SF Ethics Commission

 

FIRST QUARTER 2007 SUMMARY OF EARNINGS AND ACTIVITY OF CAMPAIGN CONSULTANTS REGISTERED WITH THE CITY

 

 

December 1, 2006 through February 28, 2007

 

Susan Harriman, Chairperson

John St. Croix, Executive Director

 

 

Report prepared by:                                                       

Kristian Ongoco                                                           Date Issued:  May 3, 2007

Felipe Colin                                                                        

CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT FILING

FIRST QUARTER 2007

 

• Introduction

 

In November 1997, San Francisco voters approved the Regulation of Campaign Consultants Ordinance (“Ordinance”), San Francisco Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code Sections 1.500-1.540.  The Ordinance requires persons who earn $1,000 or more per year for campaign consultant services to register with the Ethics Commission and file quarterly activity reports. 

 

The first quarter activity reports were due on March 15, 2007 and covered the filing period beginning December 1, 2006 and ending February 28, 2007.

 

• Comparative Data

 

The level of campaign consultant activity has fluctuated since the first filing in June 1998 (the second quarter of 1998).  The chart on the next page compares data compiled pertaining to campaign consultant activity since implementation of the Ordinance.  As indicated, the level of campaign consultant activity generally increases or decreases depending on 1) whether an election is held and 2) the number and type of local items on the ballot.

 

Quarter	Number of Consultants	Total Payments Promised	Total Payments Received	Total Contributions Made
Second Quarter 1998	24	$1,560,742	$1,432,631	$4,100
Third Quarter 1998	25	$341,745	$379,859	$3,405
Fourth Quarter 1998	30	$638,498	$784,507	$1,975
First Quarter 1999	22	$71,969	$142,355	$550
Second Quarter 1999	28	$201,983	$485,071	$1,500
Third Quarter 1999	34	$395,440	$1,168,597	$4,150
Fourth Quarter 1999	38	$1,343,362	$2,489,276	$3,800
First Quarter 2000	17	$904,891	$1,293,901	$2,750
Second Quarter 2000	17	$169,599	$186,663	$1,275
Third Quarter 2000	20	$293,110	$467,379	$18,900
Fourth Quarter 2000	25	$2,437,695	$2,332,401	$26,348
First Quarter 2001	17	$216,952	$236,785	$800
Second Quarter 2001	15	$6,500	$6,500	$100
Third Quarter 2001	18	$137,751	$58,560	$5,550
Fourth Quarter 2001	23	$640,589	$690,272	$12,825
First Quarter 2002	22	$242,752	$259,357	$1,100
Second Quarter 2002	23	$121,413	$311,663	$2,100
Third Quarter 2002	40	$320, 373	$345,325	$2,200
Fourth Quarter 2002	50	$3,002,128	$3,243,997	$8,003
First Quarter 2003	42	$368,102	$331,328	$3,850
Second Quarter 2003	51	$486,555	$530,434	$3,250
Third Quarter 2003	64	$618,346	$749,332	$2,805
Fourth Quarter 2003	64	$1,112,506	$1,367,183	$10,125
First Quarter 2004	36	$352,837	$243,578	$1,600
Second Quarter 2004	29	$180,947	$136,950	$1,650
Third Quarter 2004	45	$461,739	$405,991	$11,050
Fourth Quarter 2004	55	$620,070	$943,214	$4,786
First Quarter 2005	17	$78,578	$29,762	$1,750
Seccond Quarter 2005	17	$87,399	$93,085	$250
Third Quarter 2005	20	$160,430	$102,377	$950
Fourth Quarter 2005	23	$256,254	$283,731	$1,150
First Quarter 2006	9	$68,911	$72,654	$1,900
Second Quarter 2006	13	$400,328	$385,303	$1,000
Third Quarter 2006	18	$279,270	$310,077	$4,200
Fourth Quarter 2006	21	$842,765	$617,275	$12,700
First Quarter 2007	14	$115,761	$135,720	$1,200

 

III.             The Campaign Consultant Ordinanc

The Ordinance defines “campaign consultant” as a person or entity that receives or is promised $1,000 or more in a calendar year for providing either of the following services:

 

“Campaign Management,” defined as conducting, coordinating or supervising a campaign to elect, defeat, retain or recall a local candidate, or to adopt or defeat a local ballot measure, including but not limited to:

 

1. Hiring or authorizing the hiring of campaign staff and consultants; or
2. Spending or authorizing the expenditure of campaign funds; or
3. Directing, supervising or conducting the solicitation of campaign contributions; or
4. Selecting or recommending vendors or subvendors of goods or services for the campaign.

