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Bayview arts groups ask PUC to press for hearing after alleged improper awards
Summary
Bayview Hunters Point advocates told the PUC they allege unlawful, politically motivated awards of arts pilot grants financed by PUC funds and requested the commission schedule a hearing to investigate selection procedures and compliance with the grant agreement and Sunshine Ordinance.
Advocates from Bayview Hunters Point urged the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to press for a prompt administrative hearing into awards made under the Arts CommissionCommunity Arts and Education Bayview pilot program funded with PUC money, alleging the selection process violated the grant agreement, the Sunshine Ordinance and the city charter.
Kevin Williams, co-chair of the Bayview Hunters Point Arts Council, told commissioners the group filed a written request and will present evidence at the commission's November meeting. "We allege that the selection process used is unlawful, politically motivated, and patently corrupt," Williams said. He alleged that 10 Bayview organizations were given awards without oral interviews, public comment or public disclosure after award and urged the PUC as a funding source to investigate.
Williams said his group had already sought public disclosure and emails tied to the selection process but was refused. "We come to you first to seek an administrative remedy," he said, and added that his group has retained counsel if an administrative solution is not forthcoming.
Multiple public commenters representing local arts organizations, including Angela Armstrong of the Hunters Point Art Gallery and Dr. Espinosa Jackson, said longstanding Bayview arts groups have not received funding and expressed frustration that new or external organizations received pilot awards. Armstrong asked the commission to clarify how the PUC defines a "pilot art program" and whether the PUC ensured funds reached established local groups.
Commission staff said they had contacted the Arts Commission and scheduled a presentation from Arts Commission representatives at the PUC's second November meeting; commissioners encouraged Williams to also pursue the Arts Commission directly as the body that managed the selection process. The general manager's office said the letter and related materials were forwarded to the Arts Commission for review.
The PUC did not take formal action on the allegations at the meeting; commissioners indicated they would bring Arts Commission staff to a future meeting and that the funding source (PUC) was an appropriate first stop to request clarity and potential remedies.
Next steps announced in the meeting record included staff attempts to accelerate an Arts Commission appearance and a request by commissioners that the Arts Commission provide public disclosure information and respond to the group's written complaints.
