SF’s Department on the Status of Women director Kimberly Ellis was under a cloud of allegations of unauthorized moonlighting, no-bid city contracts for friends, and extravagant conference spending, and now she’s been ousted, presumably on Mayor Lurie’s orders.
It was about a month ago when we learned that the SF Department on the Status of Women director Kimberly Ellis was placed on administrative leave over a series of ethical accusations: allegedly taking a $10,000 consulting gig under the table without reporting it, giving pricey no-bid contracts to her previous employers, and opulent spending at taxpayer-funded conferences. And generally speaking, being placed on administrative leave is a sign that your employer is looking to fire you.
For Ellis, this has now come to pass. The Chronicle reports that the department’s seven-member oversight board known as the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women removed Ellis from her post Wednesday night, after a five-hour meeting, which was followed by an announcement that came at 10 pm. The move was not a surprise, as the Chronicle had reported earlier in the day that Mayor Daniel Lurie had asked the panel to remove her.
“By unanimous vote, the commission has voted to remove director Ellis for the benefit and the future success of the department,” commission President Sophia Andary said in that 10 pm announcement. Ellis is now removed, effective immediately.
Mayor Lurie was more pointed in his remarks.
“I have the highest expectations for city employees, and the City Attorney’s investigation found that director Ellis committed a range of misconduct, unlawful activities and mismanagement of the Department on the Status of Women,” Lurie’s office said in a statement to the Chronicle.
We may or may not have heard the last of Kimberly Ellis. There is mention of a City Attorney investigation, so something more may come of that. But Ellis is also suing the city herself, making explosive allegations that she was ousted for blowing the whistle on the sex abuse of 15-year-old in city-funded foster care. But the City Attorney’s office says she did no such whistle-blowing.
“It is deeply disappointing that Ms. Ellis would blatantly lie in court documents to distract from the investigation into her misconduct,” a spokesperson for City Attorney Davis Chiu’s office told the Chronicle when that lawsuit was filed. “The city attorney has thoroughly investigated the allegations in her complaint, and they are baseless.”
Image: Kimberly Ellis via Facebook
