Uncertainty Reigns In Replacing San Francisco's Mayor
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/AP) - A motion was expected Tuesday before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pick a new mayor. Despite that push by left-leaning supervisors, it appeared there would be a lot of talk without much action.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
One thing that wasn't in dispute: soon after the New Year, the city would need a new mayor. That's because current Mayor Gavin Newsom was elected the state's next lieutenant governor, and he was to be sworn into that office sometime in January.
The Board of Supervisors had the authority to appoint an interim mayor until a permanent would be elected in November 2011. That 11-member board is politically divided and no single candidate appeared to have garnered the necessary six votes to win the appointment.
Three supervisors instead elected to pursue a highly unusual motion, pushing the board to name a new mayor Tuesday afternoon.
The motion was introduced a week earlier by supervisors John Avalos, David Campos and Chris Daly, who hoped to replace the moderate Newsom with somebody who would steer the city in a more left-leaning direction.
If the supervisors failed to select an interim mayor, the board president automatically would become acting mayor.
Supervisor David Chiu, current board president, would be the first Asian American to serve as the city's mayor if the job fell to him.
"To suggest that we decide today who the interim successor mayor is going to be is not only premature but frankly, we would have to vote again after Mayor Newsom leaves, in order to ensure that it's legally binding," Chiu argued against the unconventional motion. "I think we need a process that is fair and transparent and orderly."
While it's unlikely the motion would gain much traction, Daly indicated he expected a large crowd nonetheless.
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