Chris Daly
Encyclopedia
Chris Daly is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
. He represented District 6, on which he served from 2000 to 2010. His decade-long career terminated in 2011.
and Gaithersburg, Maryland; his father was a federal employee and consultant, and his mother an accountant.
Daly was valedictorian
of his high school class and was drawn to service as a teenager through the 4-H
club. He attended Duke University
but did not graduate. He moved to San Francisco in 1993, where he became involved in local politics through an advocacy group for the homeless called Mission Agenda.
candidates in supervisorial races. He ran on his credentials as a housing advocate in the Mission District. Like other progressives, he rode a backlash against the patronage politics of then-Mayor Willie Brown
. Daly was re-elected in 2002 and 2006. In the three contested elections, Daly received 8,472, 6,642, and 8,968 votes respectively.
. He sponsored legislation to help low-income tenants of Single Room Occupancy
(SRO) residential hotels, many of whom were located in his district. In 2005, Daly negotiated a planned development on Rincon Hill
, where the property was rezoned to allow for highrise development in exchange for a higher percentage of affordable housing units and "community benefits" to non-profits in the area. Daly also received unanimous support for a plan to demolish and rebuild an apartment complex at Trinity Plaza in exchange for 590 affordable units. This was the first time in California history that a housing developer voluntarily allowed new construction to be covered by rent control.
Critics of Daly's housing policies point to his attempt to ban tenancy-in-common
apartment conversions, which they believe allow middle-income people to buy property in San Francisco.
In June 2006, Daly sponsored the Eviction Disclosure Ordinance, which required real estate agents to inform buyers whether a tenant was evicted from a property they wish to purchase. The ballot proposition won with 52 percent of the vote.
In March 2007, Daly, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, introduced a proposal that would appropriate $28 million for affordable housing. In April 2007, Daly introduced another proposal that would appropriate an additional $15 million in services for seniors and families. Eight members of the Board of Supervisors passed the affordable housing measure, but Mayor Gavin Newsom refused to spend the monies.
. Daly stated that if the convention could not choose a candidate, he himself would run. But when the Progressive Convention did not nominate anyone, Daly declined to run himself, stating that he wanted to spend time with his family and that his wife was due to give birth shortly before the mayoral election.
about the placement and use of police patrols. "If they keep the attacks on me, I’ll keep moving forward what I think is good public policy," Daly said. "What they fear is the end of their reign of terror in San Francisco."
which passed with a 58 percent majority in November 2006, and would have outlawed possession of handguns by city residents and forbidden the manufacture, sale and distribution of guns and ammunition in San Francisco. However, the proposition was challenged by the NRA
, which sued on behalf of gun owners and sellers. San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren ruled that the ban intruded on an area regulated by the state, thus invalidating the law. Judge Warren's decision was affirmed on appeal. In October 2008, San Francisco was forced to pay a $380,000 settlement to the National Rifle Association and other plaintiffs to cover the costs of litigatng Proposition H. Daly voted "No" on a Board of Supervisors Rules Committee resolution authorizing the payment.
, a world-class bicycle race held from 2001 to 2005, because of disagreements over the amount to be paid for traffic and crowd control and because the race's backers owed the city $89,924. In 2001 Mayor Willie Brown, who supported the race, allowed its organizers to incur a $350,000 debt and later ordered city officials to forgive that debt. Critics alleged that the race was canceled for political reasons including pressure from Peskin's constituents over parking issues. In Daly's personal blog, he referred to one of the chief backers of the race, San Francisco banker Thom Weisel
, as a "multi-millionaire Republican politico". The race, which was organized as a 1.HC event and in 2005 was part of the UCI America Tour attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators as well as world-class athletes such as seven-time Tour de France
winner Lance Armstrong
, and was regarded as one of the country's most challenging, particularly for its famously difficult 18% grade Fillmore
and Taylor street climbs. Mayor Gavin Newsom, who also supported the race, said it provided cultural, social, and economic benefit to San Francisco. A 2005 study commissioned by the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau found the Labor Day weekend race generated $10.2 million for city businesses that year.
