Mayor London Breed, who has never liked independent commissions (or commissioners) is moving behind the scenes to oust the Planning Commission president, Kathrin Moore, and put in her ally Lydia So, insiders tell me.
The move burst into the open at last week’s commission meeting, when Commissioner Derek Braun, a Breed appointee, suddenly announced that he wanted to open the presidency up to a vote.
Moore, a Board of Supes appointee, was unanimously elected vice president of the commission in January; Sue Diamond, a Breed appointee, was elected president. That’s been a pretty common practice on the seven-member panel; the mayor, who controls four appointments, usually gets to name the president (because her commissioners do what she says), but then under commission rules, laid out in the City Charter, the vice president has to be a board appointee:
The President and Vice President shall not both be members of the commission appointed by the Mayor or President of the Board of Supervisors. (If one is a Mayoral appointee, the other position must be held by a member appointed by the President of the Board of Supervisors).
Diamond stepped down in June to spend time with her grandkids, and Breed replaced her and outgoing member Joel Koppel with Amy Campbell and Sean McGarry.
With the president leaving, Moore took over that post. She has been the most independent minded and progressive commissioner over the past few years, often politely but firmly challenging the mayor’s priorities.
The commission, as is practice, will elect a new president in January. There will be nine more meetings before that happens—not a long term for Moore to preside over the panel.
Again, the commission rules:
In the event of the absence or inability to act of the President, the Vice President shall take the place and perform the duties of the President.
But no: At the beginning of the Sept. 12 meeting, Braun announced that he wanted a new election, now, for president—and that, of course, would mean replacing Moore, since the mayor controls four votes.
The City Attorney’s Office says the rules are somewhat vague; they don’t specify how long the vice president “shall take the place” or the president. (In contrast, it the mayor leaves office, the president of the Board of Supes becomes acting mayor—only until such time as the supes, by a six-vote majority, can name an interim mayor.)
That gives the commission a lot of latitude; the panel could, for example, just fill the now-vacant position of vice president (with an appointee of the mayor).
Moore noted that the commission can’t just take an action that isn’t on the agenda, and a new election would have to come at a future meeting, not necessarily next week, when the public has a chance to weigh in (and when the new commissioners have a chance to read the rules).
Braun insisted that the issue be on the agenda for next week, and made that motion. It passed, 5-2, with Moore and Gilbert Williams in opposition.
The inside line: So, who only has been on the commission since March, will get the top job. She is a loyal Breed ally.
I got a sense of her position when she commented during the discussion that “the role of the commission is to help the city run as efficiently as we can. We are here to move projects forward.”
It is distinctly not the job of the Planning Commission to “move projects forward.” The commission is supposed to set policy for the Planning Department—and make sure that projects proposed by developers are consistent with the General Plan and other city guidelines, and that zoning and area plans are prepared and implemented with community input, fairness, and equity.
The larger point here: Breed is apparently unwilling to let an immensely qualified and experienced commissioner who happens to do what she is supposed to do—offer a broader perspective on the issues and make independent decisions—serve as president even for a few months.
Breed supports Prop. D, which would cut about half of the city commissions, and giving the mayor much more power. They can’t get rid of the Planning Commission, which has too big a role in the City Charter (and state law). But apparently Breed and her allies can make sure that the panel operates entirely under her direction.
She did that to the Police Commission. Now, Planning.
The vote will happen at the Thursday/19 meeting, which starts at noon.
The San Francisco Police Department sent officers all the way to Santa Cruz and Humboldt County to help UC and CSU campuses control demonstrations in opposition to Israel’s war in Palestine.
In some cases, the city funded hundreds of hours of patrol and overtime, and in other cases has asked the schools to reimburse the city for the cost.
The Police Commission will discuss that Wednesday/18. The commission will also talk about “investigative detentions,” which happen when an officer decides to hold someone, and at times conduct a search, but doesn’t arrest them. This is potentially problematic stuff, and you can see the department’s new proposal here. Also on the agenda: High-speed pursuits. That meeting starts at 5:30 pm.
Mayors and department heads in San Francisco are not always fond of the Civil Grand Jury, a non-criminal investigative agency commissioned by the Superior Court, under state law, to investigate and make recommendations on the operations of local government.
The panel, made up of volunteers, has the charter to seek documents, do interviews, and produce reports that expose problems and offer solutions.
The suggestions have no legal authority, but the relevant departments need to respond, and the supes have to hold a hearing on the reports.
This year, the grand jury looked at flood control, the function of city commissions, maintaining city infrastructure, budget transparency—and illegal fireworks.
You can find all of the reports here.
You can also find the response from the Mayor’s Office and city departments, and for about 90 percent of the suggestions, the response is:
Will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable.
The Government Audit and Oversight Committee will hear all of those reports Thursday/19. The meeting starts at 10am.
