Ethics commission fines San Francisco mayoral candidate more than $108K before election
Just one day before the Nov. 5 election, a mayoral candidate in San Francisco who once held the city post has been fined more than $100,000 in connection to an ethics fine, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, the newspaper first to report the fine.
Venture capitalist and ex-San Francisco mayor Mark Farrell illegally funded his candidacy with a committee he created for another purpose, an investigation by the City and County of San Francisco Ethics Commission found.
Farrell, a Democrat, previously dismissed accusations his office used funds from the Proposition D campaign to pay for his mayoral campaign expenses after three ex mayors called for the investigation in a letter addressed to State Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Proposition D is a ballot measure Farrell supports that would cut the number of city commissions in half.
The letter accuses Farrell of skirting the mayoral races $500 donation limit per person, and illegally using hundreds of thousands of dollars from the ballot measure for his political campaigning.
Earlier this year, during a press conference at his campaign headquarters recorded by CBS News Bay Area, Farrell said he had been "completely transparent" with his campaign expenses.
"This is ultimately a joke," Farrell previously said, calling the letter a political attempt to take him down. "It has no basis or truth at all."
Paste BN has reached out to Farrell, who on Monday posted on social media he had agreed to a settlement for "an accounting error his campaign corrected and publicly disclosed months ago, and over a disagreement about staff time allocation" during the campaign.
"As the person responsible for both campaigns, I take full ownership of these issues − this is kind of accountability I am modeling for my children," Farrell posted on X. "Currently, no clear local rules exist regarding shared expenses for campaign committees. I am calling for the Ethics Commission to establish clear guidance in this area because candidates the public deserves certainty and transparency."
Mark Farrell fined $108,179.99
After the letter was sent, Farrell told reporters each of the mayors who signed the letter, including Willie Brown, are supporting one of his political opponents. Brown has voiced his support for incumbent Mayor London Breed.
According to online document, the ethics commission fined Farrell $108,179.99.
"The harm in this case is tied directly to the contribution amounts," papers signed by San Francisco Ethics Commissions Executive Director Patrick Ford read.
Farrell is running against Breed, the 45th mayor of the City and County of San Francisco.
He served as the 44th Mayor of San Francisco from Jan. 23 to July 11, 2018 after Mayor Ed Lee died in December 2017.
Before his appointment as mayor, he served on the Board of Supervisors for nearly two terms, representing District 2.
Who is running for mayor in San Francisco?
Breed, the first Black woman mayor of San Francisco, later stepped into the post during a special election after Lee's death.
Here are the four leading candidates on the Nov. 5 ballot running for San Francisco mayor, all whom are Democrats:
- London Breed (incumbant)
- Mark Farrell (former mayor)
- Aaron Peskin (president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors)
- Daniel Lurie (Levi Strauss heir)
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.