Downtown, Rob Black in Joint Attacks on Daly

by Paul Hogarth, 2006-10-05

As downtown business groups spend tens of thousands of dollars to promote his District 6 candidacy and attack Chris Daly, Rob Black filed a complaint on Tuesday with the Ethics Commission that accused Daly of spending $573.05 on "fluff campaign pieces" with taxpayer money. The complaint centers around seven letters that Supervisor Daly's Office sent to various constituents last August, describing his accomplishments at City Hall and the work that he is doing for the District. None of the letters mentioned that there is an election coming up in November, nor did they ask for a vote. Black's complaint comes at a time when Daly supporters have requested the City to investigate an avalanche of independent hit pieces attacking Daly and promoting Black.

As of Wednesday, three independent mail pieces have been filed with the Ethics Commission. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA) spent $18,000 on a mailer that attacked Daly for not cracking down on the homeless, and called Black the "clear choice for District 6." The Building Owners Management Association (BOMA) spent another $18,000 on a glossy mailer called "Meet Rob Black," complete with a detailed bio and his campaign platform. The Police Officers Association (POA) spent a similar amount on a mailer that said there was a "black and white" choice between the candidates, and called Daly "destructive, disruptive, irrational and ineffective."

And that's just the ones that have been reported. Meanwhile, a group called "Concerned Citizens of District 6" has sent three different mailers attacking Daly for coddling panhandlers and attacking the police. San Francisco SOS has distributed door-hangers titled "Chris Doesn't Represent Us." Another group called "Citizens for Leadership Reform #1" has printed signs on telephone polls that urge District 6 voters to "Dump Daly," and published a 24-page document called "the Case Against Chris Daly." Because they are unreported, it's impossible to tell how much money was spent. "But if you look at the research, design, printing, staff time from SFSOS, dropping off Dump Daly signs, and two websites, you probably have about $130,000," said labor activist Robert Haaland, who supports Daly.

Under San Francisco law, all independent pieces of literature sent out to more than 500 voters within 90 days before an election that specifically mention a candidate for local office must report it with the Ethics Commission and disclose their sources. If the independent expenditures have "coordinated" with a candidate's campaign, they are an in-kind contribution and subject to the contribution limits of $500 per donor. While candidates abide to a voluntary spending limit of $83,000, the Ethics Commission can lift the cap for a candidate who has had more than that amount spent against him in the form of independent expenditures. As Daly faces the avalanche of hit pieces, his supporters have asked that the cap be lifted so that he can adequately defend himself.

"If people are doing anonymous stuff under the guise of helping me, I don't want it," said Black. "If they're violating the law, they should be prosecuted." But Black insisted that he had nothing to do with the independent expenditures and defended the right of outside organizations to promote him. "They deserve the ability and have the right to talk about Chris Daly," he said, "as long as it's done transparently and in the open."

Whether the expenditures are truly "uncoordinated" is an open question. All three registered pieces have prominent photos of Black that appear to have been prepared for such campaign literature, and the POA piece even includes the campaign's logo and directs voters to his website. Election attorney Jim Sutton, who taught Black at Hastings Law School and recruited him to work at his law firm, is the registered lobbyist for GGRA. But according to Deputy City Attorney Chad Jacobs, that's not enough evidence of coordination. "It's only coordinated if Black and the independent campaigns have strategized on where to target the pieces," he said.

Black insists that what Daly's Office did is "a lot worse" than any independent expenditures made on his behalf. California Government Code Section 89001 prohibits elected officials from abusing their position of incumbency by restricting how much unsolicited mail they can send out to their constituents. Because the letters sent out of Daly's Office included his signature, Black argues that they are illegal.

But Black misinterprets the law, said Jacobs. While incumbents cannot send out a mass mailing that includes their signature or photograph, it only qualifies as a "mass mailing" if the incumbent sends out more than 200 "substantially similar" items in the same calendar month. The test for "substantially similar" is if the letters contain a majority of the same issues. Daly sent less than 200 copies of each unique letter, and had three of the letters reviewed by the City Attorney's Office before they were distributed. "It was our determination that the letters were not substantially similar," said Jacobs.

Daly says that he's only guilty of being responsive to District 6 residents. "I take constituent communications very seriously," he said, "and it's not a secret that my office is one of the most accessible offices in the City."

Black filed his complaint right as the Ethics Commission plans to decide on whether to lift the spending limit in this race. According to Executive Director John St. Croix, a decision will be made by the end of the week. "Rob Black knows that this is going to blow up in his face," said Haaland, "and he's trying to deflect any media attention that will inevitably follow."

Rumors are circulating that SFSOS and Gap founder Don Fisher are planning major expenditures against Daly in the weeks ahead.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Prior to joining Beyond Chron, Paul Hogarth endorsed Chris Daly for re-election this year and contributed $100 to his campaign.