Newsom swears in CamposBy Steven T. Jones
A day after appointing David Campos to fill the Board of Supervisors seat vacated by new Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (which Campos won in last month's election), Mayor Gavin Newsom marveled at the huge and enthusiastic crowd that showed up at City Hall for Campos's swearing in ceremony.
"Thanks for coming here on remarkably short notice," Newsom said. "I'm impressed with his ability to raise a crowd, which is a cautious warning as well."
Indeed, after an election in which progressives such as Campos consolidated their legislative power, Newsom does have something to fear if he continues with his autocratic attacks on progressive priorities, as we could see more of tomorrow when he is scheduled to announce a package of mid-year budget cuts.
But for today, they were just one big city family, a tone strongly set by Campos, who pledged to work well with Newsom, fellow supervisors, and those who supported other candidates in his race. And he singled out Ammiano for special praise, telling him, "I'm going to do my best to make you proud."
Political observers have wondered why Newsom took so long to name Campos to the seat that he was going to be rightfully taking next month anyway, and Newsom said Sup. Bevan Dufty repeatedly called the mayor's office urging Newsom to do so. Newsom said today that he needed to wait for the Elections Department to formally certify the election, which really isn't true. Mayoral flack Nate Ballard tried to cast the appointment as a gesture of goodwill toward a board that he doesn't work well with, but several supervisors I spoke with today didn't see it that way, saying appointing Campos was a no-brainer and any other choice by Newsom would have been a hostile act. But Campos expressed his appreciation, telling Newsom, "I want to reiterate my commitment to having a good, positive working relationship."
Campos, who immigrated here from Guatemala at the age of 14, gave part of his speech in Spanish and told the crowd, "I don't know whether this is true, but I might be the first undocumented person elected to the Board of Supervisors." Campos (who became a U.S. citizen in 1997) pledged to safeguard San Francisco's sanctuary city status, which Newsom has sought to erode.
Campos thanked many supporters by name and acknowledged the strong field of candidates he ran against, led by progressives Mark Sanchez and Eric Quesada, and said, "To the supporters of those candidates, I look forward to earning your trust and respect."
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