San Francisco Rules Committee forwards five oversight appointments, including cannabis equity nominee

The San Francisco Rules Committee on Monday recommended five appointments to city advisory bodies, including the Cannabis Oversight Committee and oversight panels for the city’s utilities, college and parks programs. All motions passed unanimously 'without objection,' the chair said.

Supervisor Hillary Ronan, chair of the Rules Committee, opened the meeting and introduced members and staff before the committee considered five nomination items. For the Public Utilities Revenue Bond Oversight Committee, the committee heard from applicant Ettore Leal, who said he had lived in San Francisco for 21 years and brought "a background in economics and in project management" and experience with expenditure audits and oversight. Asked about the PUC's effort to acquire PG&E transmission infrastructure, Leal said he had followed the effort and described visible deferred maintenance in the field, calling municipal ownership an opportunity to improve "reliability and resiliency." Supervisor Catherine Stephanie moved to appoint (transcript: "Tory Liao") to the committee; the motion passed unanimously.

On the Cannabis Oversight Committee (one seat), the committee first heard endorsements from Supervisors Shamann Walton and Catherine Stephanie and a public commenter, Kim Street, in support of Sean Richard (transcript spelling). After reopening the item so the applicant could speak in person, Sean Richard told the committee he has lived in San Francisco more than five decades and that his retail operation is now "officially open." Richard described his community work and said a portion of store proceeds would be returned to local organizations, stating, "5% of our profits will go back into the community citywide." Supervisor Stephanie moved to appoint Richard to Vacancy 12 and forward the nomination to the full board with a positive recommendation; the motion passed unanimously.

For the Eastern Neighborhoods Community Advisory Committee, Chair Ronan nominated Kim Shriemoffus (transcript spelling), who described long-term residency in Districts 9 and 10 and a doctoral degree in education for speakers of other languages. Ronan said she would forward the nomination with a positive recommendation and the committee approved it unanimously.

The committee also recommended two appointments to the Free City College Oversight Committee. Applicant Wenmo Ang Chi (transcript spelling) described long involvement with the Free City Coalition and City College advocacy. Connie Ford, who served on the committee previously, reviewed the program's rollout and an annual report produced with the controller’s office and urged continued oversight; Supervisor Gordon Marr moved to appoint the two nominees and the motion passed unanimously.

Finally, the committee heard from Patrick Ratti (transcript spelling), District 6's nominee to the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Committee. Ratti described working with youth and park activation efforts in the Tenderloin and said equity and safety should guide park improvements. Supervisor Marr moved the nomination; the clerk noted an emergency residency waiver would be required for the appointment. The motion passed unanimously.

Votes recorded in the transcript were unanimous 'without objection'; the transcript does not include a roll-call tally for yes/no/abstain votes. The clerk recorded term end dates in the agenda notices: item 1 (term ending 11/12/2023), item 2 (term ending 12/03/2020), item 3 (term ending 10/19/2021), and item 5 (term ending 02/01/2022). The committee adjourned after completing the agenda.

Notes on transcript spelling and naming: Several names appear with variant spellings in the transcript (for example, 'Sean Richard' vs. 'Sean Richards'; 'Wenmo Ang Chi' vs. later pronunciation cues). The article uses the spellings as they appear in the transcript and flags those inconsistencies for record and verification in the committee's official minutes.