OR

“Campaign Strategy,” defined as planning for the election, defeat, retention or recall of a local candidate, or for the adoption or defeat of a local ballot measure, including not but limited to:

 

1. Producing or authorizing the production of campaign literature and print and broadcast advertising; or
2. Seeking endorsements of organizations or individuals; or
3. Seeking financing; or
4. Advising on public policy positions.

 

Employees of campaign consultants do not themselves qualify as campaign consultants.  However, persons and entities that subcontract with a campaign consultant to provide campaign consulting services and that receive or are promised $1,000 or more in a calendar year do qualify as campaign consultants.  Similarly, employees of campaigns who engage in campaign management or campaign strategy and are promised or receive $1,000 or more in a calendar year also qualify as campaign consultants.

 

Campaign consultants are required to report only activity associated with local candidates or local ballot measures.  For purposes of the Ordinance, “candidate” means:  (1) a person who has taken affirmative action to seek nomination or election to local office, or (2) a local officeholder who has taken affirmative action to seek nomination or election to any elective office, or (3) a local officeholder who is the subject of a recall election.

 

“Local officeholder” means the following elected officers:  Mayor, Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, City Attorney, District Attorney, Treasurer, Sheriff, Assessor, Public Defender, Members of the Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District, and Members of the Governing Board of the San Francisco Community College District. 

 

“Measure” means a local referendum, or a local ballot measure, whether or not it qualifies for the ballot.

 

The Commission staff has compiled the information filed by campaign consultants for the first quarter of 2007 in the attached tables.  All amounts reported by campaign consultants have been rounded to the nearest whole dollar.

 

 

• Description of Quarterly Report Tables

 

Table 1:  Total Reported Activity December 1, 2006 – February 28, 2007

 

Table 1 summarizes all reported activity by campaign consultants for the first quarter of 2007.  Filers are listed in alphabetical order.  Also reported are the total payments promised by clients and any political contributions or gifts to officeholders made by the filers.

 

Consultant	Payments Promised By Clients	Payments Received From Clients	Political Contributions
Anderson, Jeff	$18,750	$18,750	$0
Christopher L. Bowman	$0	$0	$0
Hope Road Consulting, LLC	$10,500	$10,500	$200
Hsieh & Associates	$0	$0	$0
Hsieh, Francisco	$3,000	$3,000	$0
Laura Talmus Associates, Inc.	$12,000	$12,000	$0
Malchow Schlackman Hoppey & Cooper,Inc.	$0	$14,257	$0
SGR Fundraising & Development	$0	$0	$0
Stearns Consulting, Inc.	$0	$24,702	$500
Storefront Political Media	$41,511	$22,511	$500
Terris Barnes & Walters	$0	$0	$0
Tourk, Alex	$30,000	$30,000	$0
Whitehurst Campaigns, Inc.	$0	$0	$0
Wong, Ronald	$0	$0	$0
Total	115,761	135,720	1,200

 

Table 2:  Client Payment Report

 

Filers are required to report “economic consideration” promised by or received from clients in exchange for campaign consulting services during the applicable reporting period.  Economic consideration includes payments, fees, commissions, and reimbursements for expenses, gifts or anything else of value.  Table 2 lists the name of the filer in alphabetical order, the filer’s clients, the services performed for that client, the payment promised by the client in the reporting period, and the payment actually received.  The table also indicates the total payments promised or received by all filers.  The payments promised by all clients to filers during the first quarter totaled $115,761.  The payments received by all filers from clients during the first quarter totaled $135,720.

