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by JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong> FEBRUARY 28, 2024, 4:42 PM (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screenshot-2024-02-28-at-14.16.38-e1709167091580.png\")
Bilal Mahmood, the former tech executive hoping to unseat District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, was accused today of violating San Francisco campaign-ethics laws and misappropriating funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This comes on the heels of a January incident in which he admitted<\/a> to sending out a mailer from the wrong campaign committee \u2014 a significant ethical lapse, political consultants said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mahmood was accused by the Labor and Working Families Slate of flouting strict campaign contribution limits on city supervisor races, which cap individual donations at $500 and prohibit corporate giving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mahmood, who is running for supervisor in November, is also running in Tuesday\u2019s election for a seat on the local chapter of San Francisco\u2019s Democratic Party, a contest that does not <\/em>have any contribution limit and allows donations from any quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has raised more than $241,000 for his race for Democratic County Central Committee so far, almost all from donations over $500, with the majority in four-figure amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mahmood is accused of using those funds to benefit his supervisorial <\/em>race. Today\u2019s complaint<\/a>, filed to the San Francisco Ethics Commission, alleges that he bought $137,500 worth of digital ads through his DCCC committee for a website in which he is soliciting donations for both races, including his supervisorial one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jessica Gutierrez, the political director with Mahmood\u2019s DCCC campaign, said there was no violation, and that the campaign checked with its legal team before taking out the ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not in violation of anything,\u201d she said, adding that the website has disclaimers for both DCCC and supervisor. \u201cWe ran this by legal. It\u2019s, full stop, completely okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicholas Sanders, an election attorney representing Mahmood, said that the spending was aboveboard because the website was clearly labeled for his DCCC campaign, and the digital ads did not benefit his separate supervisor race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf the question is whether the DCCC ads provided something of value to the supervisor campaign, the answer has to be \u2018no,’\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But that wasn\u2019t an opinion shared by Jim Sutton, a 30-year campaign finance attorney in San Francisco and the dean of this city\u2019s campaign lawyers. He said there was a likely benefit to Mahmood\u2019s supervisorial race from the digital ads taken out by his DCCC committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a problem,\u201d Sutton said. \u201cI certainly wouldn\u2019t advise a client to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sutton said the question is, \u201chow much do those digital ads benefit the supervisor account?\u201d A \u201cdirect benefit\u201d was plausible, he said, \u201cbecause the ads direct people to a website where they can make a contribution to his supervisor campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom a legal perspective, it is no different than if the DCCC committee paid for a fundraising event for the supe campaign,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/a>by JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong> and KELLY WALDRON<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>by\u00a0JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is the latest of a mounting number of alleged ethical violations for Mahmood. Earlier this month, the Ethics Commission received another complaint after Mahmood admitted<\/a> he mistakenly mailed flyers advertising his supervisor race with DCCC money. The complaint filed Monday also noted this previous violation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ethics Commission, per city law, did not divulge whether it was investigating the complaint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The complaint was lodged by his political opponents, the Labor and Working Families Slate<\/a>, a coalition of candidates hoping to retain progressive control of the DCCC. Mahmood is on the rival slate, the San Francisco Democrats for Change<\/a>, which has outraised the progressives<\/a> more than 3-1 and is backed by deep pocketed donors, many of them in tech<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The practice of using one\u2019s Democratic County Central Committee campaign as a springboard for supervisor is not novel, and Mahmood is not alone in using the race to rake in unlimited funds and increase his name recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, who is running for re-election in November, has pulled in $50,000 for her DCCC race. Marjan Philhour, her opponent, has raised $218,000 for her DCCC race. And District 9 candidate Trevor Chandler has raised $55,000 for his DCCC race. The vast majority of giving for all three candidates was from donations above $500.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But donations like these are a \u201chuge problem\u201d in local campaigns, according to Pat Ford, the director of the San Francisco Ethics Commission<\/a>. Because the candidates can raise unlimited funds in the DCCC race, regulated at the state level, they effectively skirt the city\u2019s own limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Candidates can take money fundraised for the DCCC race and use those funds to plaster their name and face across the city, winning name recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>by ELENI BALAKRISHNAN<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jim Ross, a longtime Bay Area political consultant, said that the problem with using DCCC money for name recognition was not just about the letter of the law. Candidates \u201ctaking huge donations from very rich people\u201d creates the appearance of being bought-and-paid-for. \u201cHe\u2019s now tied to them and part of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And, Ross said, officials should appear unimpeachable and hold themselves to \u201ca higher standard\u201d to avoid even the appearance of violating the law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s been so much corruption and scandal in San Francisco \u2026 it feels to people that [politicians] are skating by,\u201d he said. \u201cIt feels like they\u2019re finding loopholes or ways to avoid the goals of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sutton, for his part, agreed with Ford and Ross. The practice of using the DCCC race as a \u201csoft money vehicle\u201d to fundraise gobs of money is growing in San Francisco, but he said it was clearly a contravention of the spirit of the law \u2014 and that candidates should tread more lightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s so clearly a loophole, it behooves candidates to be extra careful and not have one single website for both campaigns,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it\u2019s unlimited and corporate money versus $500 and no corporate money, they should be a little bit more careful than this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This piece has been updated to include comments from Bilal Mahmood\u2019s attorney and a rejoinder from campaign finance attorney Jim Sutton.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>by JOE RIVANO BARROS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>by JUNYAO YANG<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>by XUEER LU<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n joe.rivanobarros@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Joe was born in Sweden, where half of his family received asylum after fleeing Pinochet, and spent his early childhood in Chile; he moved to Oakland when he was eight. He attended Stanford University for political science and worked at Mission Local as a reporter after graduating. He then spent time in advocacy as a partner for the strategic communications firm The Worker Agency. He rejoined Mission Local as an editor in 2023.More by Joe Rivano Barros<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mahmood\u2019s campaign: \u2018We ran this by legal. It\u2019s, full stop, completely okay.\u2019 by JOE RIVANO BARROS FEBRUARY 28, 2024, 4:42 PM (MissionLocal.org) Bilal Mahmood, the former tech executive hoping to unseat District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston, was accused today of violating San Francisco campaign-ethics laws and misappropriating funds. This comes on… Continue reading MORE ON THE DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDCCC candidates trying to oust progressives outraising them almost 4-1 <\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTech-backed PAC is biggest spender in DCCC race<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
MEET THE CANDIDATES IN DISTRICT 5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Meet](\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/District-5-Banner-800x600.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMeet the candidates: San Francisco\u2019s District 5 supervisor race<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
MORE ELECTION 2024 COVERAGE<\/mark><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDistrict 1 supervisor candidate Marjan Philhour hit with ethics complaint<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMeet the District 1 candidates: How will your life experience help you as supervisor?<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nMeet the District 11 candidates: \u2018What is your number one issue in this election?\u2019<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
JOE RIVANO BARROSSENIOR EDITOR<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n