San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder announced on Tuesday that she would call for a hearing to investigate the process that led Mayor Daniel Lurie’s office to award a $5.9 million contract to a well-connected tech firm that city staff said was unqualified to overhaul the city’s permitting system.
The 13-year-old tech firm OpenGov won a contract to lead the city’s permit-reform effort, despite city staff writing that its proposal had “gaps so significant” that it “shouldn’t be considered” for the task.
OpenGov’s co-founder and former chair, its CEO, and an advisory board member were all donors to either Lurie’s former foundation or his mayoral campaign.
Fielder took note of the ties in her announcement.
“My concerns around the OpenGov contract boil down to the quality of the contract, the costs, the process by which it was procured and the preexisting relationships of OpenGov with the mayor’s former nonprofit, Tipping Point,” Fielder said at today’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Fielder is also the chair of the Government and Audit Oversight Committee.
The San Francisco Standard first reported on Oct. 15 that Ned Segal, Lurie’s policy chief for housing and economic development, awarded the contract to OpenGov despite another company offering what staffers found to be a superior product at a lower cost.
The Standard noted that Segal “unilaterally” overruled staff recommendations in awarding the contract to OpenGov. In a July report with input from 16 technical city workers, Clariti, OpenGov’s competing bidder, was deemed “the most suitable of the 3 products,” earning an average score of 4.42 out of 5.
OpenGov, by contrast, scored 2.88.
Both Lurie and Segal defended the choice. Lurie said in an Oct. 15 town hall meeting: “I am hoping and asking you all to be with me on this … I know it’s going to be a pain in the butt. I’m sure all these transitions always are, but I’m telling you, it’s going to be worth it.”
Lurie did not directly comment on the matter or answer whether he stood by his deputy last week, his office cited OpenGov’s “track record.” His office today said that OpenGov is “the best partner” for PermitSF.
OpenGov would lead Lurie’s PermitSF initiative, which the mayor launched earlier this year to streamline and centralize the city’s permitting process. PermitSF has an ambitious goal of rolling out its first wave of improvements by February 2026.
The earliest possible date for Fielder’s hearing is late November or December, according to her office, meaning her office would have a very limited window in which to take any action. The February 2026 goal may also explain why Lurie’s office was quick to find a vendor.
OpenGov’s chief competitor has had issues with its existing contracts. Clariti has been working with Public Works since 2022 to implement an online permitting system, but has repeatedly missed deadlines, according to the Standard. The system was supposed to be ready by this January, but it has yet to be implemented.
Fielder has also raised questions about the bidding process, which she found unusual: The city used a “request for information” to gather input from interested parties instead of a “request for proposal,” which would have formally evaluated bids.
Lurie’s office, for its part, cited Chapter 21.30 of the administrative code, which lets the city buy tech services on a faster but less transparent basis than its usual procurement process.
The OpenGov contract is currently a $5.9-million, one-year contract that started on Oct.1.
Several OpenGov officials have ties to the mayor and his former nonprofit. Katherine August-deWilde, an OpenGov advisory board member, is a major donor and board member of Tipping Point community, the foundation Lurie led as CEO and later as board chair until 2023.
August-deWilde and her husband also donated $60,000 to support Lurie’s 2024 campaign and $100,000 to the new mayor’s inauguration.
Similarly, OpenGov co-founder Joe Lonsdale and CEO Zac Bookman were both major donors to Tipping Point. Bookman also contributed $500 to Lurie’s mayoral campaign.
“Any one of these circumstances of this contract award on their own are eyebrow-raising,” Fielder said, “but combined, they are cause for serious concern.”
it’s not corruption if it’s just you and your rich buddies, right? Whats a lil graft among friends.
I thought it was only low bid. He claimed he was different from everyone during the campaign, but he’s doing the same sh@t that others have done before him and will do after hm. He’s no better than the rest, status quo.
We’re not allowed to have single-bid contracts, it’s black and white.
might as well just make sam altman or elon musk the mayor at this point.
Sounds like time for ol’ Ned to spend more time with his family.
So Clariti who has been working on a permitting solution since 2022 and has missed its deadlines, per this article, more than once, it has a higher rating than OpenGov. Could be a higher theoretical rating than based on execution?
What has done supervisor Feilder to figure out the problems with Clariti? Seems to me more foggy than clear…
While arguing for contracts to connected people is not always good. As Mayor Lurie is making changes and many are working, so far. Maybe a new approach to this problem should be given some leeway even if OpenGov is connected…. Only for the decision to select OpenGov to be more scrutinized if it does not work.
Thanks to Supervisor Fielder. I have to wonder, where are the rest of her colleagues? And has the new inspector general been seated yet? I only hope that here in SF we want our government to function honestly and efficiently – and not like the Trump train wreck in Washington. Let’s set an example where it counts most – in our backyard. Full support for oversight, checks and balances.
