of Mr. Grossman&#8217;s efforts to  learn how the DA backs up files.\u00c2\u00a0 She then reads from St. Croix&#8217;s  letter accusing the Task Force of having acted irresponsibly and explains  that the predicate for his accusation, an order not honoring the DA&#8217;s  security privileges, had never happened.<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/CzsK6taSyjo&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/CzsK6taSyjo&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p>It looks like Mr. St. Croix  and the Ethics Commission owe the Task Force an apology.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>How Ethics investigates  a case<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Where then did St. Croix  get the idea that the order did not take into account the security breach?\u00c2\u00a0 He must not have reviewed the order.\u00c2\u00a0 As he  explained how staff investigates cases, we learned that not reviewing  the record is par for the course at Ethics.<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>Ethics staff do    not talk to the Task Force as to what supports their findings.<\/li>\n<li>They do not talk    to the Complainant about the case.<\/li>\n<li>They do not ordinarily    review tapes of the hearings although St. Croix believes they did    review tapes in two of the fourteen cases.<\/li>\n<li>The only person    whom they&#8217;d consult, if needed, would be the bureaucrat whose    skin is at stake, or the City Attorney representing the interests of    the department.\u00c2\u00a0 This is like the police only interviewing the    suspected criminal rather than the victim.<\/li>\n<li>They believe they    must defer to the City Attorney&#8217;s opinions of what Sunshine laws mean    even when the City Attorney&#8217;s opinion represents a mistake or bad    policy.  (Discussion of this important issue is beyond the scope of    this article and deserves more attention.)\u00c2\u00a0 Ethics also learned    that deputy city attorneys can give different advice.\u00c2\u00a0 Accepting    uncritically the advice of a department&#8217;s deputy CA as opposed to    the opinion of another, perhaps more knowledgeable deputy CA may not    be setting best policy for the City.<\/li>\n<li>The investigation    seems to be limited to a review of the letter informing the Commission    of the referral and SOTF minutes which even Mr. St. Croix admits are    not &#8220;substantial.&#8221;\u00c2\u00a0 Staff &#8220;may&#8221; request additional documentation    but apparently not in the District Attorney&#8217;s case.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In this next clip, Mr St. Croix explains how Ethics sleuths a case.\u00c2\u00a0 In deference to St.  Croix, I include all 2 \u00c2\u00bd minutes here.<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/-Xz6ixBZ7d8&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/-Xz6ixBZ7d8&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p>After an interruption from  the audience, Task Force Chair Kristin Chu asked about the Commission  practice not to interview complainants. Task Force Member Susan Cauthen  follows up with questions about the practice of not interviewing Task  Force Members.<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/gOw8HmjQiPY&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/gOw8HmjQiPY&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p>This goes far to explain why St. Croix had misunderstood the District Attorney case when he dismissed  it and charged the Task Force with acting irresponsibly.\u00c2\u00a0 Only  consulting respondents in such an unprepared manner will not yield good  interviews.\u00c2\u00a0 Such a professional practice works to uncover willful  violations only if the respondent decides to confess.\u00c2\u00a0 We now understand  why the Ethics Commission has dismissed each of the Task Force&#8217;s 14  referrals.<\/p>\n<p>Ethics Commissioner Charles  Ward asked the question on everyone&#8217;s mind.\u00c2\u00a0 Why not interview  the complainant?<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/xg8soK-BlwM&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/xg8soK-BlwM&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p>(As a parenthetical comment,  the information communicated by this video cannot be communicated in  a transcript.\u00c2\u00a0 St. Croix has resisted electronic video or audio  recording of Ethics Commission meeting despite pressure from the Board  of Supervisors.\u00c2\u00a0 The value of watching St. Croix&#8217;s body language  proves the wisdom of the Board&#8217;s direction.)<\/p>\n<p>The excuses that St. Croix  does point to don&#8217;t parse:<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>He says the cases    are simple.\u00c2\u00a0 Cases are simple when you&#8217;ve done nothing to investigate    them.\u00c2\u00a0 This has to be chalked up to his lack of familiarity with    the record of the case and his lack of regard for the Task Force.<\/li>\n<li>He says there is    not a lot of &#8220;exculpatory&#8221; information to be gotten from talking    to the Complainant.