 

Table 2

Payments to Campaign Consultants

Campaign Consultant	Client(s)	Services Performed	Total Payments Promised	Total Payments Received
Anderson, Jeff	Gavin Newsom for Mayor	Campaign management and fundraising	$18,750	$18,750
Bowman, Christopher	Barnes Mosher Whitehurst & Lauter	No reportable activity	$0	$0
Hope RoadConsulting, LLC	Hydra Mendoza	Campaign consultant services	$10,500	$10,500
Hsieh & Associates	Gavin Newsom for Mayor 2007	Securing endorsements from community leaders and organizations	$0	$0
Hsieh, Francisco	Fiona Ma	Community outreach	$3,000	$3,000
Laura Talmus & Assoc.	Re-Elect D.A Kamala Harris	Fundraising	$12,000	$12,000
MSHC Partners, Inc.	Ca Urban Issue Project	Design and build website, hosting and ad campaign	$0	$0
	Committee on jobs	Online ad campaign	$0	$25
	Committee to Re-elect Michela Alioto-Pier	Online ad campaign	$0	$14,231
SGR Fundraising & Development	No reportable activity	No reportable activity	$0	$0
Stearns Consulting, Inc.	Re-Elect Sophie Maxwell	Not specified	$0	$2,604
	Re-Elect District Attorney Kamala Harris	Not specified	$0	$22,097
Storefront Political Media	Gavin Newsom for Mayor	Campaign consultant and media production	$41,511	$16,511
	No on Preposition E	Campaign Consultant	$0	$6,000
Terris Barnes & Walters	N/A	N/A	$0	$0
Tourk, Alex	Gavin Newsom for Mayor	Campaign management and Fundraising	$30,000	$30,000
Whitehurst Campaigns, Inc.	N/A	N/A	$0	$0
Wong, Ronald	N/A	N/A	$0	$0
		TOTAL:	$115,761	$135,720

 

Table 3:  Political Contributions

 

Filers must report each political contribution of $100 or more to a candidate for local office, a committee controlled by a local officeholder or a candidate for local office, or a ballot measure committee whether or not the committee is controlled by a local officeholder or a candidate for local office.  Filers must report contributions of $100 or more made or delivered by the filer, or made by the filer’s client at the filer’s behest, or for which the filer acted as an agent or intermediary during the reporting period.  This chart indicates the political contributions made by campaign consultants during the reporting period.  Filers reported a total of $1,200 in political contributions during the first quarter.

 

Table 3
Political Contributions
Committee  Name	Consultant Name	Amount
Gavin Newsom for Mayor	Storefront Political Media	$500
Re-elect District Attorney Kamala Harris	Stearns Consulting, Inc.	$500
TOTAL:		$1,000
TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF $100 OR MORE TO OTHER CANDIDATES
Barbara Boxer for Senate	Hope Road Consulting, LLC	$200
TOTAL:		$200
GRAND TOTAL OF CONTRIBUTIONS OF $100 OR MORE MADE BY CAMPAIGN CONSULTANTS DURING FIRST QUARTER 2007		$1,200

 

Vendor/Subvendor Payments

 

Each filer must report economic consideration promised to or received by the filer during the reporting period from vendors and subvendors who provide campaign-related goods or services to the filer’s current clients.  No filer reported any payments to or from any vendors or subvendors during this reporting period.

 

Gifts to Local Officeholders

 

Each filer must report any gifts promised or made by the filer to a local officeholder during the reporting period which in the aggregate total $50 or more.  No filer reported any gifts promised or made to a local officeholder during this reporting period.

 

Employment of Local Officeholders and City Employees

 

If the filer employs a local officeholder or City employee during the reporting period, the filer must report the name of the officeholder or City employee and describe the nature of the employment by the filer.  In addition, if a client of the filer employs a local officeholder or City employee at the behest of the filer during the reporting period, the filer must report the name of the client, the name of each officeholder or City employee hired by the client, and the nature of the employment by the client.  No filer reported activity in this category.

 

City ContractsObtained During the Reporting Period

 

If the filer obtains a City contract during the reporting period and the contract is approved by a local officeholder who is the filer’s client, the filer must report the contract, the date the contract was obtained, and the name of the officeholder who approved the contract.  No filer reported obtaining a City contract during the reporting period.

 

Appointment to Public Office

 

If the filer is appointed to public office during the reporting period and the appointment is made by a local officeholder who is the filer’s client, the filer must report the public office to which the filer was appointed, the date of the appointment, and the name of the officeholder who appointed the filer.  No filer reported appointment to public office during the reporting period.