{"id":257849,"date":"2026-04-08T17:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/257849\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T17:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T17:08:08","slug":"disgraced-sf-human-rights-chief-sheryl-davis-collects-city-retiree-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/257849\/","title":{"rendered":"Disgraced SF human rights chief Sheryl Davis collects city retiree benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former San Francisco human rights boss accused of squandering city funds<\/a> to pay for personal projects and her son\u2019s tuition is still collecting a taxpayer-backed check as she faces a battery of criminal charges in court<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Sheryl Davis \u2014 57-year-old former head of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission who resigned in September 2024 after she was accused of conflicts of interest <\/a>\u2014 is receiving a retirement benefit of $4,952.23 per month, according to the San Francisco Employees\u2019 Retirement system.<\/p>\n

Sheryl Davis has fled not guilty to charges of self-dealing and misusing public funds. Jason Henry for CA Post<\/p>\n

Davis was hired in 2018 to lead the troubled Human Rights Commission and earned close to $340,000 in total comp in her final full year of employment. <\/p>\n

She left following revelations that she steered contracts toward Collective Impact, a nonprofit run by her live-in partner James Spingola that raked in $8.5 million through the Dream Keeper Initiative, a flagship city program intended to help San Francisco\u2019s black communities after the George Floyd police murder in Minneapolis in 2020.<\/p>\n

A subsequent city audit and ethics probe alleged that Davis \u2014\u00a0as head of the Human Rights Commission and later the Dream Keeper Initiative \u2014 burned taxpayer dollars in \u201cfrivolous\u201d and \u201cunethical\u201d ways<\/a> and skimmed funds for personal use. <\/p>\n

The ex-city boss is accused of using city funds to travel and other \u201cunethical\u201d uses. Instagram\/@sheryldavissf<\/p>\n

Prosecutors have accused Davis of using Collective Impact as a \u201cslush fund\u201d to help pay for parties and personal projects \u2014 such a premium flight upgrades, wine tastings, concerts, tables and admissions at VIP events in Beverly Hills, Martha\u2019s Vineyard and New York City, and \u201cmultiple PR firms\u201d to promote her children\u2019s book, \u201cFree to Sing,\u201d and personal website.<\/p>\n

An audit published in 2025 by the Controller\u2019s Office<\/a> detailed millions in \u201cmisused\u201d city funds, including more than $685,000 on sports tickets, flight upgrades, hotels and events, $350,000 on restaurant buyouts and catering, and $80,000 for a house rental and other expenses in Martha\u2019s Vineyard.<\/p>\n

Davis was accused in another city probe of using $19,000 for her son\u2019s graduate school tuition at UCLA<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Davis pictured with crooner John Legend. instagram\/sheryldavissf<\/p>\n

Spingola is facing four felony counts of aiding Davis\u2019 alleged self-dealing schemes. Davis is facing 17 felony counts and two misdemeanor charges of misusing public funds and conflicts of interest. <\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 attorney Tony Brass has denied the criminal allegations and said she had begged for help<\/a> in managing her department\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n

She has cooperated with the investigations, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not a crook, she\u2019s not hiding anything,\u201d Brass told reporters after Davis\u2019 arraignment last week<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Davis pled not guilty to 19 counts of self-dealing and misusing taxpayer funds stemming from her time in charge of the Dream Keeper Initiative. <\/p>\n

She allegedly used city resources to shill her children\u2019s book, \u201cFree to Sing.\u201d Babybook publishing<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was the one asking for accountability. If she was profiting from the system, why would she have ever done that?\u201d Brass added.<\/p>\n

City pensions are typically a mix of employee and city contributions, but Davis could have her benefits revoked if she is found to have engaged in \u201cmoral turpitude,\u201d according to the retirement system.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder the San Francisco Charter, if Ms. Davis is convicted of a crime of moral turpitude in connection with her employment, she will forfeit entitlement to receive benefits from the City,\u201d a spokesperson wrote in an email. <\/p>\n

It is relatively rare for former city employees to lose their pensions due to criminal convictions. <\/p>\n

Another former department head, ex-Public Utilities Commission director Harlan Kelly, was stripped of his $22,000 annual pension after he was convicted of fraud in a long-running federal probe of San Francisco City Hall officials. <\/p>\n

Kelly appealed his conviction last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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