Quentin Kopp resigned from the San Francisco Ethics Commission on Tuesday because of what he called “unsatisfactory” investigative practices and a lackadaisical nature in calling out corruption in city governance.
“It is not very effective,” Kopp, 90, said of the commission, on which he has served since 2017. “I don’t think anyone is afraid of the Ethics Commission who is in competitive political life in San Francisco. The lobbyists have acclimated themselves to it over a period of 25 years. And so have the candidates.”
The commission was established by a 1993 ballot measure to enforce the city’s ethics laws and rules, which cover campaign spending and contributions, conflicts of interest and policy issues. The agency has long been criticized for lax policing of ethics rules, campaign regulations and for a growing backlog of cases.
Kopp, a former San Francisco supervisor, state senator and retired San Mateo County Superior Court judge who is known for his gruff manner, ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Dianne Feinstein in 1979.
The Board of Supervisors appointed him to the Ethics Commission in February 2017. His abrupt resignation ends his tenure four years early and leaves a vacancy for the board to fill.
“I find the investigative practices of the Ethics Commission staff unsatisfactory,” Kopp wrote in his resignation letter. “I have lost confidence in the ability of the Ethics Commission and its staff to achieve the purposes represented to voters and residents two decades ago for its establishment.”
Kopp said there is a massive backlog…
