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Ethics Commission approves $12,000 fine for Planning Commissioner Catherine Moore
Summary
The San Francisco Ethics Commission approved a stipulated $12,000 penalty for Planning Commissioner Catherine Moore after staff found she failed to recuse on votes involving her former employer Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Commissioners cited mitigation but endorsed the settlement 4–0.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission on Feb. 13 approved a stipulated settlement imposing a $12,000 penalty on Planning Commissioner Catherine Moore for failing to recuse herself from decisions involving her former employer, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).
Senior Investigator Bertha Chung told the commission staff’s review found Moore voted four times on three major projects where SOM was explicitly involved and where her continued participation created a disqualifying financial conflict. "There is no evidence to suggest respondent deliberately intended to benefit her financial interest," Chung said, and staff weighed mitigating factors including Moore’s disclosure of SOM retirement income on her annual Form 700 filings. Staff recommended a penalty of $3,000 per count, $12,000 total.
Commissioners pressed staff about precedent and the calculation of penalties. Commissioner (last name) pressed whether prior matters with clear conflicts involved smaller dollar amounts and how the proposed $3,000-per-count assessment compared with the statutory maximum. Chung said prior matters involved smaller contract values and that staff balanced aggravating and mitigating factors in arriving at the $3,000 figure.
Director of Enforcement BC Matthews noted that the challenged votes had been unanimous and said the outcome would not have changed had Moore recused herself: "The vote was unanimous, and if she had recused herself the projects would have still moved along by the other votes of the other commissioners present," Matthews said.
The commission voted 4–0 to approve the stipulated decision and order imposing the $12,000 penalty.
The stipulation describes Moore’s ongoing retirement income from SOM following her 1999 retirement and says the payments were a flat annual retirement benefit. The order does not find that Moore received personal benefit from the votes, but treats her participation as a conflict-of-interest violation subject to administrative penalty.
The commission closed the item following the unanimous vote; the stipulation will be filed as part of the commission’s public record.
