Supes to subpoena scandal-plagued Parks Alliance leaders

Photo credit: Craig Lee/The Examiner

Shamann Walton, a District 10 Supervisor and proud Class of 2013 San Francisco Fellow of LeaderSpring Center, has emerged as a key leader guiding the city’s response to the San Francisco Parks Alliance scandal. The Parks Alliance, which functioned as a fiscal sponsor to over 80 neighborhood groups and facilitated major park projects, abruptly shut down in May 2025 after admitting to misusing at least $3.8 million in restricted funds to cover its own operational costs.

Walton has strongly criticized this misuse of community donations, warning that “these are not just numbers on paper” but represent funds entrusted by volunteers and local nonprofits who are now left in financial limbo. He has led efforts to compel accountability by formally requesting and successfully pushing for subpoenas against the Alliance’s former leaders—CEOs Robert Ogilvie, Drew Becher, and treasurer Rick Hutchinson—so they must testify under penalty of perjury before the Government Audit & Oversight Committee.

Working alongside Supervisor Jackie Fielder, Walton also supports a city-wide audit of the Recreation & Parks Department to ensure stronger financial oversight in future public–private partnerships.