Prominent players in San Francisco’s progressive world are being accused of colluding to boost District 11 supervisorial candidate Kimberly Alvarenga.

Steven Currier, a longtime resident of District 11 who ran unsuccessfully for supervisor in 2000, filed complaints with the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission and the city’s Ethics Commission saying Alvarenga’s employer, Service Employees International Union Local 1021, has illegally set up an independent expenditure committee to benefit her campaign. Alvarenga works as the union’s political director, though she said she went on leave in early September. She did not answer repeated questions about whether she continues to receive a paycheck from the union.

Documents show SEIU 1021, which represents city workers, has created an independent expenditure committee to benefit Alvarenga that has spent $23,242 to date, including $4,608 on door hangers with her family’s photo. The hangers were paid for on Aug. 27, before Alvarenga’s leave began. Independent expenditure committees and candidates are prohibited from having any communication with each other, and Currier says it’s hard to believe the union and its political director haven’t had any interaction.

Alvarenga said, though, that’s exactly the case.

“I am currently on leave from my job as political director for SEIU 1021,” she said in a statement. “I know nothing about the complaint and have no information regarding the SEIU independent expenditure.”

Cecille Isidro, a spokeswoman for SEIU 1021, said the complaint is “completely without merit and has no basis in fact.”

“It is not a violation for someone employed by a labor union to run for office,” she said.

Ahsha Safai, Alvarenga’s main competitor, said he doesn’t buy that Alvarenga and her employer aren’t in communication.

“I don’t know how you can claim independence between the two,” he said. “It’s absolutely unfair.”

Currier, a retired law firm administrator who supports Safai, also targets political journalist Tim Redmond in the complaints.

SEIU 1021 pays Redmond $4,000 a month for work on its quarterly magazine, Worker Power. SEIU 1021 has also made donations to Redmond’s online newspaper, 48hills.org. On the 48hills site, Redmond has posted some hard-hitting stories about Safai, which Currier says is another example of questionable ethics.

Currier had words about Redmond that can’t be printed in a family newspaper and called his stories about Safai “hit pieces” and “completely, completely false.”

Redmond countered that the stories have been “entirely legitimate journalism.” And he added he’s open about his financial ties to SEIU 1021 and his support of Alvarenga.

“If anyone doubts where I’m coming from politically after 33 years (as a San Francisco journalist), they aren’t paying attention,” he said.

— Heather Knight

Weed TV: In what is believed to be the first time a pro-marijuana TV commercial will air statewide in California, the pro-Proposition 64 campaign launched an ad campaign Tuesday, focusing on allaying fears that parents may have about legalizing weed for adult recreational use.

The two 30-second spots emphasize how the measure would permit sales only at licensed outlets, ban advertising aimed at children and clearly label edible products to avoid confusing children. Nowhere is a cannabis plant seen in the ads.

It is not the first pro-weed commercial to air in the state. During the failed Proposition 19 campaign in 2010, former San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara starred in a 30-second ad that took a different tack — emphasizing support among law enforcement for legalization. The ad aired only in some markets and not statewide.

Andrew Acosta, a spokesman for the No on 64 camp, dismissed the ads as representative of a ballot measure “written by and for the marijuana industry. ... They got it wrong for Californians, but right for the folks looking to turn this into the next Gold Rush.”

— Joe Garofoli

Jill Stein here: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton might not be doing public events in San Francisco, but that doesn’t mean the city won’t get a look at other, oh, less-viable presidential candidates.

Jill Stein, the Green Party’s nominee, will be in the Bay Area on Thursday, campaigning in Oakland and San Francisco.

The physician, whose campaign slogan is “People, Planet & Peace Over Profit,” will be at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St. in Oakland, for a rally from 4 to 7 p.m and then head to the Chapel, 777 Valencia St. in San Francisco, for musical performances and a rally. The event begins at 7:30 and Stein is scheduled to speak at 9 p.m.

— John Wildermuth

Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightSF, @joegarofoli, @jfwildermuth