The San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee (SF DCCC) created the system last year to address a gap in political accountability, as political campaigns often lack formal procedures for reporting and investigating sexual misconduct. The party recruited volunteers from across the country, consulted survivors of sexual abuse, and enlisted pro bono attorneys to build an independent reporting process. However, when the first complaint arrived, the system failed at its most fundamental task—ensuring someone responded.

Brad Chapin, a San Francisco-based political organizer, submitted a complaint on March 3, alleging that Manny Yekutiel, a well-known bookstore owner and former leading candidate for the Board of Supervisors, sexually assaulted him at a house party in 2020. According to Chapin, Yekutiel cornered him and stuck his hand down Chapin's pants, grabbing his testicles in an aggressive manner. In a police report filed in April, Chapin described the incident, saying he tried to get away and begged Yekutiel to let him go. Yekutiel has not been charged with a crime, but the San Francisco Police Department said the case remains open. Yekutiel has publicly denied the allegations.

After more than a month of silence, Chapin resubmitted his complaint on April 16 and reported the assault to police a week later. Two more months passed without a response from the party's judicial arm. Chapin then went to the press, and on June 30, within hours of a news story being published, the ombudsperson emailed Chapin saying his complaint had been received and was under review—nearly four months after he first reported the assault.

"At best, they were neglecting their responsibilities," Chapin said. "At worst, it was intentional to protect and provide cover for Manny."

Nancy Tung, chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party, has faced growing criticism over the system's failures, with some calling for her resignation, including Supervisor Connie Chan and the San Francisco Women's Political Committee. Tung has publicly apologized, saying, "The first time out of the gate, we did not do right by Brad Chapin. We did not do right by survivors." She denied political interference played any role in the delay and explained that the ombudsperson was the only person with access to online complaints, with no backup system to notify anyone else. Tung said the party has since addressed the problem and expects future complaints to be handled in a timely manner. The ombudsperson has since resigned, citing personal reasons, and the party is searching for a replacement.

The party's complaint review process ultimately concluded that the allegations fell outside the scope of its misconduct policy because the alleged assault did not occur at an official Democratic Party event or in the context of political activity. The judicial commission wrote in August that the finding was "not a determination on the merits of whether a sexual assault occurred." Chapin questioned why the party accepted his complaint for review in the first place, noting he had made it clear from the beginning that the incident did not happen at a party event. "This is a sham," he said tearfully at a Democratic County Central Committee meeting in August.

On the same day the party informed Chapin his allegations were outside its policy, the SF DCCC voted to endorse Yekutiel in his campaign for District 8 Supervisor. Less than two months later, the party withdrew its endorsement after two other men accused Yekutiel of sexual assault. Yekutiel dropped out of the race on Oct. 1 but continued to deny assaulting anyone.

Ruth Ferguson, who helped design the reporting program and was recently elected to the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees, criticized how the system handled its first complaint. "I think that in Brad's case, the process failed," she said. "It's really important for us to always have the courage to reevaluate and to understand that we're not going to get things right all the time." Ferguson, who has spoken publicly about her own experience of sexual harassment in politics, said the party's decision to dismiss the allegations as outside its jurisdiction runs counter to discussions during the system's development about whether misconduct outside official party events should be investigated. "We need to clean up the language and the policy so that it is explicit whether or not the DCCC has jurisdiction over incidents that occur not at Democratic Party events," she said.

Chapin said he has received apologies from several San Francisco political leaders, including Tung, but he is not interested in publicly shaming those responsible. Instead, he wants to help create a better system that doesn't fail someone else. "There has to be a system to hold people accountable and prevent people with power from abusing other people," he said. "I'm hopeful because I have to be and because I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens."