Scandal-plagued department head Sheryl Davis and nonprofit exec James Spignola, whom she lived with, were arrested and booked into jail today
who was fired in 2024 after she was accused of misusing funds and failing to disclose her live-in relationship with grant recipientCourt records show that Davis and Spingola were booked into county jail at 9:57 a.
m. Both of their bonds are set at $50,000 and both are facing multiple felony charges. Davis is facing additional charges for perjury and a misdemeanor. t, in addition to a probe conducted by the City Attorney’s office into Davis’ alleged misuse of public funds. had been directed to Spignola’s Collective Impact. Davis failed to disclose that she and Spingola were in a relationship and shared a home and a vehicle., called her failure to report the relationship and the misdirection of funds a “mistake.” She argued that her relationship with Spingola was “widely known,” and she didn’t feel the need to formally report the relationship. Davis and her lawyer, Tony Brass, have alleged that she made multiple requests to the department asking to avoid any direct, or perceived conflicts of interest in awarding grant funding to Collective Impact on the basis that she used to serve as the organization’s director — but not because she lived with the organization’s current director. The City Attorney’s office has stated that her former position at the organization was not a conflict of interest. Her relationship with the organization’s director however, was. Public funding to the Human Rights Commission has additionally been used for flight upgrades for both Davis and Spingola to attend a “fundraising event’ in Martha’s Vineyard, for booking costs for Davis’ podcast,, for a performance by the singer Goapale at Davis’ book signing event, along with nearly $19,000 towards her son’s tuition. Davis has argued that the financial decision making of the commission, including deciding what organizations receive grant funding, was largely not up to her, though the excessive purchases were largely made on Davis’ behalf or for her personal ventures, including her children’s book and her podcast. “Now, there’s so many different allegations,” said Davis, in May 2025, while she was facing a probe by the City Attorney’s office. “There’s the conflict of interest, but then some of the other things are just the most … I can’t even think of how to respond to the allegations of bribery. Like, really? They hired someone to perform at an event, and that’s a bribe from me? If you really unpack it, it doesn’t even make sense.” In the wake of these allegations, funding for the department, which provided grant money to community based organizations led by people of color, has since been halved, and the department has been merged with the Department on the Status of Women, which has also been plagued by allegations of misconduct. Because of you, Mission Local reached and surpassed our $300,000 year-end fundraising goal.Thank you for choosing to invest in a local newsroom rooted in San Francisco’s communities — one that listens first and reports deeply. Your contribution today helps sustain the reporting our city relies on all year long.S.F. supervisor Jackie Fielder will stay in office, take leave of absenceFederal state and local government persons continue to be unworthy and on the grift or steal from the public. Please keep your comments short and civil. Do not leave multiple comments under multiple names on one article. We will zap comments that fail to adhere to these short and easy-to-follow rules.Sign up for Mission Local's daily newsletter: The latest San Francisco news in your inbox, no more than once a day, for free.
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