Mayor Daniel Lurie proposes merger of two scandal-ridden S.F. departments

San Francisco Chronicle​

3 days ago

What once were two scandal-ridden San Francisco city departments will be one, if Mayor Daniel Lurie has his way.
Included in Lurie's $15.9 billion annual budget plan he introduced Friday is a proposal to fold the Department on the Status of Women into the Human Rights Commission. Both agencies were the subject of high-profile scandals over the last year that led to the departures of their respective leaders.
Lurie's official budget proposal said the combined entity would be called the Agency on Human Rights and it was intended to help 'improve outcomes for residents and grant recipients.' Consolidating the two departments would allow them to 'collaborate on community-facing grant services and their charter-mandated functions to defend civil rights,' the mayor's budget document said.
The Human Rights Commission, the department that manages the city's social equity initiatives, oversees the Dream Keeper Initiative that former Mayor London Breed created to invest tens of millions of dollars in the city's Black community. But the department's former director resigned last year after news reports revealed problematic spending practices and highlighted her personal connection to the head of a nonprofit funded by the department.
The Department on the Status of Women, meanwhile, has historically funded programs to fight gender-based violence but in recent years shifted to focus more on supporting women in politics. Its former director was removed in April following an administrative probe into a side job she held without making a timely disclosure and a contract her department awarded to a friend. The investigation found she had committed what Lurie called 'unlawful activities and mismanagement.'
Lurie proposed folding the women's department into the Human Rights Commission as part of his plan to close the city's roughly $800 million two-year deficit, which must be reviewed and approved by the board of supervisors in the coming weeks. Details of the merger need to be worked out, but the two commissions that oversee the departments are expected to remain in place.
Mawuli Tugbenyoh, acting director of the Human Rights Commission, acknowledged that the proposed merger was a 'significant change' but said it provided an opportunity to bring together two agencies with strong histories of advocacy. He said in a statement that there are 'no immediate changes to staff roles or day-to-day operations planned.'
'Over the coming weeks and months, HRC will work with staff across both departments to ensure we move forward together in a way that reflects our collective values, honors the expertise of our teams, and centers our shared mission,' Tugbenyoh said in his statement.
He said his staff had already been through 'a year of enormous change and transition' and promised that 'we will navigate the way ahead with an eye on strengthening our ability to serve communities most in need."
Officials from the Department on the Status of Women had not responded to requests for comment about the proposed merger as of late Friday afternoon.
Lurie's office had no comment beyond the mayor's remarks about his overall budget plan, when he said he wanted to address the city deficit 'head-on.'
'A crisis of this magnitude means we cannot avoid painful decisions, and I am prepared to make those decisions,' Lurie said in his budget speech. 'We are doubling down on the core services that drive our economy, showcase the beauty and diversity of our neighborhoods, and enhance the quality of life for all San Franciscans.'
At the Human Rights Commission, questions surfaced last year about then-Director Sheryl Davis' handling of the department after journalists revealed that she was living with the leader of Collective Impact, a nonprofit that was one of the biggest recipients of funding from the Dream Keeper Initiative. Stories also showed that the department flouted purchasing rules, revealed conflicts of interest and raised questions about whether Davis used her position to boost her personal brand.
The stories led to Davis taking a leave of absence and Breed ultimately asking for her resignation, as well as an audit of the troubled department and the city canceling contracts with Collective Impact.
Months later, the Department on the Status of Women was also enmeshed in scandal, after the Chronicle revealed that its director, Kimberly Ellis, had directed city funding to her friends and preferred organizations, including to a political group that later hired her as a consultant. After the Chronicle's investigation, Lurie asked the Commission on the Status of Women, which oversees the department, to remove Ellis.
Ellis has denied the allegations as baseless and sued the city, arguing that she was the victim of a 'calculated campaign to remove her from office' for reporting misconduct by a subordinate.