California Common Cause Announces Support for San Francisco’s Measure E to Clean Up City Hall

Measure E will help usher in an end to pay-to-play politics corrupting local government 

San Francisco, CA— Today, California Common Cause announced its endorsement of San Francisco Measure E on the June 2022 ballot. If passed, the measure would ban city officials from soliciting behested payments from contractors with business before the city government. The proposition requires a simple majority vote to pass.

“San Franciscans deserve a government that is accountable to the needs of our communities and our futures—not the needs of special interests,” said Jonathan Mehta Stein, California Common Cause Executive Director. “The stories of corruption at City Hall and City departments are proof we have more work to do to put an end to the pay-to-play politics compromising our elected officials and their votes. Measure E is a good government reform that will help fight corruption and California Common Cause is proud to endorse it.”

Behested payments are often a way for politicians to route money to pet projects from special interests that have already given the maximum amount allowed of campaign contributions and gifts. These type of payments were at the heart of the corruption that led to the ouster of several senior city officials as recently as last month.

Measure E would address the pay-to-play problem by banning senior city officials from seeking behested payments from contractors and their affiliates when those same contractors are seeking Board of Supervisors action on a project.

Measure E will also make it harder for Board of Supervisors to undo the reform by requiring future amendments to local behested payment restrictions to have the approval of the City’s Ethics Commission and a supermajority of the board.