\u00c2\u00a0 Shouldn&#8217;t he be focusing on the inculpatory    information first?\u00c2\u00a0 If he needs exculpatory information, he can    always go to the respondent.<\/li>\n<li>He posits it is the respondent&#8217;s    responsibility to prove whether there is an infraction or not.\u00c2\u00a0    This shift of the burden of proof has the perverse consequence of letting    the respondent determine the issue since no one else gets to present    a case.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The most remarkable part of St. Croix&#8217;s response is that he does not raise the old canard  of funding problems as a justification for his procedures.\u00c2\u00a0 Nor  should he.\u00c2\u00a0 Years ago, the Ethics Commission barely had 1.0 FTE  (full-time equivalent) investigators for a caseload of about 30 investigations.\u00c2\u00a0 <u>Now<\/u> 5.0 FTE enforcement staff handle a  case load of only 20 cases, up from the previous month&#8217;s 17.\u00c2\u00a0  While Ethics Commissioner Eileen Hansen later warned about the effect of any  future budget cuts, funding was not the problem with these dismissals.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Sunshine Task Force member Erica Craven-Green engaged  him on the importance of interviewing both sides on a complaint.<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/NceQi3TTzSE&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/NceQi3TTzSE&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>So what harm  has been done?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mr. Jeff Ente gave us the answer  in discussing the Ethics Commission&#8217;s dismissal of a case against  former Supervisor Aaron Peskin.\u00c2\u00a0 Ente had watched Peskin  claim that he had received many positive emails supporting his <a href=\"http:\/\/query.nytimes.com\/gst\/fullpage.html?res=950DEFDF1E30F935A35755C0A9619C8B63\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>position<\/u><\/a> on banning the feeding of the wild  parakeets of Telegraph Hill.\u00c2\u00a0 So Ente, who opposed Peskin and saw his claim, didn&#8217;t believe it and filed Sunshine  requests for the emails.\u00c2\u00a0 Peskin couldn&#8217;t produce the emails, claiming  that he had deleted them and did not meet with the Task Force to explain  what efforts if any he had made to retrieve the deletions.\u00c2\u00a0 The  Task Force claimed he was obliged under the law to cooperate  with them.\u00c2\u00a0 They, therefore, found him guilty of official misconduct  for not retrieving any deleted emails, and for failing to cooperate with  the Task Force.<\/p>\n<p>St. Croix noted that there  were two cases in which staff had reviewed the underlying tapes, and Ente&#8217;s was one of them.\u00c2\u00a0 Ente had appeared at an Ethics  Commission meeting and complained that he had not been contacted.\u00c2\u00a0  In effect, he managed to embarrass an investigation out of the Commission.\u00c2\u00a0  Nevertheless, Ethics staff was not able to comprehend the issues involved.\u00c2\u00a0  As has been the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/blogs\/politics\/2009\/02\/watchdog_calls_for_major_refor.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>practice<\/u><\/a> in every case involving a sitting elected official, Ethics would not find a violation without the consent of the official.<\/p>\n<p>While Peskin may have  a good defense, neither he nor the Ethics Commission have shed any light  on the issue to Ente.\u00c2\u00a0 Whether or not there is a defense to the charges  of official misconduct, the focus of the meeting was on how Ethics had  dropped the ball.<\/p>\n<p>Ethics dismissed the charge  without addressing the level of cooperation required by the law. Mr.  Ente tells the story best:<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/JBAShnmJhik&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/JBAShnmJhik&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p>We can all smile at the personalities  and foibles involved here, but this escapade erodes public confidence  in our institutions, and we have the Ethics Commission not to erode public  confidence &#8211; but to restore it.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>The Unethical  Ethics Commission<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mr. Ente is not alone in suspecting  the Ethics Commission of being unethical.\u00c2\u00a0 His fears that Ethics <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/blogs\/politics\/2009\/02\/watchdog_calls_for_major_refor.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>handles<\/u><\/a> campaign finance cases the same way  is grounded in reality.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It has even led to that rare convergence between both the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/blogs\/bruce\/2007\/07\/carolyn_knee_is_free_finally_a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>Bay Guardian<\/u><\/a> and the SFWeekly (in their unlinked front page of the March 24, 2009, issue) in calling the Commission the &ldquo;Unethical Ethics Commission.