Volumn 20 No. 7 • www.tpobserver.com •
[email protected] • September 2008 Grand Jury: Another Blank Inside the Tony Hall Ethics Investigation Check Bond? By David P. Waggoner by Patrick Monette-Shaw Who’s Really Behind the Ethics Commission Investigation ? Deeply concerned Long before Sean Els- about this November’s bernd was a supervisor, SF General Hospital he was a clerk at the politi- “Proposition A” bond cal law firm of Nielsen measure, San Francis- Merksamer. While there, co’s Civil Grand Jury Elsbernd worked with released its report, political attorney Jim Sut- “Accountability in San ton. Sutton, now Elsbernd’s Francisco Govern- campaign treasurer, has ment,” on June 26, highly critical of the previous Branch often been referred to as Ruled out of order, Library Improvement project (BLIP) and Laguna Honda “the dark prince of San Supervisor Elsbernd Hospital (LHH) replacement general obligation bonds. Francisco elections.” attempted to testify against Hall A footnote in the Grand Jury’s report indicated a current For his part, Elsbernd City Supervisor acknowledged nobody has been minding began working in city hall after Tony Hall hired the City’s information technology expenditures store, appar- him as an aide in 2000. Upon Elsbernd’s recom- Key evidence against Hall appears to behave been altered. ently including himself. Similarly, the Board of Supervisors mendation, Hall also later hired Olympic Club also hasn’t been minding the bond measure store. events planner, Olivia Scanlon. In a revealing move, Elsbernd left Hall’s office in January 2004 to work for Gavin Newsom, who also employed Sutton. Seven months later, in the middle of an election season The Jury concluded the Citizen’s Obligation Bond Over- in which Hall was certain to be re-elected, Newsom appointed Hall to oversee Treasure Island.