The Next Steps for San Francisco
The untimely and surprising passing of Mayor Ed Lee on early Tuesday morning has left a lot of questions about what comes next; who, what, when, and just how unusual this situation truly is.
Let’s take these questions one at a time and lay out the path ahead for the City that Knows How.
- This is a truly historic moment
While mayors have not finished a term due to election to another office or due to criminal conviction (that’s right, Eugene Schmitz in 1906) or they didn’t want the office (again 1906-Charles Boxton…1906 was a hell of a year for the City) but death while in office is very rare.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this is only the third time a Mayor has not finished their term due death in office. The first came early in San Francisco history, in 1875, when Mayor James Otis passed away. The next time would be over a century later when Mayor George Mascone (along with Supervisor Milk) were assassinated at City Hall in 1978.
It should be noted that it was through a similar process that Ed Lee became Mayor to being with, back in 2011.
So to put it plainly…we are living through history.
2. Acting Mayor London Breed & Her Role
Yesterday, London Breed was the Supervisor for District 5 and President of the Board of Supervisors and as such, she was second in line to Room 200 (the Mayor’s Office). Today, she stepped into the role of Mayor becoming the first African-American female mayor of San Francisco. But her role is a bit fuzzy.
During the press conference pictured above, City Attorney Dennis Herrera mentioned that Breed is currently Acting Mayor and Supervisor of District 5, as well as Board President. Breed can hold these positions. For long, depends on which path the Board of Supervisors takes…
3. The Two Paths Forward
You can look at the Article XIII of the City Charter for more information on how vacancies are filled but here are a couple of paths that can be taken going forward:
Path 1: The Board
Breed can be elected intern-Mayor by the Board of Supervisors (with 6-votes) and would be Mayor until the next election (June 2018).
If this path is chosen, the following could/would happen:
A) The Board has made it pretty clear that they will not vote on this until they return from the holiday recess in early January.
B) If the vote is held, Breed’s name would be placed in nomination on the floor of Board.
*Note: Other names can be placed into nomination by any member of the Board at that time. As of now, no one has been able to rally enough support to get the needed six votes so a surprise outsider is unlikely. That could change after the New Year but again is unlikely.
C) Breed could not vote for herself so she would need a solid six votes from her colleagues. This is unlikely since Supervisors Farrell and Kim are eyeing a run and Supervisor Peskin is a strong Mark Leno supporter (who is the only declared candidate for the job)
*Another Note: No Board member can vote for his or herself, which is part of the reason that no other Board member has tried to make a move.
Path 2: The Election
If no action is taken at the Board, Breed will be Acting Mayor until the next election in June 2018. That election would be to fill the remaining time of Lee’s term (ending on Jan. 20, 2020). The race for a full term as Mayor would be in November 2019 (as normally calendared).
So whether it’s by Board vote or inaction, Breed will likely be the Mayor (acting, intern, or what have you) until June 2019. I’ll follow up with another story on potential candidates, some possible political calculations, and how in the end, this will likely be a tossup.
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