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/blogs\/politics\/2009\/02\/watchdog_calls_for_major_refor.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>15  years<\/u><\/a>, there has  not been a single fine imposed to which the respondent objected.\u00c2\u00a0  There have been only three accusations, and in two of them, all charges  were dismissed because they were not pled properly.\u00c2\u00a0 In the third,  major charges were dismissed for the same reason.\u00c2\u00a0 When evidence  of possible crimes have been <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/news_in_brief\/lynn_070627.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>uncovered<\/u><\/a>, St. Croix has failed to forward  the information to the appropriate authorities.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact,\u00c2\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20141023144232\/http:\/\/www.sfbg.com\/39\/23\/cover_foi_winners.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>here<\/u><\/a> are a <u>few<\/u> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/news_in_brief\/lynn_070807.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>articles<\/u><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/news_in_brief\/lynn_070808.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>to<\/u><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/news_in_brief\/lynn_070809.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>review<\/u><\/a> noting Ethics&#8217; past failure at enforcement.\u00c2\u00a0 St. Croix even goes so far as to hold that he does not have to <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20090429055325\/http:\/\/blogs.sfweekly.com:80\/thesnitch\/2009\/03\/going_legit_following_sf_weekl.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>enforce<\/u><\/a> some <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20130403091810\/http:\/\/blogs.sfweekly.com\/thesnitch\/2009\/03\/clerk_of_board_of_supervisors.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>laws<\/u><\/a> if they prove difficult to administer.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>Where are the  Ethics Commissioners and the Board of Supervisors?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> It is high time for the Board  of Supervisors to hold hearings.\u00c2\u00a0 On April 20, San Francisco for  Democracy, a local political club which involves itself in good government  policy, called for such a hearing.\u00c2\u00a0 In their letter to Supervisors  David Chiu, Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly, they wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>On April 20, 2009 former  San Francisco Commissioner Joe Lynn presented a proposal for reform  of the San Francisco&#8217;s Ethics Commission.\u00c2\u00a0 His presentation was backed  up with numerous news accounts of recent high profile cases that have  come before the Commission and its staff.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>On April 20, 2009, San  Francisco for Democracy passed the following motion:<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;The San Francisco Ethics  Commission may be inadequately fulfilling its mission of enforcing ethics  laws, especially for higher profile cases, and therefore we call upon  the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to hold a hearing regarding this  matter.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>After a similar presentation to the Harvey Milk club, they postponed action on a similar motion until a future meeting.<\/p>\n<p>I have <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/1075\/former-ethics-commissioners-articulate-basis-for-lobbyist-reform\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><u>called<\/u><\/a> for the Board of Supervisors to suspend  funding the enforcement division of the Ethics Commission until the  Commissioners can address this problem and square it away.\u00c2\u00a0 Right  now, we are throwing $550,000 a year into Ethics enforcement, and it&#8217;s  not worth it.<\/p>\n<p>Some hope finally surfaced  at the joint meeting that the Ethics Commissioners had finally heard  what the community has complained of for so long.\u00c2\u00a0 Commissioner  Eileen Hansen best summarized the lessons from the meeting.<\/p>\n<p><center><object width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/lwO9rlRA9H8&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/lwO9rlRA9H8&#038;hl=en&#038;fs=1\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" allowscriptaccess=\"always\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><\/embed><\/object><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Ethics staff can start its  reform by attending future Task Force meetings in person.\u00c2\u00a0 It may  be their most convenient way of interviewing witnesses.\u00c2\u00a0 It will  also be their best education on the law and facts in cases that might  be referred to them.