SF Probe Finds Ex-SFPUC Chief Charged $130,000 in Trips With Subordinate

An investigative report has found that former San Francisco Public Utilities Commission general manager Harlan Kelly and his then-subordinate, assistant general manager Juliet Ellis, took 44 trips together between April 2013 and December 2018 at a cost of roughly $130,000. The expenses, charged to SFPUC ratepayers, included stays at high-end hotels and at least one trip to Cancún, with several itineraries showing the pair sharing or booking adjoining rooms. The relationship violated a City Charter provision that bars supervisors from engaging in romantic relationships with direct reports, giving City Attorney David Chiu a clear basis to seek the forfeiture of Kelly’s city pension. Federal prosecutors subpoenaed SFPUC travel and reimbursement records in 2020, but the inquiry has largely stalled since the departure of then-U.S. Attorney David Anderson in 2021. Ellis resigned from the utility in December 2020, while Kelly and former community-benefits executive Dwayne Jones remain under scrutiny for their roles in the broader misuse-of-funds scheme. City ethics investigators have yet to announce next steps, but Chiu’s office said it is reviewing the new findings on pension eligibility.