The City’s top environmental official abruptly resigned on Thursday amid scrutiny about her alleged solicitation of a $25,000 donation from Recology for her department.
Department of the Environment Director Debbie Raphael’s resignation came two days after a San Francisco Standard story revealed the gift, and a day before the city controller’s office is expected to release a “public integrity review” that included an inquiry into her actions.
Stepping into Raphael’s role on an interim basis is Tyrone Jue, who is the assistant deputy general manager for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and an environmental advisor to Mayor London Breed, who announced the appointment on Thursday. Jue also serves as Breed’s appointee on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors.
Raphael left because political pressure was only starting to mount. Supervisor Aaron Peskin called for a hearing Tuesday amid the swirl of allegations of potential misconduct and ineptitude against the Department of Environment and “pay-to-play” politics in City Hall.
“This is more than deeply disturbing, it really makes me sick,” Peskin said. “And I am deeply concerned that it’s not close to over.”
The Standard reported Tuesday that Raphael had solicited a donation of $25,000 from Recology while the waste management company was negotiating a city contract to transport trash to its Solano County landfill.
These allegations echo the deals made in City Hall that led the downfall of Mohammed Nuru, former Director of Department of Public Works. Nuru pleaded guilty earlier this year to fraud after accepting gifts from city contractors for city contracts.
Raphael was the department’s director for eight years. He allegedly solicited a donation from Recology in order to fund climate change awareness events that were organized by Ed Lee, then-mayor. The Standard reported that Raphael was also finalizing a deal with Recology for trash collection.
Paul Giusti (Recology executive, from whom Raphael requested the donation), played a crucial role in the Nuru scandal. Giusti pleaded guilty to trying to bribe Nuru.
The Department of the Environment did no respond to a request to comment on Thursday.
Breed lauded Raphael’s years of work for the city, including the development if its Climate Action Plan, in a statement.
“While this work has been important, issues with the Department have been raised recently by the Controller and the City Attorney,” Breed said. “At this time, new leadership at the Department will allow us to continue the important work started under Debbie’s tenure.”
Peskin also pointed to recent reporting in the Chronicle, which documented the disappointment of recycling advocates in the Department of the Environment’s new SF BottleBank. Groceries industry lobbyists helped shape the mobile recycling program. The purpose of the program is to make it easier for people who have returned bottles or cans to be deposited.
The hearing Peskin called for on Tuesday, he said, would be used to analyze the Department of the Environment’s contracting processes.
Recology agreed earlier this year to pay $95 million to city residents after investigators looking into Nuru discovered that he had agreed to recommend a rate hike of 14%, double the company’s proposed 7% increase.
Peskin introduced a proposal to shift the responsibility of tracking – and proposing – the rates Recology charges San Francisco customers from the Department of Public Works to the Controller’s office. It will appear on June ballot.