and urged officials representing San Francisco during the upcoming Olympic torch ceremonies
(scheduled for 9 April 2008) to "make publicly known that the 2008 Summer Games
torch is received with alarm and protest." Daly's resolution was covered extensively by the local media and elevated the issues of treatment of protests in relation to the Olympics being held in China, the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
and the torch ceremonies being held in San Francisco, the only North American stop. The torch relay will be the first time in Olympics history that protests will accompany the torch as it passes through a U.S. city. Daly stated, "[T]he magnitude of attention paid to the Olympic Games
and the torch relay makes the event the appropriate platform to discuss human rights
. If someone can look you in the face and tell you the Olympics are limited to the individual competitions that take place, well, that's a good poker player
." Daly also criticized the rare decision to set up designated "free-speech zones
" stating, "I don't see why we should break from our pattern of how we handle mass protest
s or demonstrations for China
." San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom
, said he has "very serious concerns" about the situation
in Tibet
but added San Francisco is "privileged" to be the torch's only stop in North America
and that the event should rise above political concerns
and that the Games should be a time "to focus on the things that unite us and not divide us." In a later committee meeting supervisors Carmen Chu
and Sean Elsbernd
amended the resolution to welcome the Global Human Rights Torch Relay on April 5 and the Tibetan Freedom Torch on April 8 and commend "their efforts to raise awareness regarding human rights violations in China and urging the San Francisco City Representatives ... to welcome the Torch in the explicit spirit of Olympism, consistent with the United Nations Charter
... and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
, while Mayor Willie Brown traveled to Tibet
, Daly appointed two members to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
without Brown's consent, having consulted with the City Attorney
who had advised him that as acting mayor he had the legal authority to make appointments in Mayor Brown's absence. Brown, who had his own people in mind for the assignments, had a different opinion, stating that "[The appointments] were made by a person who was supposed to be operating in a ceremonial capacity... [It was] a conspiracy to... move away from the traditions, the rules, the customs and the conduct that has been the hallmark of this city, long before I became mayor of this city." Brown also compared Daly to a stalker and suicide bomber, stating that, "When you conspire and calculate what you intend to do several days before you're designated as the acting mayor, you really are venal, you really are violative of all the protocols. It's like stalking. You knew exactly what you were intending to do. You concealed all your steps. You carefully plotted, then you did it behind closed doors, and then you laughed about it." Brown said he found out about Daly's actions when his chief of staff called him in Tibet. Brown was sleeping at the time but with the assistance of Chinese officials, was on a plane home within hours, cutting short his trade and promotion trip to China—reportedly explaining the matter to his hosts simply as a "coup."
Nonetheless, the City Attorney stood behind its legal opinion and environmentalist
and former Sierra Club
president Adam Werbach
was later sworn in. The second appointee, architect Robin Chiang, was rescinded because Brown had already made one appointment, Andrew Lee, son of one of Brown's fund-raiser Julie Lee, who was convicted of mail fraud and witness tampering
on July 12, 2008. Daly and his allies on the board said Andrew Lee represented political patronage at its worst. According to John Rizzo, vice chairman of the Bay chapter of the Sierra Club, Daly's appointments would add "expertise to the SFPUC that was greatly lacking and is a great improvement" Brown said that Daly's action went beyond betrayal and that he considers his relationship with Daly, who he had praised in recent months, over. The custom of assigning the acting mayor position to supervisors on a round-robin
basis was discontinued as a result of Daly's appointments. Daly said by way of explanation for his actions, "I'm an activist. I had an opportunity, and I took it. I stand by what I did. It was the right thing."
, Daly is "either a hothead or a passionate advocate—depending on whose side you are on." Former Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein
and other media outlets have referred to him as a "loose cannon".
Susan King, a leader of San Francisco's Green Party
, said about Daly, "At the end of the day, I totally appreciate the fact that he is out there in the trenches. It's not 100 percent that I agree with him, but you know where his heart is and where his values are." Nathan Nayman, executive director of the Committee on Jobs (a pro-business, PAC
that receives substantial funds from corporate donors and promotes economic development
), said, "Chris Daly has given the Board of Supervisors a black eye that refuses to heal. He's maniacal and he's been given to outbursts on a regular basis." The San Francisco Bay Guardian says that "Daly's a hard worker, has a solid record,...is popular in his district,...is more than a good supervisor.... He's part of the class of 2000, one of a crew of activists who swept into power in the first district elections as a rebellion against the developer-driven politics of then-mayor Willie Brown."