\u00c2\u00a0 In addition, they might spot the Task Force dismissing  a case that merits further investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Ethics needs to hold hearings  on the skill sets needed to enforce good government laws.\u00c2\u00a0 They  also need to address any lapses in their oversight of Commission investigations.\u00c2\u00a0  They need to consider apologizing to the Task Force for the accusation  of irresponsibility.\u00c2\u00a0 Above all, they must recognized that these  continued scandals have damaged their interests gravely.<\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><strong>Next steps<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li><u>Spoon feeding    Ethics Staff.<\/u>\u00c2\u00a0 What lessons are there for Sunshine advocates?\u00c2\u00a0    Spoon feeding Ethics staff emerges as the best strategy.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0    Do not assume Ethics staff is competent.\u00c2\u00a0 Make waves to get heard.\u00c2\u00a0    Mr. Ente never heard from Ethics staff on his complaint until he attended    an Ethics Commission meeting and made waves.\u00c2\u00a0 Two current complainants,    Eric Brooks and Josh Arce, attended the meeting and presented a serious    case of possible official misconduct by SFPUC employees.\u00c2\u00a0 Fortunately    for them, Mr. Arce (an excellent attorney judging by his presentation    at the meeting) has already done the professional investigation and    summary for the Ethics investigators.\u00c2\u00a0 By filing their complaint    directly with Ethics in addition to filing with the Task Force, they    also got interviewed by Ethics staff.\u00c2\u00a0 Retaining an attorney of    Mr. Arce&#8217;s talent is an expensive proposition for members of the public,    however.\u00c2\u00a0 In theory, the Ethics Commission should be playing that    role for the public, but advocates should understand that an attorney&#8217;s    assistance may be needed to supplement the skill set of\u00c2\u00a0 Ethics    staff.<\/li>\n<li><u>The Attorney    General needs to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Mayor    and all the other respondents in the cases dismissed by Ethics.<\/u>\u00c2\u00a0    One of the dismissals involved the Mayor Gavin Newsom.\u00c2\u00a0 The Attorney General    had declined to investigate the case with the comment that the local    procedure should be used.\u00c2\u00a0 What happens when the local procedures    are broken?\u00c2\u00a0 The Attorney General needs to reconsider whether his    office should investigate the referrals from the Task Force which Ethics    botched.\u00c2\u00a0 The City Attorney and District Attorney are conflicted out of some of the referrals.\u00c2\u00a0    Since some of the cases concern Newsom, there would be a conflict    involved in Attorney General Jerry Brown&#8217;s handling of the investigation against a potential gubernatorial opponent.\u00c2\u00a0 Therefore, Brown should appoint a special prosecutor.\u00c2\u00a0    Otherwise, laws striking at the heart of public integrity will go unenforced.<\/li>\n<li><u>The Board of    Supervisors needs to hold hearings immediately.<\/u> Corrections for Ethics    might be handled in the budget process.\u00c2\u00a0 The Board should start    by transferring some of Ethics&#8217; $550,000 enforcement budget to fund a    special investigator\/prosecutor for the Task Force who can present their    referrals directly to the Ethics Commissioners without the intervention    of Ethics staff.\u00c2\u00a0 The Board should give the Ethics Commission a    specific time limit to address its enforcement problems and suspend    funding the $550,000 enforcement department should the Commission not    be able to meet the deadline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Task Force&#8217;s participation  in the meeting was through its Compliance and Amendments Committee,  chaired by Richard Knee whose deft chairmanship of the historic meeting  greatly enhanced the stature of the Task Force to those whose only knowledge  of the Task Force has been through previous media distortions.\u00c2\u00a0  Any image of crazy folks evaporated as a very professional Craven  led the discussion. Task Force Chair Chu and Member Cauthen joined in  with sensible, nonthreatening questions.<\/p>\n<p>The meeting ended with Ethics  Chair Jamienne Studley &#8212; who deserves credit for agreeing to this meeting  &#8212; noting that there was work to do.\u00c2\u00a0 With good will on all sides,  the meeting ended, and the air had been cleared.<\/p>\n<p>The Ethics Commission meets  next Monday, May 11, at Room 408 in City Hall.\u00c2\u00a0 The Commission  has always welcomed public comment on issues within its jurisdiction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inadequate Sunshine investigation may lead AG Brown to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Mayor Gavin Newsom By Joe Lynn May 7, 2009 By the end of an April 24th joint meeting of the Sunshine&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - 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