Overheard in Fog City

Luke Thomas
FCJ Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Photo by Adam Aufdencamp

By Luke Thomas

July 12, 2007 (Updated)

Daly could soon have a committee assignment

Supervisor Chris Daly provides a civics lesson
to students of Bessie Carmichael Elementary School yesterday.

Supervisor Chris Daly, San Francisco's present day Robin Hood and the establishment's favorite whipping boy, may soon be reassigned to a committee post.

Following yesterday's Budget and Finance Committee meeting, Fog City Journal asked Board President Aaron Peskin to comment on a possible reassignment for the out of favor, committeeless supervisor.

A pensive Board President Aaron Peskin

Peskin, you'll recall, removed Daly from his assignment as Budget and Finance Committee Chair after Daly moved to introduce an alternative budget in response to Mayor Gavin Newsom's refusal to spend supplemental appropriations earmarked for affordable housing programs.

Daly's demotion sent cheers of exultation around the Newsom camp who have long looked for any reason to muzzle and emasculate the controversial but effective supervisor.

Yesterday, Peskin told Fog City that his consideration of Daly's reassignment is not completely off the table and said there is a vacant seat in the Government Audit and Oversight Committee.

The exchange went as follows:

FCJ: When are you going to give Supervisor Daly a committee position?

Peskin: We haven't talked about that yet.

FCJ: Are you going to talk about it soon?

Peskin: I don't know, ask Chris. (*)

FCJ: Are there any committees that have seats available right now that you can put Daly on?

Peskin: There is.

FCJ: Which one?

Peskin: There's one committee that has a vacancy… Government Audits.

FCJ: Are you thinking about putting him on there?

Peskin: Not yet.

FCJ: Are you mulling it?

Peskin: Maybe. Not yet, really, but everything's on the table.

* Daly, for his part, told Fog City he is available to serve on any committee at the pleasure of the Board President. Daly also took pride in noting that he has missed just one committee meeting since his election to the Board of Supervisors in 2000.

July 14, 1:22 p.m: Peskin confirmed to Fog City today he has assigned Daly to the Government and Audit Oversight committee. The committee convenes Monday at 10:00 a.m. Daly will be joined by committee members Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier.

Tone down the rhetoric

Newsom campaign treasurer/attorney/record ethics violator, James Sutton, filed a complaint with the City Attorney's office, July 2. The complaint requests the City Attorney to strip Supervisor Chris Daly of his first amendment right to free speech.

According to Daly, the City Attorney will not be taking action against Daly but has politely asked him to "tone down the rhetoric."

Record ethics violator, James Sutton, at Monday's Ethics Commission meeting.

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