The Berkeley Planet said "Chris Daly [has] a strong progressive record in [his] legislative bod[y],... first elected because [he] engaged [his] district’s most disenfranchised population."
In 2001, Daly nearly came to blows with Mayor Willie Brown after Daly brought homeless activists to a meeting that was supposed to be "private." Asked to apologize, Daly replied, "I will apologize that I was lured into the mayor's finger-pointing politics." In November 2004, fellow supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier
lodged a petition for censure against Daly after he told a landlord advocate to "fuck off" at a tenants' rights hearing (the petition failed by a vote of 8-2).
In 2001, Daly famously told his colleagues at a Supervisors' meeting, "I'm not feeling the love," when they rejected his proposals for balancing the budget, as he stormed out of the room. In 2002, Daly was arrested after a confrontation with police over a land use dispute concerning Hastings Law School, and reportedly told the arresting officer that he would have him fired; no charges were filed.
In June 2007, after learning that an attempted budget maneuver would be unsuccessful, Daly, according to San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, "went ballistic — singling out fellow progressive leader Ross Mirkarimi
for a tongue lashing so heated that fellow supervisors joked about calling in the SWAT team to cool things down".
On June 19, 2007, during a Board of Supervisors meeting, Daly suggested that Mayor Gavin Newsom
uses cocaine
and is a hypocrite for proposing public health cuts for substance abuse treatment for the poor. Daly stated that it was ironic of Newsom to propose cuts to a drug treatment program, "while the mayor of San Francisco artfully dodges every question about allegations of his own cocaine use." The mayor's press secretary said Daly's remarks were "sleazy politics of personal destruction." The Board of Supervisors President stated that "Supervisor Daly's comments were conduct unbecoming and do not represent the position of the Board of Supervisors or its president." The editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle recommended censuring Daly.
During an August 7, 2008, Rules Committee hearing after Daly had presented his resolution to turn the San Francisco Zoo
into a rescue facility
and when he was out of the room, a student from Lowell High School
who had waited two hours for her chance to speak in support of the zoo, began to cry at the podium, because she, like the other speakers, was only allowed one minute to speak. Normally at Board of Supervisors hearings, speakers have 2–3 minutes to speak, but time is limited by the discretion of the chair often to shorter periods of time, especially if there are a large number of speakers. This was the second time the item had been heard in committee, and Chris Daly chose to limit public comment to one minute, so that another item regarding black
flight from the City could be heard at that same hearing. Carl Friedman, the Director of the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control, said, "There were a lot of young people there who have never been to a government meeting. For this to be their first experience was embarrassing." When asked about the situation, the student responded, "I didn't mean to cry, I just kind of lost it. I thought they were supposed to listen to us."
On January 8, 2010, Daly announced to the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee, "I vow to use the word fuck in each of my remaining Board of Supervisors meetings."
On July 27, 2010 Daly called for at least 50 percent of proposed new Hunters Point housing be affordable. He stated that although it would be impossible for Lennar (the project's Miami-based developer) to meet this expanded affordability requirement, that nevertheless shouldn't be a concern.
If the project becomes too expensive for local residents to move in, "there's going to be a pretty new neighborhood, with lots of white folks living in the Bayview," Daly said.
Michael Cohen, head of the mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, stated that Daly's amendment was a deal-killer, because "the project is not financially viable at 50 percent affordable."
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
. He represented District 6, on which he served from 2000 to 2010. His decade-long career terminated in 2011.
Background
Daly grew up in Bowie, MarylandBowie, Maryland
Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the state of...
and Gaithersburg, Maryland; his father was a federal employee and consultant, and his mother an accountant.
Daly was valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of his high school class and was drawn to service as a teenager through the 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
club. He attended Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
but did not graduate. He moved to San Francisco in 1993, where he became involved in local politics through an advocacy group for the homeless called Mission Agenda.
Political career
Daly was first elected to office in 2000 in a near sweep for progressiveProgressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
candidates in supervisorial races. He ran on his credentials as a housing advocate in the Mission District. Like other progressives, he rode a backlash against the patronage politics of then-Mayor Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
. Daly was re-elected in 2002 and 2006. In the three contested elections, Daly received 8,472, 6,642, and 8,968 votes respectively.
