{"id":498262,"date":"2026-10-16T17:04:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T17:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498262\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T17:04:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T17:04:19","slug":"manny-yekutiels-campaign-hasnt-repaid-255k-in-public-financing-yet-city-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498262\/","title":{"rendered":"Manny Yekutiel\u2019s campaign hasn\u2019t repaid $255k in public financing yet, city says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manny Yekutiel says he\u2019s out of the race for supervisor. His campaign, it seems, isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

San Francisco law requires candidates who end their campaigns to return their public financing dollars. But two weeks after Yekutiel announced he was ending his campaign for supervisor amid sexual assault allegations, he has yet to return the $255,000 in taxpayer funds he received from the city.<\/p>\n

The legal question hinges on whether Yekutiel\u2019s campaign has truly ended or merely suspended its activities.<\/p>\n

The San Francisco Ethics Commission says Yekutiel\u2019s campaign maintains that it has only suspended operations, a distinction that could allow it to hold onto the public money until after Election Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cA representative of Mr. Yekutiel\u2019s committee asserted to the Commission on October 9, 2026, that Mr. Yekutiel has suspended certain activities, but his campaign has not shut down, he continues to employ staff and maintain a campaign headquarters, that currently suspended activities may restart at any time, and he may still win the nomination,\u201d the commission wrote in a public notice Thursday (opens in new tab)<\/a> about its public financing program. <\/p>\n

The claim that Yekutiel\u2019s campaign headquarters is still operating is difficult to reconcile with the appearance of his 24th Street headquarters in Noe Valley, (opens in new tab)<\/a> where all campaign signage removed. Blank paper covers the windows, and from the outside, it appears vacant.<\/p>\n

\"AManny Yekutiel\u2019s headquarters appears dormant Monday, despite his campaign\u2019s claims to the San Francisco Ethics Commission that it is active. | Source: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

San Franciscans approved a public campaign financing program in 2000 (opens in new tab)<\/a>, through a measure placed on the ballot by the Ethics Commission. The aim was simple: provide candidates for the Board of Supervisors with public funding so they could reduce the influence of pay-to-play donors on local elections. <\/p>\n

Yekutiel raised $522,000 (opens in new tab)<\/a> in private contributions, a blockbuster sum that surpassed that of any recent Board of Supervisors campaign. But he also netted $255,000 in public financing, the maximum allowed under city law. His campaign has spent $333,000, according to the most recent Ethics Commission data. <\/p>\n

Yekutiel ended his candidacy<\/a> for the Board of Supervisors this month after The Standard reported new sexual assault allegations against him. Yekutiel\u2019s support cratered: Mayor Daniel Lurie and numerous other politicos withdrew their endorsements. Some backed Yekutiel\u2019s rivals, Rep. Nancy Pelosi senior staffer Gary McCoy and DoorDash staffer Darshini Patel. <\/p>\n

But, curiously, Yekutiel\u2019s messaging quietly changed after he announced that he was withdrawing. <\/p>\n

Yekutiel posted a screenshot to Instagram containing text that said, \u201cI have made the difficult decision to end my campaign for District 8 Supervisor,\u201d using the word \u201cend.\u201d But in the caption of that post, which Instagram indicated had been edited, he said he \u201csuspended my campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

The photo showing text saying Yekutiel made the decision to \u201cend my campaign\u201d is visible on Instagram as of Thursday (opens in new tab)<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\"MannyIn a screenshot of an Instagram post from Manny Yekutiel, he uses both terms \u201cended\u201d and \u201csuspended\u201d his campaign. | Source: Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

The word choice carries legal implications for Yekutiel.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Campaign and Governmental Conduct Code contains a specific provision about candidates who have \u201cwithdrawn their candidacy.\u201d under the provision, candidates who withdraw must repay the city \u201cthe full sum of public funds.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWithdrawal\u201d of a campaign, under the law, is defined as \u201cending one\u2019s candidacy\u201d or failing to qualify for candidacy in the first place.<\/p>\n

That means if Yekutiel\u2019s campaign maintains that it is still active, it can retain the public financing until after Election Day. After Nov. 3, all candidates who received public financing are legally required to use remaining funds in their campaign accounts to repay the city, up to the amount of public financing they received. If they have only $10,000 remaining, that\u2019s all they have to pay. <\/p>\n

Jane Natoli, co-hair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club (opens in new tab)<\/a>, a prominent group that backed Yekutiel\u2019s opponent, McCoy, said it was \u201chighly unusual\u201d that Yekutiel\u2019s campaign was seeking to hold onto public financing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not an attorney, but it certainly strikes me as unusual, and a little unsavory, to go back a week later and say, \u2018Actually, we\u2019re not quite done,\u2019\u201d Natoli said. \u201cWhy do you need this money? What\u2019s gone out the door already? If you\u2019ve suspended your campaign, what are you paying campaign staff for?\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked whether Yekutiel\u2019s campaign was suspended, his spokesperson, Jeffry Pennock, said, \u201cThe status of the campaign is that it\u2019s suspended, period. That is correct, unequivocally so.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a few exceptions, public financing dollars may legally be spent only on campaign-related activities. Whatever Yekutiel\u2019s plan for the public\u2019s money is, the Ethics Commission will review his campaign finances after the election to determine whether any public funds must be repaid.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll candidates that receive public financing undergo an audit following the election, and through that process we determine whether candidates are required to reimburse the city any portion of the funds it received,\u201d Ethics Commission Director Patrick Ford told The Standard.<\/p>\n