SF Mayor Breed Pushes Back Against Corruption Criticism From Opponents

Mayor London Breed refuted claims the corruption scandal surrounding the former director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission is representative of problems in her administration.

At a Monday press conference, Breed told KQED the measures she put in place caused the alleged problematic spending by Sheryl Davis, who resigned Friday, to come to her attention.

“We are uncovering things nonstop because we have systems in place in order to make sure that accountability is at the forefront of everything we do,” Breed said. “When we discovered what the issue was based on our checks and balances, we immediately took the appropriate action. We paused funding even before this was discovered because there were some other issues that came to light.”

Davis led the multi-million dollar “Dream Keeper” initiative, an ambitious social equity program designed to steer funds to community organizations supporting the city’s Black community. Breed faces mounting scrutiny after an investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle, published on Thursday, raised allegations of improper spending by Davis.

“We paused funding on this program, and the controller’s office is already combing through every single invoice, every single payment to determine whether or not things that have not been made public were problematic or not,” Breed said.

Breed’s mayoral opponents criticized her administration after Davis took a leave of absence last week.

“In a matter of hours, these two insiders have eroded public trust for years to come,” Daniel Lurie, a nonprofit executive and Levi Strauss heir, said in a statement. “It’s time to turn the page on corruption in San Francisco.

“Our residents and taxpayers deserve accountable, effective leadership. No more backroom deals, conflicts of interest or pay-to-play schemes.”

Aaron Peskin, president of the Board of Supervisors, called for an investigation into Davis’ conduct. Former Supervisor Mark Farrell called for a federal investigation into Breed’s role in Dream Keeper, which was launched in 2021.

Breed will debate her opponents, including Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, on Thursday at KQED.

KQED’s Gilare Zada contributed to this report.