Rules Committee forwards Kate Stacy’s PUC nomination after brief public comment

The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Oct. 3 to forward Mayor London Breed’s nomination of Kate Stacy to the Public Utilities Commission to the full board for a hearing on Oct. 18, after the committee amended the file to remove language that would have rejected the nomination.

Chair Aaron Peskin introduced Stacy as a retired deputy city attorney with more than three decades of city service and said Seat 4 must have expertise in water systems, power systems or public utility management. "I think that this is a good nomination by the mayor for the public utilities commission to seat number 4," Peskin said.

Stacy, who spoke to the committee, emphasized climate change and the commission’s responsibilities across water, wastewater and energy systems. "The city both has to react to the effects of climate change, but also work to anticipate, address, and mitigate the effects of climate change," she said.

During public comment, David Pilpelt said Stacy’s land‑use and CEQA expertise does not, in his view, meet the seat’s required public utility management experience. "Kate Stacy is a retired deputy city attorney with land use and CEQA expertise, but not public utility management expertise, in my opinion," Pilpelt said. Peskin responded that he believes Stacy’s work related to the Water System Improvement Program qualifies her for the seat.

On committee motions, Peskin moved to amend the item to remove the word "rejecting" from the title and related language; the roll call recorded Supervisors Connie Chan, Vice Chair Rafael Mandelmann and Chair Peskin voting "aye," and the motion passed without objection. Peskin then moved to send the amended item to the full board with a recommendation for hearing on Oct. 18; that motion also passed unanimously. Peskin said that, if the board follows the committee’s recommendation and the mayor administers the oath in the intervening days, Stacy could serve on the PUC at its Oct. 25 meeting.

The committee did not announce any additional conditions or amendments to the nomination beyond striking the rejecting language and forwarding the matter for a full‑board hearing.