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Votes at a glance: minutes deferred; annual report adopted; commission approves policy plan
Summary
The Ethics Commission voted unanimously Sept. 11 to defer adoption of August minutes to October, adopted the 2019–20 annual report and approved its policy-prioritization plan with an interim report due in November; public commenters urged faster action on corruption.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission took three formal votes at its Sept. 11 teleconference meeting.
- Postpone August minutes to October: A motion to postpone adoption of the draft minutes for the Aug. 14, 2020 meeting was approved unanimously (5–0). Commissioners voting in the affirmative: Busch, Chiu, Lee, Smith and Chair Ambrose. Notes: Commissioner Busch had asked that the minutes be severed for additional descriptive material on public comment and commissioner suggestions; moderator Robert Contreras confirmed there were no callers on the consent item before the roll call.
- Adopt 2019–20 annual report: After Executive Director Deborah Pelham presented a revised draft that included a front-page "by-the-numbers" chart and expanded future-initiatives language addressing BLA recommendations and corruption allegations, the commission voted to adopt the report unanimously (5–0). The motion was moved by Councilwoman Osterholm and seconded by Commissioner Busch.
- Approve policy-prioritization plan (next steps): The commission approved staff’s proposed policy-prioritization plan for the next two months with an interim report to the commission in November and a broader review in December. The motion carried unanimously (5–0). Commissioner Busch moved; Commissioner Chiu seconded.
Public comment: Francisco DeCosta criticized the commission as "dysfunctional" and urged immediate, forceful action to address corruption in city government; commissioners acknowledged frustration but continued to direct staff to begin policy work and to report back.
Staff follow-up: Staff will return with an interim policy report in November, hiring and budget updates as they become available, and progress reports on the Form 700 e-filing implementation.
