- Now that Gavin Newsom is leaving the tranquil atmosphere of San Francisco politics for the rough-and-tumble, high-stress world of California’s lieutenant governorship, San Francisco must select his replacement. The Chronicle reports that on Tuesday SF Supervisor John Avalos introduced a motion to nominate and appoint a new mayor at next week’s board meeting. From the Chronicle:
Said Newsom spokesman Tony Winnicker of the proposed early vote: “It sends the wrong message to the people of this city when those with designs on Room 200 start measuring the drapes before Mayor Newsom has even left office.” Related:Under city law…a successor mayor cannot be appointed until the current mayor leaves office. To address that, Avalos’ motion states that the board would reconvene to “ratify that appointment” once there’s a vacancy in the mayor’s office. But the supervisors would not be barred from changing their minds.
Avalos’ legislation was co-sponsored by Supervisors Chris Daly and David Campos, fellow progressives who cement the 11-member board’s left-leaning majority. If they succeed, they would assure that the current board – not the one set to be sworn in with four new supervisors, including Daly’s replacement, on Jan. 8 – would decide who will be interim mayor.
- Listen to a KCBS radio report
- The Newsom Shuffle (News Fix)
- The San Francisco Department of Elections ran the second round of ranked-choice voting numbers Tuesday in the still-to-be-determined supervisor races. From the Examiner:
In District 8, Scott Wiener remained in the lead, which he has maintained since Election Day.
Jane Kim also stayed in the front of the pack in District 6. She gained the lead after the first round of ranked-choice voting, besting more than a dozen other candidates. Debra Walker is in second place in that race after 10 rounds of ranked-choice results.
In District 2, Mark Farrell increased his lead over rival Janet Reilly after the second round of ranked-choice results.
The most heavily contested race, District 10, is still neck and neck after 19 rounds of ranked-choice results. Tony Kelly emerged as a front-runner early in the results, but led by only a slim margin. After ranked-choice results, Malia Cohen has taken the lead, but many ballots still remain. Read the full article.
The department said that it still has to count 10,000 to 11,000 mail-in and 15,000 provisional ballots, which it will probably do next week.
- Medical marijuana activists complained at a San Jose City Council meeting Tuesday about a string of recent raids on pot dispensaries by a South Bay narcotics task force. From the San Jose Mercury News:
“How can you sit up there and take my rights away?” asked a tearful Aisha Alexander, 36, who told the City Council she uses marijuana to relieve breast cancer symptoms.
But city officials said they were powerless to act, noting that although some San Jose officers have participated in the raids, they were conducted by a county special enforcement team. The topic also wasn’t on the council’s agenda, which prohibited any action.
“This is not something over which we have any authority or jurisdiction,” Mayor Chuck Reed told a crowd of dozens who spoke during an open-comment period at the end of the council’s afternoon meeting.
Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, who last year initiated an ongoing city process to consider limited zoning and taxation of medical marijuana providers, asked the city manager to gather additional information for the council. Read the full article
- PG&E has suspended indefinitely, with pay, the SmartMeter executive who used an alias when he joined an online anti-meter group. William Devereaux apologized for his actions in an interview with the Chronicle.
- More details on the Tuesday fire at Neil Young’s warehouse in San Carlos, from the Bay Area News Group.
- The fire caused an estimated $1.1 million in damage, $300,000-worth to the building and $800,000 in Young’s possessions. These included a lot of musical instruments and electronic equipment.
- Investigators have ruled out arson.
- Young rents the warehouse.