Feinstein

Plaintiffs, a nonprofit corporation entitled the Affordable Housing Alliance, and David Spero, a resident of the City and County of San Francisco (the city), brought an action against Dianne Feinstein in her capacity as the city’s mayor (the mayor) and other defendants, seeking to have set aside the mayor’s veto of a rent control ordinance enacted by the board of supervisors. Summary judgment was entered for defendants. The question in this case is whether the mayor violated the California Political Reform Act of 1974 (the Act) (Gov. Code, § 81000 et seq.) when she vetoed the ordinance even though she had a financial interest in the decision within the meaning of the Act. We conclude that the mayor’s participation in the decision on the ordinance was legally required; therefore no violation of the Act occurred.

I

On January 17, 1984, the board of supervisors passed ordinance No. 109-83-5.1 which amended the city’s administrative code provisions relating to rent control. Included in the ordinance was a limitation on the amount of rent that residential landlords could charge new tenants moving into a vacant unit. On January 18, the ordinance was submitted to the mayor…