Ethics Commission previews redesigned sfethics.org with mobile‑friendly, searchable filings

The San Francisco Ethics Commission heard a detailed preview of a redesigned sfethics.org intended to make the agency’s materials easier to find and read on phones and desktops.

"So again, I'm Steven Massey," said Information Technology Officer Steven Massey, who led the year‑long effort to move the commission’s content off an obsolete content management system and into a responsive site. Massey said the current site, launched in 2009, contains more than 4,300 pages and was not built to serve mobile users; the redesign reduces top‑level choices, presents guidance and compliance walkthroughs directly on pages rather than in PDFs, and preserves existing links so older documents continue to work.

The redesign includes five primary site sections—commission, staff, compliance, disclosure and enforcement—plus quick links for the most commonly used features: guidance and trainings, e‑filing of campaign and disclosure forms, and viewing datasets and visualizations. Massey showed new data visualizations that allow users to search contributors, see ZIP‑code support maps and flag large or late contributions. "The site will reformat the content and the font sizes so that you can actually read the content regardless of what device you're using," Massey said.

Members of the public and commissioners praised the work and suggested small changes. David Pilpel, speaking as an individual, called Massey “one of the great things at the commission” and asked that enforcement/stipulation listings show respondent names when those names are public to make past resolutions easier to find. Massey said the team added a new enforcement section with a plain‑English walkthrough of the complaint process and a printable format for letterhead.

Commissioners asked about vendor reliance for third‑party graphics and maintenance of visualizations. Massey said student or outside graphics remain linked on the new site but the commission will maintain the underlying data so the visualizations can be updated; he also noted the previous host (Typepad) had been acquired and no longer actively develops the platform, and that the new CMS is portable to other vendors if needed.

Friends of Ethics offered to help identify budget support, and Larry Bush described talks with the controller about a more integrated, citywide filing system. The commission also discussed adding a staff page to make it clearer whom to contact and implementing breadcrumbs, an interested‑persons signup on the homepage, and an improved print stylesheet.

Chair Rennie and staff said the site is nearing launch but that some tweaking remains; Massey expects the site to be operational in early 2016, with a short break while he is on leave.

The commission did not take action on the item; staff indicated the new site and related documentation would be posted for public access when ready.