UPDATE: 2:30 P.M. KQED's Cy Musiker attended an event today for the Asian Art Museum at which Newsom spoke. Afterwards, he talked to the media and was asked to comment on David Chiu's rejecting an appointment to office of San Francisco District Attorney. Newsom said this:
SF Board President David Chiu Turns Down D.A. Job
You hear that? "We never knew that he was interested, so it hasn't dramatically changed anything."
Since a Chiu switcheroo from Board President to D.A. would have allowed Newsom to appoint a replacement for Chiu on the board, I'm not sure I would have put it that way.
Newsom also said that he was interviewing "two or three (other) people" for the position today.
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Here's a pretty standard-issue statement on the matter from Chiu today.
Original post
Both the Examiner and the Chronicle's City Insider blog report that SF Board President David Chiu has "withdrawn his name from consideration for the San Francisco District Attorney's job." The job became vacant when the previous D.A., Kamala Harris, won her election as California Attorney General.
If Chiu had accepted the appointment, Gavin Newsom would have been able to appoint a replacement supervisor just a few days before he vacates the mayoralty for the Lieutenant Governor's post.
There was considerable speculation before and after Tuesday's dust-up at the Board of Supervisors that Newsom would appoint Chiu as part of a deal to secure his vote for Ed Lee as interim mayor.
So why did Chiu not take the job? Well, KQED's Tara Siler was at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce's press conference today in support of Lee's nomination. She spoke to the Chamber's Rose Pak, who told her that Chiu will decline the job because he is going to run for mayor.