San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - July 13, 2026: Appointments and Affordable Grocery Fund
San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - July 13, 2026
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee, chaired by Supervisor Shaman Walton, met on July 13, 2026, to consider appointments to several city commissions and a ballot measure to create an Affordable Grocery Fund. The meeting included public testimony, applicant presentations, and unanimous votes on all agenda items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ballot Simplification Council (Item 2): Kate Degalau Pierce, co-president of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco, spoke in support of Ruth Grace Wong's nomination, citing her ability to distill legal text and bring diversity to the council.
- Mayoral Appointments (Items 4-7): Multiple speakers supported Leonard Poggio's reappointment to the Entertainment Commission, describing his integrity and community involvement. Several speakers supported Vanessa Hardigan's appointment to the Port Commission, emphasizing her financial expertise, collaborative leadership, and commitment to equity.
Discussion Items
- Item 2 – Ballot Simplification Council Appointments: Five applicants were considered for two seats. Applicants Ben Landau Taylor, Betty Packard, Pamela Troy, and Ruth Grace Wong presented their qualifications. Michelle Anderson withdrew. After public comment, the committee moved to appoint Betty Packard to seat one and Ruth Grace Wong to seat two for terms ending November 30, 2026. The motion passed unanimously.
- Item 3 – Affordable Grocery Fund (Ballot Measure): Supervisor Mahmood presented a motion to place an ordinance on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would create a fund to expand access to affordable nutritious food. He noted a technical amendment to include food and grocery products offered at no cost or lower markup, and to prohibit dynamic pricing discrimination. President Mandelman expressed support and asked why a ballot measure was necessary. Supervisor Mahmood cited the need for voter mandate and alignment with a complementary tax measure. The committee voted unanimously to accept the amendment and continue the matter to July 20, 2026.
- Item 1 – Fire Code Technical Advisory Council Appointments: Ten applicants were considered for six seats. Vice Chair Sherrill introduced the item, acknowledging the controversy around the sprinkler mandate and emphasizing the need for balanced, feasible solutions. Applicants included building owners, engineers, fire safety professionals, and tenant representatives. After public comment, Vice Chair Sherrill moved to appoint Robert Eaton (seat 1), Gail Geary (seat 2), Catherine Ann Miller (seat 3), Christopher Ingram with a residency waiver (seat 4), and Brandon Bracamante with a residency waiver (seat 5), and to continue seat six to allow more time for conversation. The motion passed unanimously.
- Items 4-7 – Mayoral Appointments: The committee considered four mayoral nominations together:
- Item 4: Paul Wolfort, reappointment to the Public Works Commission (term ending July 2, 2030).
- Item 5: Lieutenant Leonard Poggio, reappointment to the Entertainment Commission (term ending July 1, 2030).
- Item 6: James Papus, appointment to the Redevelopment Successor Agency Oversight Board (term ending January 24, 2030).
- Item 7: Vanessa Hardigan, appointment to the Port Commission (term ending May 1, 2030). Each nominee introduced themselves and answered questions. The committee voted unanimously to approve all four nominations.
Key Outcomes
- Ballot Simplification Council: Betty Packard and Ruth Grace Wong appointed; their names forwarded to the full board.
- Affordable Grocery Fund: Technical amendment accepted; item continued to July 20, 2026 Rules Committee meeting.
- Fire Code Technical Advisory Council: Five members appointed (Robert Eaton, Gail Geary, Catherine Ann Miller, Christopher Ingram with residency waiver, Brandon Bracamante with residency waiver); one seat continued to the call of the chair.
- Mayoral Appointments: Paul Wolfort, Leonard Poggio, James Papus, and Vanessa Hardigan all approved and forwarded to the full board with recommendation.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our July 13th, 2026 rules committee meeting. I'm your chair, Supervisor Shaman Walton. I'm joined by President Mandelman and soon to be joined by Vice Chair Stephen Sherrill. Today's clerk is Victor Young, and I want to thank Jamie Escherry with SFGov TV for making sure that this meeting is made public and available to everyone. Mr. Clerk, do we have any announcements this morning? 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 like to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR.yo U N G at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment via email, it will be included as part of the file. You may also send your written comments via US mail to our office in City Hall. One, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlit Place, Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Items act upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of July 21st, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. Let's take uh this agenda out of order and call item number two, please. Item number two is a hearing to consider appointing two members terms ending November 30th, 2026 to the ballot simplification council. Thank you so much. And we have a packed agenda this morning. And so what I'm gonna do is always call up individuals in order that they appear, and please take about a minute and a half to tell us why you want to serve and your purpose. And so first I am going to call for Ben Landau Taylor. Good morning. One moment, my apologies. Thank you. Yeah, I have a lot of experience with taking complex issues in social science, in investigative journalism, in civics, in history, and then writing them up for a public audience and taking the often very complicated issues and presenting them in a way that people who are non-specialists can understand. And I think I'd be doing a good job of taking a lot of the very complex civic issues that get uh that show up on the ballot and putting them in understandable and neutral language. Thank you. Thank you so much. Next, we have Betty Packard. Good morning. Many of you know because I've been chairing this committee for several years. Um you have my resume. I've been a journalist for 60 years, and uh I've been very proud of the job that the that the committee has done. I've worked very hard to make sure that we've been extremely non-biased, that we presented legit uh literature and um uh uh voter handbook that gives the public an unbiased look and a look that can be understood on an eighth grade level. I've made many enemies in this in this building between lawyers and uh department heads and even supervisors because we've not actually taken their verbiage and and put it in as they wanted it in, but we've taken the language, determined that it's such that the average person can look at it and say, yes, I'll vote yes or no, I'll vote no. And uh that's been my crux. When I I've spent the last month, last two months now, really, on the scheduling and the room reservations and stuff without even knowing that I'm gonna be on the committee. So I uh I appreciate the honor that this city has given me by uh handling this uh this task, and I hope that I get to continue. Thank you so much. Uh please remember that we refrain from loud applause in here because we want to make sure we hear the next person or what's coming next. You can definitely do hand motions if you want to support someone. Next we have Michelle Anderson. I did receive information that Ms. Ms.
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