Housing and homelessness
Daly's legislative record focused primarily on housing and homelessnessHomelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
. He sponsored legislation to help low-income tenants of Single Room Occupancy
Single Room Occupancy
A single room occupancy is a multiple-tenant building that houses one or two people in individual rooms , or to the single room dwelling itself...
(SRO) residential hotels, many of whom were located in his district. In 2005, Daly negotiated a planned development on Rincon Hill
Rincon Hill
Rincon Hill is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It is one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills."-Location:...
, where the property was rezoned to allow for highrise development in exchange for a higher percentage of affordable housing units and "community benefits" to non-profits in the area. Daly also received unanimous support for a plan to demolish and rebuild an apartment complex at Trinity Plaza in exchange for 590 affordable units. This was the first time in California history that a housing developer voluntarily allowed new construction to be covered by rent control.
Critics of Daly's housing policies point to his attempt to ban tenancy-in-common
Concurrent estate
A concurrent estate or co-tenancy is a concept in property law which describes the various ways in which property is owned by more than one person at a time. If more than one person own the same property, they are referred to as co-owners, co-tenants or joint tenants...
apartment conversions, which they believe allow middle-income people to buy property in San Francisco.
In June 2006, Daly sponsored the Eviction Disclosure Ordinance, which required real estate agents to inform buyers whether a tenant was evicted from a property they wish to purchase. The ballot proposition won with 52 percent of the vote.
In March 2007, Daly, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, introduced a proposal that would appropriate $28 million for affordable housing. In April 2007, Daly introduced another proposal that would appropriate an additional $15 million in services for seniors and families. Eight members of the Board of Supervisors passed the affordable housing measure, but Mayor Gavin Newsom refused to spend the monies.
Progressive convention
In June 2007, Daly organized a "Progressive Convention" to find a candidate to run against popular Mayor Gavin NewsomGavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
. Daly stated that if the convention could not choose a candidate, he himself would run. But when the Progressive Convention did not nominate anyone, Daly declined to run himself, stating that he wanted to spend time with his family and that his wife was due to give birth shortly before the mayoral election.
Elimination of Police Chief post
Daly suggested putting a charter amendment before voters in the November 2007 municipal election calling for elimination of the police chief post. Instead, the elected sheriff would oversee all law enforcement in the city and county of San Francisco. The suggestion arose from Daly's disagreements with Police Chief Heather FongHeather Fong
Heather Jeanne Fong is the former chief of police for San Francisco, California, United States. Her ancestral roots are in Ho Chung village, Chung Shan County , Guangdong Province, China. She is the first woman to lead the San Francisco Police Department, and the first Asian American woman to...
about the placement and use of police patrols. "If they keep the attacks on me, I’ll keep moving forward what I think is good public policy," Daly said. "What they fear is the end of their reign of terror in San Francisco."
Removal from Budget Committee chairmanship
On June 15, 2007, Board President Aaron Peskin removed Daly as chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee shortly before it was to finalize the $6.06 billion budget proposed by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Citing Daly's bitter public conflict with the Mayor over budget priorities, Peskin stated that "Fundamentally the budget process is about public policy and not about personality and it is important that we stay committed to having an outcome that ensures we have a budget that reflects the values of the people of San Francisco."Proposition to ban firearms
Daly was the chief sponsor of Proposition HProposition H
Proposition H was a local ordinance on the November 8, 2005 ballot in San Francisco, California, which gained national attention for banning the otherwise legal ownership and sales of firearms...
which passed with a 58 percent majority in November 2006, and would have outlawed possession of handguns by city residents and forbidden the manufacture, sale and distribution of guns and ammunition in San Francisco. However, the proposition was challenged by the NRA
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
, which sued on behalf of gun owners and sellers. San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren ruled that the ban intruded on an area regulated by the state, thus invalidating the law. Judge Warren's decision was affirmed on appeal. In October 2008, San Francisco was forced to pay a $380,000 settlement to the National Rifle Association and other plaintiffs to cover the costs of litigatng Proposition H. Daly voted "No" on a Board of Supervisors Rules Committee resolution authorizing the payment.
