By Rachel Brahinsky

For months Mayor Gavin Newsom has said he supports putting a housing bond on the fall ballot. So now that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has voted 10-1 to do that very thing, where does the mayor stand?

After months of wrangling – and several weeks of nasty public fighting among Newsom, the Board of Supervisors, and various factions in the city's housing wars – the board voted June 29 to put the bond before voters in a form that's slightly different from earlier versions championed by the mayor. The $200 million measure would provide $60 million for low-cost rental housing, $95 million for supportive housing, and $50 million for home-ownership assistance to low- to moderate-income families.

This final version, which is the outcome of a deal brokered by community activists, was very close to Newsom's most recent proposal, which was for a $195 million bond. Still, Newsom is laying low. "We're waiting for it to go through the legislative process," mayoral spokesperson Darlene Chiu told the Bay Guardian.

Chiu said the mayor plans to sign on to the bond if the board doesn't tinker with it further before giving it final approval, but said it's too soon to say whether Newsom would agree to campaign for it, or whether he would encourage his business community allies to back it as well.

That support is key for the measure's success, because a general obligation bond requires two-thirds of the electorate to approve it at the polls, which makes it vulnerable if any key sector of the city opposes it.

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