Sunshine Task Force shoe-in shot downChalk this one up in the “take nothing for granted” category.
The Board of Supervisors at today’s meeting gave an empty seat on the Sunshine Task Force to James Knoebber, rather than David Waggoner -- the candidate recommended by Rules Committee. The switch came from Sup. Sean Elsbernd, who happens to be sitting on the opposite side of the courtroom as Waggoner in a case currently before the Ethics Commission.
Yet, there was no discussion about the amendment from Elsbernd to vote in Knoebber over Waggoner. The supes voted 9-1 in favor of Knoebber, ignoring the recommendation from the Rules Committee.
As one witness told us, “Nobody said anything except Elsbernd. They just voted. It smacked of an insider deal. The proper thing to do would be to send it back to Rules.”
On May 15, the Rules Committee (comprised of Ammiano, Dufty, and Daly) recommended Waggoner to the seat -- an attorney with experience using the Sunshine Ordinance and who other task force members had looked forward to working with.
Waggoner expressed some shock at the news. “I don’t really know the back story yet. I don’t know why the supervisors changed their votes,” he told us. “At the Rule Committee, the conversation was about former chair Doug Comstock [the incumbent for the seat] and myself. They barely discussed the other candidate.”
“Supervisor Daly in particular mentioned I was very well qualified,” he recalled.
Daly is apparently the only one that stuck to his guns and was the lone dissent on the vote (though Maxwell was out of the room.)
A call of Ammiano on why he changed his vote has not been returned.
But here’s the back story:
Waggoner is representing former Sup. Tony Hall, who’s been accused by Ethics Commission staff of campaign finance violations. Olivia Scanlon, who used to be Hall’s aide, is now a key witness against him. These days she works for Elsbernd.
Hmm. One could argue there might be a conflict of interest there.
“The last time I saw Sean [Elsbernd], he was on the witness stand waiting to testify at the [Tony] Hall hearing and to be cross-examined by David Waggoner,” Ethics watchdog Joe Lynn wrote to us in an email. “The chair ruled that he could not testify that night and had to come back to testify. I don't know if this was disclosed to the Board, but there would be an apparent conflict of interest with regard to Sean's actions regarding David Waggoner. I am wondering if David has been confused with his client, Tony Hall.
“David's case for Tony has been strong,” Lynn added. “That necessarily implies that the accusing witness, Sean's aide, Olivia Scanlon, has not been telling the truth. If so, that implicates her boss, Sean. The wild card here is the Ethics Commission with its own need to appear strong at an enforcement hearing, i.e. to nail someone.”
We haven’t heard from Peskin yet either about why his guy suddenly gets the laurels, though his aide, David Noyola expressed surprise. “I was like, I better call James and let him know he’s on the task force now.”
Knoebber is a North Beach resident who does all-around good guy stuff like running after school programs and teaching. Last year, Peskin, who represents North Beach, had recommended Knoebber to the task force, but other supes felt he didn’t have much experience with the city’s public records act and gave him a pass. This year he was recommended again, but he was barely discussed at the May 15 Rules Committee meeting where recommendations are made.
Not that recommendations seem to matter.
But just in case they do: there’s still one more empty seat on the Sunshine Task Force that needs to be filled by a candidate with a disability and good knowledge of or experience with public records. Sounds like anyone interested should apply to Sean Elsbernd, since he’s calling the shots.
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Comments (2)
What can we say, Elsbernd tells our folks to go fuck themselves for him and they comply over and again so much they appear to have gotten a taste for it and are coming to get used to it and indeed enjoy it.
Do Elsbernd's people have the goods on our people?
Are our people opportunistic saboteurs?
Or do they all unite in a political death wish for progressive politics in San Francisco?
We gotta trade up this November.
-marc
Posted by marc salomon | June 17, 2008 07:30 PM
You can't appreciate the loss to San Francisco of Elsbernd's pay-back move without knowing something about David Waggoner. He is one of the most qualified applicants to the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force in its history. His testimony at Rules, not seen by the lemming-like Board,justified its unanimous decision in his favor. Listen to his testimony there: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tqKor3aYbpI
Posted by Joe Lynn | June 18, 2008 06:39 AM