By Josh Koehn : sfstandard – excerpt
Few local government bodies will be more closely scrutinized in the months to come than San Francisco’s newly created Homelessness Oversight Commission.
At last count, the city had roughly 7,700 people sleeping on city streets, with little visible progress when it comes to sheltering the city’s most vulnerable residents despite spending hundreds of millions. That’s why voters signed off on Proposition C last fall to create the new commission, which will oversee the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) by approving budgets, reviewing contracts and providing policy oversight.
Mayor London Breed, who opposed Prop. C and the creation of the commission, announced four nominees Tuesday, and the selections include: a doctor whose work focuses on the Black community, which suffers from homelessness at a disproportional rate; a longtime nonprofit leader who focused on child abuse prevention; and a politically connected small business owner.
However, one nominee’s history has raised serious concerns…
During his time as chief of staff at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office from 2014 to 2017, Aiyer reportedly lied on more than 130 occasions about commuting and personal expenses, including charges at bars, restaurants, coffee shops and dry cleaners. He also impersonated current and former high-level agency officials on receipts and vouchers to avoid being caught, according to a report by the Office of Inspector General.
Last but not least, Aiyer reportedly pulled a George Santos by lying on his resume about receiving a postgraduate degree.
So why would the mayor nominate someone with a checkered past—especially in light of a City Hall corruption scandal and rock-bottom confidence in city government?…(more)