Fault Lines - Looking for a soft landing

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POSTED June 26, 10:42 PM

Whenever you hear someone talking about how they want to do something noble to “take politics out of the process” in San Francisco, you can bet your lefty credentials that they’re trying to inject politics into the equation. And that’s what is behind a new ballot proposal to make the city treasurer’s post a mayoral appointment rather than an elected office.

Do you think anyone has been clamoring for such a change, any more so than making the assessor or sheriff or school board an unelected position? Of course not. But the progressive supervisors being termed out of office this year have nowhere to go because the polls shows that none of them have even an outside chance of winning a citywide office, so they’re looking for a nice landing spot at the behest of some future mayor.

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick introduced the charter amendment this week along with another measure, to create a commission on the Department of Public Works, two proposals most City Hall insiders believe have Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s fingerprints all over them. (McGoldrick could not be reached for comment.) But there is no discernible reason to push either idea — other than to create some more spots for some friendly allies — or, of course, themselves.

The accepted rule of politics is:

If you want to kill a measure, send it to a committee and if you want to slow the process down, create a commission. Mayor Gavin Newsom has been trying to consolidate commissions and departments, not expand their number. San Francisco needs a commission on public works about as much as we need more streets filled with potholes. Do we really need seven people approving street cleaning funds and sidewalk replacement set-asides? Certainly not, especially while The City finally has a long-term plan in place to pave sidewalks and streets — not that you could tell.

McGoldrick’s proposal is a solution in search of a problem. We need less bureaucracy, not more. If supervisors really want to take politics out of the process, perhaps they’ll reconsider their previous action to set aside $6 million in taxpayer money to allow people (as in themselves) to run for mayor. Don’t hold your breath.

Even if the supervisors feed at the public trough, they couldn’t win — unless, that is, the job to become San Francisco’s mayor is through appointment, not an election.

Supervisor Jake McGoldrick introduced legislation that would make the city treasurer’s post an appointed rather than an elected office.
(Examiner file photo)