Mission Local obtained a cease-and-desist letter by the clerk of the Board of Supervisors penned to mayoral candidate Mark Farrell. At issue: His purported misuse of the seal of the city of San Francisco.
The Information first reported that Mayor London Breed also received a cease-and-desist letter for purported misuse of the seal, which was also addressed to the city’s chief of protocol, Maryam Muduroglu.
A third cease-and-desist letter was sent to the proprietor of a polymarket website offering the chance to bet on who will win the mayor’s race. In a Thursday evening email to members of the Board of Supervisors, longtime board clerk Angela Calvillo referred to this as “the most egregious” case. She said she expects to follow up with the site on Friday morning.
The cease-and-desist letters were penned by Calvillo in conjunction with the City Attorney’s office. The letter to Farrell was addressed not just to the former mayor but his venture capital firm Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corporation and Inspirato, LLC, a luxury travel company Thayer had funded.
Calvillo today wrote that “it has come to my attention that the corporate seal of the City and County of San Francisco has been used in a private investor presentation.”
The board clerk “shall have custody of the City Seal,” she writes. Only she is authorized to allow for the use of the city seal on official city business, while “all other uses require Board of Supervisors approval.”
The use of the city seal on a November 2021 investor presentation, Calvillo wrote Farrell, was never authorized. “Therefore, I write to you to request that you immediately cease and desist using the city seal in association with your activities.”
The presentation in question was a document produced prior to Inspirato going public in early 2022. Thayer, Farrell’s venture capital firm, was an investor in the luxury travel outfit. The city seal appeared in the bio of Thayer co-CEO Farrell, a former supervisor and caretaker mayor. This, Calvillo wrote, “may lead recipients to conclude representation and/or endorsement of this presentation in an official City capacity.”
Misuse of the seal, Calvillo writes, constitutes a violation of San Francisco Administrative Code Section 1.6, a misdemeanor.
Reached for comment, Farrell said that “I did not create the deck. The deck was created by a third party.” As it dealt with a public offering that took place in early 2022, the deck is no longer in use.
The cease-and-desist letter to Breed and Muduroglu referenced a Sept. 4 email from Muduroglu’s personal account. In it, recipients were invited to a Sept. 5 event called “An Evening of Conversation with Mayor London Breed” that did not appear on the mayor’s calendars as official city business. The seal appeared in Muduroglu’s email signature.
“Private and/or campaign use” of the seal, Calvillo writes, also constitutes a violation of San Francisco Administrative Code Section 1.6.
Reached for comment, Breed’s campaign spokesperson, Joe Arellano, blamed the situation on rival mayoral candidate Aaron Peskin — though, on Sept. 6, it was Farrell who tweeted about Muduroglu’s email with the city seal.
“This,” wrote Arellano, “is a colossal waste of time.”
Election Day is Nov. 5.
Here’s the proof.
And, why is a city employee sending out emails about a London Breed for Mayor campaign fundraiser that includes the City seal? 🤔 https://t.co/xtoVbSfM31 pic.twitter.com/CAVM7C2EPT
— Mark Farrell 🥥🌴 (@MarkFarrellSF) September 6, 2024
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