San Francisco Rules Committee Regular Meeting - February 24, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
San Francisco Rules Committee Regular Meeting - February 24, 2025
The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on February 24, 2025, to consider several routine items including updates to the conflict of interest code, appointments to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force and other committees, and two ordinance amendments. Chair Shaman Walton presided, joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Sherril and President Supervisor Mandelman. The meeting lasted approximately one hour and included public testimony on the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force appointment.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 2 (Sunshine Ordinance Task Force): Multiple speakers supported Cynthia Dye's appointment, citing her collaborative style, integrity, and experience on the California Citizens Redistricting Commission. Zoe Dunning (former DCCC vice chair), Lauren Gerardin (League of Women Voters of San Francisco), Leticia Miranda (research consultant), Paul Gardner (SFEDUP author), and Chris Keene (technology executive) all spoke in favor. Dylan Hirschell (2024 mayoral candidate) supported Honest Charlie Bodkin, highlighting his data journalism and technology background. One speaker criticized the recall of the school board and suggested political bias in the process. No public comments were made on other agenda items.
Discussion Items
- Item 1: Form 700 Conflict of Interest Code Update – Deputy City Attorney Brad Rossi confirmed that meet-and-confer obligations were concluded. The ordinance updates filing requirements for designated officials. The committee unanimously voted to recommend the item to the full Board.
- Item 2: Sunshine Ordinance Task Force Appointment – Two applicants applied for Seat 10 (public member with demonstrated interest in citizen access). Honest Charlie Bodkin, a blogger and former LA Times data reporter, presented his background. Cynthia Dye, a management consultant and former member of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, outlined her ideas for improving the task force, including proactive training, preventing abuse, and modernizing the ordinance. Chair Walton moved to appoint Cynthia Dye, citing her experience and the importance of diversity and independent voices. President Mandelman expressed disagreement with her past positions and could not support either applicant, noting additional applicants were expected. The motion to appoint Cynthia Dye failed (1-2, with Chair Walton in favor, Vice Chair Sherril and President Mandelman opposed). A subsequent motion to continue the item to the call of the chair passed unanimously.
- Item 3: Citizens Committee on Community Development – Clinton Lofton, a reapplicant with over 30 years of experience in affordable housing and community development, was the sole applicant. The committee unanimously appointed him to Seat 2.
- Item 4: Early Childhood Community Oversight and Advisory Committee – Cindy Lopez Chastain, the sole applicant for Seat 8, was not present but received positive remarks. The committee unanimously appointed her.
- Item 5: Property Tax Refund Authorization – An ordinance to allow the tax collector to issue refunds under $10,000 without a claim, provided no property transfer occurred. No opposition. Unanimously recommended to the full Board.
- Item 6: Parking Tax Reporting Requirement – Eric Mankey (Office of the Treasury Tax Collector) explained the ordinance removes the requirement for parking operators to report the ratio of unaccounted tickets, simplifying filings without affecting revenue. Unanimously recommended to the full Board.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Approved unanimously for full Board consideration.
- Item 2: Motion to appoint Cynthia Dye failed (1-2). Item continued to the call of the chair.
- Item 3: Clinton Lofton appointed unanimously.
- Item 4: Cindy Lopez Chastain appointed unanimously.
- Item 5: Ordinance approved unanimously for full Board.
- Item 6: Ordinance approved unanimously for full Board.
All items acted upon are scheduled to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of March 4, 2025, unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Transcript
All right. Good morning, everybody. I am Shimon Walton, Chair of the Rules Committee for the Board of Supervisors. I am joined by Vice Chair, Supervisor Shiro, and of course our President, Supervisor Mandelman. Our clerk is Victor Young. And I would like to thank Jamie Escherberry for recording and making sure our meetings are made for the public with SFGov TV. And Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR.yo N G at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment via email, it will be included as part of the file. May you also submit your comments via U.S. mail to our office in City Hall. One, Dr. Carlton be good at place, room 24 for San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Documents to be included as part of the files should be submitted to the clerk. Items acted upon today are to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of March 4th, 2025, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Would you please call item number one? Item number one is the ordinance menu of the campaign and governmental conduct code to update the conflict of interest code form 700. Filing requirements by adding, deleting, and changing titles of certain designated officials and employees to reflect organizational and staffing changes and by refining disclosure requirements for certain designated officials and employees. Thank you so much. Supervisor Mendelman. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And uh we've had this in front of us a few times now. Um this item is a little bit of uh basic um Form 700 conflict of interest hygiene, a thing that we have to do every few years or um and uh we had to continue it last time because there was some more meet and confer obligations that needed to be met. I think that those have been met, and I guess I would just ask our Deputy City Attorney Brad Russian if there's anything more we need to know about this item. Uh Deputy City Attorney Brad Rossi. Yes. Uh um good morning, um supervisors. Yes, this this item is just the annual the bi-annual update. We have to do this uh to the conflict of interest code that just changes the positions that need to file and might change the disclosure categories for some of those positions. Um DHR has confirmed that the meet and confer is concluded, and so this item is ready to be sent to the full board. Um assuming that the commission uh the committee wants to do so. Thank you so much, Deputy City Attorney Russian. Mr. Clerk, seeing no other comments from colleagues, let's go to public comment on item number one. Yes, members of the public who wish to speak on this item should line up to speak at this time. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes. Are there any members of the public who would like to provide public comment on this matter? There are no speakers. Thank you. Seeing no speakers, public comment is now closed.
openpublica.com