SF official approved $1.5M in contracts to ‘great friend’

A San Francisco department head signed off on multiple six-figure contracts directed to a nonprofit led by a man with whom she shared a home address and car, The Standard has learned.

In 2021 and 2022, Sheryl Davis, the city’s Human Rights Commission head, approved contracts worth a total of $1.5 million with the local nonprofit Collective Impact, which is run by James Spingola. In interviews, the pair acknowledged having a close personal relationship, which Davis has never formally disclosed — despite rules that require such a disclosure.

After presenting evidence of the relationship to the mayor’s office, The Standard was informed that Davis has been put on leave. The mayor will be naming an interim director for the Human Rights Commission.

In a statement on Thursday, Breed’s challenger in the November election, former Supervisor Mark Farrell, called for Breed to fire Davis. He also called for a federal investigation into the Dream Keeper Initiative and Breed’s role in the program.