Jay Cheng is out at GrowSF-adjacent political group Neighbors, and the circumstances of his departure deserve more scrutiny than they're getting.

Cheng, who had been a fixture in San Francisco's moderate political orbit and held a role in Mayor Daniel Lurie's administration, is leaving under a cloud — with reports suggesting the "real reason" for his exit goes well beyond a simple career pivot. The details trickling out paint a picture that should concern anyone who cares about accountability in local political organizations.

Let's be clear about what Neighbors is: a politically connected group that has spent significant money trying to shape San Francisco elections. Whatever you think of their policy positions, the organization has operated with relatively little transparency about its funding and internal culture. As one local put it bluntly, "Lots of dark money in that group."

The bigger question here is what the Lurie administration knew and when. If Cheng's departure was prompted by serious misconduct allegations, voters deserve to know whether City Hall conducted any vetting before bringing him into the fold — and whether the administration moved swiftly once problems surfaced, or simply waited for the story to become untenable.

This is a credibility test for Lurie, who ran on cleaning up San Francisco's insular political culture. You don't get to campaign as the accountability candidate and then shrug when someone in your orbit exits under questionable circumstances. Transparency isn't just for the other guys.

Meanwhile, Neighbors as an organization has its own reckoning ahead. Political action committees — whether on the left or the right — that funnel large sums into local races owe the public basic standards of governance. "Trust us, we're the adults in the room" doesn't cut it when the adults keep stumbling out the door.

San Francisco's moderate political movement has real potential to push back against the fiscal insanity that's defined City Hall for decades. But that potential gets squandered every time organizations prioritize access and influence over integrity. Clean house, or don't be surprised when voters stop buying what you're selling.