SEC. 3.210. VOTING ON OWN CHARACTER OR CONDUCT.
§ 3.210
City officers and employees cannot vote on or influence government decisions about their own character, conduct, or job appointments, except when responding to allegations, applying for positions, or when their board/commission/committee selects them as chair or other officer.
If you work for San Francisco city government, you cannot vote on or try to influence decisions that are about you—like whether you should be hired, fired, or disciplined. However, you can respond if someone accuses you of something, you can apply for a job you want, you can answer questions about yourself, and you can participate when your own board or committee votes on whether to make you a chair or leader.
- Complex:The interaction between the broad prohibition and the two enumerated exceptions—particularly exception (ii) which allows participation in selecting oneself as chair—creates potential ambiguity about what conduct is actually permitted.
- Controversial:Restrictions on self-interested voting involve questions of government transparency and accountability that can generate legitimate debate about scope and enforcement.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) Prohibition. No officer or employee of the City and County shall knowingly vote on or attempt to influence a governmental decision involving his or her own character or conduct, or his or her appointment to any office, position, or employment.
(b) Exceptions. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit an officer or employee from (i) responding to allegations, applying for an office, position, or employment, or responding to inquiries; or (ii) participating in the decision of his or her board, commission, or committee to choose him or her as chair, vice chair, or other officer of the board, commission, or committee.
(Added by Proposition E, 11/4/2003)