Newsom's power play
Newsom swore in a new batch of his appointed commissioners on Friday.(photo from sfgov.org)
Mayor Gavin Newsom's effort to fire Susan Leal (slated for tomorrow morning) has grabbed some attention over the last week, as well as some pushback from anonymous Mayor's Office minions over the weekend (read the second item in M&R's Monday column, which was likely a response to the Leal comments I discussed here).
But that's not the only front for the Newsom offensive, or even the only one scheduled for tomorrow morning. At the same 9 a.m. start time as the SFPUC meeting, just one floor up in Room 416, the Building Inspection Commission will be meeting and voting for its new president. And the word from our City Hall sources is that Newsom's proxies have been actively lobbying against current president Debra Walker (a progressive, artist, tenant advocate, and likely candidate to replace Sup. Chris Daly), pushing instead for developer Mel Murphy to take the reins.
Debra Walker, from an image at www.alicebtoklas.org.
Although the Mayor's Office has yet to make an announcement, sources say there is also a last minute shakeup at the commission, with Newsom apparently deciding not the reappoint Michael Theriault -- whose term has expired -- to his seat on the commission. Theriault had been lobbied hard over the presidency, sources tell us, but he did not return calls for comment.
I sought a comment on this from the Mayor's Office of Communications, which hasn't yet gotten back to me (surprise, surprise -- they're generally far better at spin than answering difficult questions). We did reach Walker who confirmed that she's heard from colleagues who have been lobbied by the mayor's people. "It's politics. Having more control over the agenda is important right now," Walker told me, noting that the commission is facing difficult choices as the new Building Inspection Department director Isam Hasenin tries to slash code enforcement and consolidate various permitting functions under his (and by extension, the mayor's) control.
Walker has also sought to have the city use its seismic safety funds to help owners of rent-controlled buildings retrofit them, although Newsom and Treasurer Phil Ting has proposed raiding that fund for their proposed solar panel program. The commission has been fairly cohesive under Walker's leadership (similar to the situation at the Planning Commission, where we reported Newsom has also been meddling), although there has been some tension with Hasenin.
"The election for the presidency is coming at a time when [Hasenin] is not getting along very well with the commission," Walker said.
Add to that Newsom's call for mass resignations and messing with the Metropolitan Transportation Agency and it becomes clear the Mayor's Office is actively attacking the city's system of independent commissions. To what end? I suppose we'll find out.
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Update: I just got a call back from Theriault, who confirmed that earlier today he got a call from the mayor and was told that he wasn't being reappointed. Theriault said he didn't want to discuss the reasons or details of his conversation with Newsom, but he did confirm that Newsom's people have been lobbying against Walker. "I think it's the case that the mayor wants his own choice for president," he told us.
Posted by Steven T. Jones | February 19, 2008 06:55 PM