Corruption Allegations Swirl Around San Francisco Mayoral Candidate

A group of prominent former San Francisco officials, including three ex-mayors, have filed a request for a criminal investigation into mayoral candidate Mark Farrell, alleging campaign finance violations. The allegations claim Farrell has been "laundering significant sums of money" through a ballot measure committee to circumvent contribution limits and fund his campaign.

Uncovering the Alleged Scheme: Tracing the Money Trail

Ballot Measure Funds Diverted to Mayoral Campaign

The letter, addressed to California Attorney General Rob Bonta and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, alleges that Farrell has been using "hundreds of thousands of dollars" from a City Hall reform ballot measure to cover costs incurred by his mayoral campaign. The ballot measure is backed by a group that also supports Farrell's run for mayor, raising concerns about the intermingling of funds.According to the letter, Farrell's campaign has been "laundering significant sums of money through an unrestricted ballot measure committee to cover costs incurred by his campaign for mayor to circumvent the $500 per person limit on contributions." This practice, if proven true, would constitute a willful violation of election law, the group claims.

Shared Payments and Overlapping Resources

The co-signers of the letter point to recent reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle that an independent committee in support of Proposition D, which was created by Farrell, has been pooling payments and resources with his own campaign. This includes costs for canvassers trained by Farrell's campaign to educate voters on the measure, as well as for rent and payroll.The Chronicle's investigation found no evidence of Prop D staff at the site of Farrell's campaign headquarters, suggesting that the shared payments to the proposition committee were likely covering expenses incurred by the mayoral campaign.

Circumventing Contribution Limits

Under San Francisco election law, campaign donations are capped at $500 for any contributor other than the candidate. The letter alleges that Farrell has been exploiting this loophole by using the ballot measure committee to "launder" funds and bypass the contribution limit.The group warns that if the authorities fail to act promptly, "Mark Farrell will have exploited inaction by ethics officials and law enforcement authorities alike to unlawfully funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars into his campaign for mayor and perhaps prevail as a result."

Calls for Immediate Investigation

The letter, signed by former mayors Willie Brown, Art Agnos, and Frank Jordan, as well as several other former city officials, has been sent to various authorities, including the California Attorney General, the San Francisco District Attorney, the Fair Political Practices Commission, the San Francisco Ethics Commission, and the State Bar of California and Arizona.The group is urging these entities to launch a criminal investigation into Farrell's campaign finance practices, citing the potential for "hundreds of thousands of dollars" to have been illegally funneled into his mayoral bid.

Farrell's Response and Candidate Reactions

Farrell, who previously served as a city supervisor and interim mayor, has consistently maintained that his campaign has operated within the law. However, the allegations raised in the letter present a significant challenge to his campaign and could potentially undermine his bid for the mayoral office.Fellow mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie's campaign has criticized Farrell, stating that "San Francisco won't see the change it desperately needs by replacing one corrupt City Hall insider with another." The campaign suggests that Farrell and other city officials have "built and exploited a corrupt bureaucracy" and are now presenting themselves as the solution.As this story continues to unfold, the outcome of the investigation and its impact on the mayoral race will be closely watched by San Francisco residents and political observers alike.