San Francisco District Lawyer Brooke Jenkins has come underneath fireplace and is going through accusations of nepotism after quietly selling a detailed pal to be her chief of employees, making her the primary individual with no legislation diploma to carry the place.
Jenkins employed Monifa Willis, a nursing professor on the College of California, San Francisco, in 2022 to run the District Lawyer’s Workplace’s Sufferer Providers Division earlier than she was promoted in March.
Whereas nonetheless raking in $100,000 from her instructing job, Willis makes a further $300,000 a 12 months as Jenkins’ chief of employees — one thing native politicians and former workers declare is blatant nepotism, in accordance with the San Francisco Customary.
“She was given this place as a result of she knew the DA,” a former Sufferer Providers worker who labored underneath Willis informed the Customary, including that Willis had little data of the legislation round victims’ rights.
It’s the primary time within the company’s historical past that the position has been occupied by somebody who isn’t a lawyer, Fox Information reported.
“Stuff fell by the cracks on a regular basis as a result of she was too busy doing two jobs,” mentioned the previous worker. “I’ve seen her [teaching online] lessons throughout work hours.”
Ryan Khojasteh, who’s working towards Jenkins for DA, slammed the choice as nepotism and mentioned it confirmed particular therapy.
“Nepotism erodes public belief,” he informed the Customary. “As San Franciscans, we deserve higher from our District Lawyer’s Workplace. My administration won’t tolerate such abuses of workplace — assignments will probably be based mostly on advantage, expertise and competence.”
The District Lawyer’s Workplace mentioned in an announcement that the promotion of Willis to chief of employees didn’t current a battle of curiosity for Jenkins and that Willis was put within the position for her expertise outdoors the workplace.
“I’m proud to have Monifa Willis function my chief of employees,” Jenkins informed the outlet. “I’ve had the honour and privilege of realizing Monifa for years and am excited to work together with her on this capability.”
Jenkins and Willis have identified one another since highschool, the place they had been track-and-field teammates, Mission Native reported in 2022.
Lately, they’ve gone to dinner, rented a automobile, attended a soccer sport and visited a waxing salon collectively, in accordance with public Venmo transactions courting again to 2021 that had been considered by the Customary.
Since turning into Jenkins’ chief of employees, Willis has continued to work as a professor at UCSF, regardless of DA coverage that workers are usually not allowed to interact in any outdoors exercise that might take time away from their duties at work.
The DA’s Workplace mentioned it “verbally permitted her request” for the secondary job when she was initially employed.
“She teaches one class on Wednesday evenings throughout UCSF’s fall, winter and spring quarters. She doesn’t train in the summertime. Her instructing tasks don’t affect her means to carry out any of her job duties on the District Lawyer’s Workplace,” the company mentioned in an announcement.
The company additionally defended her lack of authorized expertise, saying the position solely requires 4 years of managerial expertise in a authorized, legislative or scientific social setting, in accordance with the outlet.
David Campos, who was former DA Chesa Boudin’s chief of employees from 2020 to 2022, informed the outlet he couldn’t think about having two jobs at the moment.
“I believe it’s fairly laborious to do this job whereas being employed by another person. It’s a job that requires your whole time and power,” he mentioned.
Supply hyperlink