OpenGov may well be the best company for this job, but there needs to be more transparency. The mayor’s Rep can reveal why, besides mayoral connections, he overrode the staff recommendations.
$5.9 million is a lot of dinero. It would be interesting to see if these funds go toward placing oversight staff (operatives) in permitting departments to report back to City Hall. If that money is used to hold highly-paid division directors, chiefs of staff and administrators accountable for their lack of results and deliverables (which necessitates a new implementation system), it might actually be an investment well spent.
“The Standard noted that Segal “unilaterally” overruled staff recommendations in awarding the contract to OpenGov. In a July report with input from 16 technical city workers, Clariti, OpenGov’s competing bidder, was deemed “the most suitable of the 3 products,” earning an average score of 4.42 out of 5. OpenGov, by contrast, scored 2.88.”
Based on what? this means noting without context.
Given the fact that it takes nearly 10 months to hire a new Registered Nurse through the cities current HR dept, I cant say that looking for a replacement for the current permitting system is a bad idea.
Ms. Jackie– you are going to use the little time you have to investigate THIS? while the area surrounding 16th and Mission and Marshall Elementary continues to be a cesspit of filled with fentanyl smokers?
Is this the same individual who, as a mayoral candidate, made anti corruption, anti cronyism, transparency and accountability to San FranciscansTHE CENTERPIECE OF HIS +1 year campaign? Too bad Lurie has slow walked the seating of an Inspector General. Voters robustly support accountability and oversight of elected decision makers for this very reason.
“Based on what?” The requirements are voluminous. That’s why it gets all the way down to 2 decimal places, because it’s rigorous. I don’t expect you to understand having taken less than 1 second to actually try to attempt to do that.
I’m dying laughing! Out of all corrupt progressive politicians and their incestuous friends, little bird-brain progressive, Jackie Fielder, wants to probe a guy who has more money than she can fathom and does not need to cheat or give favors.
Here are just a few corrupt progressive crooks that Jackie Fielder should focus on instead:
Sheryl Davis, a personal friend of Londin Breed who used taxpayer funds for personal purposes: first-class travel upgrades, paying for her podcast/book ventures, and tuition for her son at UCLA.
Patricia Doyle and Kenisha Roach of the homeless family shelter called the Oasis Hotel -they submitted fraudulent invoices to the city for services that were never performed
San Francisco Parks Alliance- implicated in facilitating a $900K “slush fund” linked to former city official Mohammed Nuru, Londin Breed’s boyfriend.
London Breed – $5,600 (car repairs and rental car) from her former subordinate and boyfriend, Mohammed Nuru, then-Director of Public Works, who sits in jail. (How cheap can she sink?)
How about Willie Brown, former mayor, investigated for favoritism, patronage, conflicts of interest, and associations with public officials who were later charged with corruption.
The rap sheet is long, so Jackie Fielder should do something useful and investigate her own progressive wing that seems to think taxpayer dollars are their own personal fund.
Lurie is cheating and giving favors. Literally what the article is about. Jesus Christ.
The article is the progressive echo chamber of selective hearing! We had unprecedented corruption under Willie Brown and London Breed. Where are those probes? Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on nonprofits lining their pockets and very few convictions. Do you I don’t see progressives asking to probe their friends? FYI – Ever consider that this company was best for the job ( it’s time to change things around)?
“We had unprecedented corruption under Willie Brown and London Breed. Where are those probes?”
True, yet one does not preclude the other.
It’s really the exact same problem.
Doesn’t need to but apparently does anyway. Why? That’s what we are trying to find out.
Extreme wealth rots your brain, that much is clear.
Also, you’re describing Willie Brown and M. Nuru as members of a “progressive wing” within San Francisco politics??? Could you maybe give some examples of prominent figures outside this “progressive wing” so we can understand where you are coming from a bit better.
Jackie Fielder looms large in some tiny minds.
When you name names that are primarily people of color, sounds like a bit of racial bias eh?
I enjoyed reading this article. I also understand how politics works. As a retired restaurant owner in S.F. for the last 45 years, I see the up & down of the City and I really see all the improvements since Lurie took office, such as an article I just read about him visiting a restaurant owner on 6th Street after being stabbed by a customer and even supported his business by purchasing a Chicken Sandwich afterwards. I have my faith & trust in Daniel Lurie.
It’s fine to like him, it’s ok to do so because he responds to local crimes that are publicized, but consider if you will that just because someone is better at their job than say London Breed doesn’t necessarily mean they’re actually doing it well. She maintained the PR for years before her lies and dogged reporting beat her down.