Defense lawyers file brief
requesting Attorney General deny City permission
to seek Jew's removal from office

Herrera responds

City Attorney Dennis Herrera is seeking Supervisor Ed Jew's removal from office after finding overwhelming evidence against Jew's claim that he is legally domiciled
in the district he represents.
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

From the Office of City Attorney Dennis Herrera

July 3, 2007, 7:29 p.m.

Lawyers for Supervisor Ed Jew filed a reply brief with Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. moments before the close of business today arguing that City Attorney Dennis Herrera's quo warranto petition, which seeks permission to sue for Jew's removal from elective office, be denied. Among other arguments, Jew's attorneys contend that the City Attorney's civil case should be stayed pending the adjudication of criminal charges against the supervisor, who represents San Francisco's District Four on the Board of Supervisors.

In response, City Attorney Dennis Herrera issued the following statement:

"The citizens of San Francisco have a right to legitimate representation in their democracy that clearly outweighs the right of one politician to remain in office in violation of the law. The evidence is overwhelming that Supervisor Jew failed to meet the basic residency requirements to seek or continue to hold his office. It would be a terrible injustice if the legitimacy of our Board of Supervisors were to remain in doubt for the duration of a criminal process, which could take years."

On June 18, 2007, Herrera initiated a legal action to remove Jew from the Board of Supervisors following a four-week investigation that convincingly demonstrated the supervisor's failure to comply with residency requirements to seek or hold the office under the City Charter. Under the quo warranto process in the California Code of Civil Procedure, Herrera must petition the Attorney General for permission to sue for the supervisor's removal in state Superior Court.

Herrera's response brief is now due to Attorney General Jerry Brown within ten days, by July 13, 2007.

A copy of Herrera's verified complaint, memorandum of points and authorities, verified statement of facts, and several hundred pages of evidence and declarations collected as part of the City Attorney's investigation are available on the City Attorney's Web site at: http://www.sfgov.org/cityattorney/.

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