Race for District 11 Supervisor Heats Up With Ethics Complaint, Accusations

Race For District 11 Supervisor Heats Up With Ethics Complaint, Accusations

Former District 11 Supervisor John Avalos filed a complaint to the Ethics Commission against sitting District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí over a text message sent to constituents as the two candidates face off in the November election.

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District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí on Friday was accused of violating campaign disclosure law by failing to disclose required information in a text message sent on behalf of his reelection campaign.

The accusation along with a complaint to the Ethics Commission, the city body charged with enforcing campaign law, was made on social media by Safaí’s opponent and former two-term District 11 Supervisor John Avalos.

“This morning, I received what looked like a mass text from Supervisor @Ahsha_Safai that mixes his official duties with electioneering,” Avalos wrote in a Tweet. “The text includes no disclaimer in violation of the law. I called on the Ethics Commission to conduct an investigation.”

Avalos attached a letter he addressed to the Ethics Commission, where he requested it “investigate the Ashsa (sic) Safai for Supervisor 2020 campaign for potential violation of campaign disclosure law.”

The Ethics Commission requires text messages sent en masse to include, in a readable format, a disclosure with the words “Paid for by” or “With.”

“I can show you some text messages from Angela Alioto’s campaign for mayor a year and a half ago — no disclaimer on those,” Safaí told The Ingleside Light. “And so I think that’s simply it: If we didn’t get it right, we’re absolutely going to fix it moving forward.”

Safaí added that the message came from volunteers in his reelection campaign.

The text message reads: “Hi John, this is Ahsha Safaí, your District 11 Supervisor. We’re working hard to keep our neighborhood safe and healthy – distributing protective equipment, opening food banks & delivering meals to our vulnerable seniors, and establishing permanent COVID-19 testing sites. If you or your friends/family are having any difficulty at this time, please let me know how we can help. Also, I’m running for re-election and I need your support to continue to bring resources to the neighborhood. Can I count on your vote?”

Safaí responded to Avalos by asking him to file a complaint against himself for not accounting for two-thirds of the money he spent in his unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 2011.

“How about filing a complaint against yourself for not being able to account for $400k of taxpayer money – where’s the receipts @AvalosSF 9 years later residents are still waiting…” Safaí Tweeted.

Avalos responded that the Ethics Commission had concluded that his 2011 mayoral campaign had not misspent money and had cleared him to receive public financing for this year, adding that he had cooperated and had nothing to hide. He asked whether Safaí would be transparent in turn. The message did not receive a public response.

Ingleside is represented by the supervisor of districts 7 and 11.