"When public funding is used for personal gain or unintended purposes and the competitive process is undermined, the community suffers the most. We must weed out self-dealing and favoritism."
— City Attorney David Chiu told The Chronicle
A gift made from the nonprofit Urban Ed Academy to Sheryl Davis — the embattled former head of the city's Human Rights Commission — violated city ethics rules and created "at least the appearance of a bribe and undue influence," the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Driving the news: The revelations were unveiled Tuesday in a city report.
Catch up quick: Urban Ed Alchemy gave Davis a custom-made $5,500 portrait of herself weeks before awarding the nonprofit a hefty $270,000 sum.
The six-figure contract was one of many the nonprofit received as part of the Dream Keeper Initiative, a city-led program focused on Black community investment that Davis managed.
City auditors found the gift and other "irregularities" influenced Davis' decision to award $2.1 million in city funds to the organization over the years.
The intrigue: Davis, who was required to disclose gifts worth $50 or more and prohibited from receiving gifts worth $590 and up, has not been charged with a crime.
