The San Francisco Rules Committee held a regular meeting on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 18:15 UTC. The committee was chaired by Supervisor Shimon Walton, joined by Vice Chair Stephen Scherrow and President Rafael Mandelman. The clerk was Victor Young. The meeting addressed five agenda items: two commission appointments, nine appointments to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, an ordinance raising the City Attorney's settlement delegation limit, and an ordinance exempting Rent Board members from term limits. All items were forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations.
Item 1 – Presidential Appointment of Malea Chavez to the Planning Commission: President Mandelman nominated Malia Chavez, a longtime tenant attorney and nonprofit leader with experience in housing policy and community development. Chavez spoke about her background, including work on the Mission Economic Development Agency's "People's Plan" and affordable housing projects. Vice Chair Scherrow noted their productive conversation on areas of agreement and disagreement. The committee voted unanimously to forward the appointment with a positive recommendation.
Item 2 – City Controller Appointment of Christopher Simi to the Sanitation and Streets Commission: Christopher Simi, a current commissioner seeking reappointment, highlighted his four years of experience, his role as BART's budget director, and his understanding of local government finance. President Mandelman thanked him for his service. The committee voted unanimously to forward the appointment.
Item 3 – Appointments to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force (nine seats): Fifteen applicants were considered. Incumbents and new candidates spoke, emphasizing experience, institutional knowledge, and the need for efficient complaint processing. Several incumbents (Lila Lahood, Maxine Anderson, David Pilpel, Laura Steinback, Matthew Yankee) described ongoing work on ordinance amendments and process improvements. New applicants included Matthew Donahue (plaintiff attorney), John Sanders (former behavioral health commission chair), McKenzie Ewing (district director for Assemblymember Matt Haney), Christopher Ojeda (political science professor), and Joseph San Girardi (former task force member). Chris Hyland also spoke late. After public comment, President Mandelman moved to forward the following nominees: Lila Lahood (seat 2), Maxine Anderson (seat 5), Matthew Donahue (seat 6), Matthew Yankee (seat 7), Christopher Ojeda (seat 8), McKenzie Ewing (seat 9), and Joseph San Girardi (seat 10). Seats 1 (Dean Schmidt, not present) and 3 (Saul Sugarman, withdrawn) were left for future action. The motion passed unanimously.
Item 4 – Ordinance Amending Administrative Code on Settlement of Claims and Lawsuits: President Mandelman introduced the ordinance, which raises the City Attorney's delegated settlement authority from $25,000 to $100,000—the first adjustment in 40 years. He noted that from 2020 to 2025, 40% of settlements presented to the board fell between $25,000 and $100,000, creating unnecessary delays. The ordinance requires annual reporting to the board on settlements between $25,000 and $100,000, preserving transparency. It also updates and modernizes claims procedures. Vice Chair Scherrow thanked the City Attorney's Office for their work. The committee voted unanimously to forward the ordinance.
Item 5 – Ordinance Exempting Rent Board Members from Term Limits: President Mandelman explained that the ordinance corrects an inadvertent omission from a previous Prop E commission streamlining ordinance. The task force had recommended no term limits for the Rent Board, but the enacted ordinance did not include that exception. This legislation restores the original intent. The committee voted unanimously to forward the ordinance.
All items are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda on September 22, 2026.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Monday, September 14th rules committee meeting. I am your chair, Supervisor Shimon Walton. I'm joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Stephen Scherrow and by President Mandelman. Today's clerk is Victor Young, and I want to thank Jamie Escherry with SFGov TV for making sure that this meeting is publicized and televised and made available to the public. 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 speak. 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 by 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 when Dr. Carleton B. Goodlit place, room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. Please make sure the silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors Agenda of September 22nd. Unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. Would you please call item number one? Item number one is a motion approving or rejecting the President of the Board of Supervisors, Rafael Mandelman's nomination for the appointment of Malia Chavez to the planning commission term ending July 1st, 2028. Thank you so much. And before we hear from our candidate, we do have uh President Mandelman on the roster. Thank you, uh Chair Walton. Uh just to remind my colleagues and for members of the public. Um this board had uh three appointments to fill. It is only because of a quirk um in the way this particular seat was vacated uh that Ms. Chavez is following Joel Coppel and Elizabeth McDonald, who um I think are both excellent uh appointments, who we uh did earlier. Uh Ms. Chavez is equally excellent um, but uh is um just because of that quirk um straggling. Um but I I see her as part of a package that uh reflects, I think the values and priorities of the Board of Supervisors for the Planning Commission. Um she is a second generation San Franciscan and a mission district resident. She is a renter, a parent of a San Francisco Unified School District graduate graduate, a longtime tenant attorney and nonprofit leader. She began her legal career in 2005 as the first staff attorney hired by San Francisco Health Self-Help Center, now known as the Access Center, where she helped launch the small claims mediation program at the San Francisco Superior Court. She went on to serve as director of self-help services and alternative dispute resolution services for the Alameda County Superior Court, a lifelong mediator. Her interest in resolving conflicts uh dates back to serving as a peer mediator in middle school in Arizona. Uh throughout her career, Malia has worked with both residential and business tenants across the city at the Mission Economic Development Agency. She worked on rezoning plans and helped families build generational wealth while supporting small businesses. As deputy director at the homeless prenatal program, she worked on an affordable housing project with Mercy Housing at 2530 18th Street in the mission, which includes the development of 73 units of affordable housing. She also worked on the rehabilitation of Jelani House in the Bayview, um, San Francisco's first transitional housing program for uh uh for uh pregnant folks and new parents. Um as executive director of the women's building, Malia led preservation work on uh that historic building that has anchored the neighborhood and the women's rights movement in San Francisco since 1978. Um I think she's a get for the planning commission. She brings decades of legal housing and family law experience along with a first-hand understanding of the affordability challenges facing renters in our city and is committed to ensuring that the city's planning decisions reflect the needs of our city's diverse communities uh and neighborhoods. She's gonna bring a perspective grounded in tenant advocacy, housing policy, and community development with a focus on planning that supports affordability, preserves neighborhoods, and serves all San Franciscans. Um I hope, colleagues, that you will agree. She will be a terrific addition and that you will forward her nomination to the full board with positive recommendation. Thank you. Thank you so much, President Mendelman.