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Supervisor Kim asks Ethics Commission to back tougher disclosure for third-party political spending
Summary
Supervisor Kim presented a revised campaign finance ordinance asking the Ethics Commission to recommend new disclosure rules for candidates, third-party committees and online ads, including listing top donors and requiring social-media ad copies. Staff and commissioners raised practical timing and administrative concerns.
Supervisor Kim on Monday asked the San Francisco Ethics Commission to recommend a revised ordinance intended to increase transparency around independent expenditures and campaign advertising.
Kim told commissioners she first introduced the measure in July and circulated a second version in November, saying local officials have seen an "increasing cloud over money" in campaigns and that third-party spending in supervisorial races rose from roughly 12% in 2002 to 54% in 2016. The draft would require independent-expenditure communications to include the original source of funds and list the top four donors giving more than $20,000 in advertisements. It would also require larger disclosure type (14-point) for written materials and pre-roll disclosure for radio and television ads.
The ordinance would add a notation in the voter information pamphlet identifying candidates who agree to voluntary spending limits and asks the Ethics Commission to maintain a public website with near real-time information on third-party expenditures. Kim also proposed requiring candidates to attest, under penalty of perjury, that they are not coordinating with ostensibly independent committees and asked that copies of social-media advertisements be filed with the commission.
Commissioners and staff commended the outreach Kim said she had done, and several members pressed staff and the supervisor about overlaps with recent Ethics Commission recommendations and the mechanics of public education. Staff noted that mailing a one-page summary of prior-cycle third-party funders to all voters had logistical hurdles: the city's mail house requires material several weeks before an election and would miss many late-arriving independent expenditures, so the proposal was revised to mail a historical listing and direct readers to an online tracker for current-cycle activity.
Public commenters from Friends of Ethics and others generally supported better disclosure, with several urging metrics that capture an ad's reach, not just its dollar value. Ray Hartz of San Francisco Open Government urged elected leaders to set an example by disclosing all contributions publicly.
The commission did not take a formal recommendation vote at the meeting; Kim said she would meet individually with commissioners and staff to refine the language and welcomed further feedback.
The next procedural step is additional staff review and a follow-up meeting between the supervisor and commission staff; Kim said she would return with budget estimates and additional detail requested by staff.