Canceling of the San Francisco Grand Prix
Daly, along with Aaron Peskin, was instrumental in the canceling of the San Francisco Grand PrixSan Francisco Grand Prix
The San Francisco Grand Prix was a road cycling race held in San Francisco, United States in early September. It was as a 1.HC event and in 2005 part of the UCI America Tour. It lasted five years....
, a world-class bicycle race held from 2001 to 2005, because of disagreements over the amount to be paid for traffic and crowd control and because the race's backers owed the city $89,924. In 2001 Mayor Willie Brown, who supported the race, allowed its organizers to incur a $350,000 debt and later ordered city officials to forgive that debt. Critics alleged that the race was canceled for political reasons including pressure from Peskin's constituents over parking issues. In Daly's personal blog, he referred to one of the chief backers of the race, San Francisco banker Thom Weisel
Thom Weisel
Thomas "Thom" Weisel is an American banker and businessman, one of the pioneers in the development of the high tech industry in Silicon Valley. Weisel is the founder of Montgomery Securities and later Thomas Weisel Partners....
, as a "multi-millionaire Republican politico". The race, which was organized as a 1.HC event and in 2005 was part of the UCI America Tour attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators as well as world-class athletes such as seven-time Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
winner Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
, and was regarded as one of the country's most challenging, particularly for its famously difficult 18% grade Fillmore
Fillmore Street
Fillmore Street is a street in San Francisco, California, named after American President Millard Fillmore which starts in the Lower Haight neighborhood, and travels northward through the Fillmore District and Pacific Heights and ends in the Marina District...
and Taylor street climbs. Mayor Gavin Newsom, who also supported the race, said it provided cultural, social, and economic benefit to San Francisco. A 2005 study commissioned by the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau found the Labor Day weekend race generated $10.2 million for city businesses that year.
Olympic torch resolution
On 20 March 2008 Daly introduced a resolution which criticized the human rights record of ChinaHuman rights in the People's Republic of China
Human rights in the People's Republic of China are a matter of dispute between the Chinese government, other countries, international NGOs, and dissidents inside the country. Organizations such as the U.S. State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch have accused the Chinese...
and urged officials representing San Francisco during the upcoming Olympic torch ceremonies
Olympic Flame
The Olympic Flame or Olympic Torch is a symbol of the Olympic Games. Commemorating the theft of fire from the Greek god Zeus by Prometheus, its origins lie in ancient Greece, where a fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics. The fire was reintroduced at the 1928...
(scheduled for 9 April 2008) to "make publicly known that the 2008 Summer Games
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
torch is received with alarm and protest." Daly's resolution was covered extensively by the local media and elevated the issues of treatment of protests in relation to the Olympics being held in China, the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China...
and the torch ceremonies being held in San Francisco, the only North American stop. The torch relay will be the first time in Olympics history that protests will accompany the torch as it passes through a U.S. city. Daly stated, "[T]he magnitude of attention paid to the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
and the torch relay makes the event the appropriate platform to discuss human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. If someone can look you in the face and tell you the Olympics are limited to the individual competitions that take place, well, that's a good poker player
Bluff (poker)
In the card game of poker, a bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its...
." Daly also criticized the rare decision to set up designated "free-speech zones
Free speech zone
Free speech zones are areas set aside in public places for political activists to exercise their right of free speech in the United States. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging.....
" stating, "I don't see why we should break from our pattern of how we handle mass protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s or demonstrations for China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
." San Francisco mayor, Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
, said he has "very serious concerns" about the situation
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
in Tibet
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region , Tibet or Xizang for short, also called the Xizang Autonomous Region is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China , created in 1965....
but added San Francisco is "privileged" to be the torch's only stop in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and that the event should rise above political concerns
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
and that the Games should be a time "to focus on the things that unite us and not divide us." In a later committee meeting supervisors Carmen Chu
Carmen Chu
Carmen Chu is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 4. In 2000, she earned a bachelor's degree in public policy from Occidental College, and in 2003, earned a master's degree in public policy from UC Berkeley...
and Sean Elsbernd
Sean Elsbernd
Sean Elsbernd is an American politician currently representing District 7 for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. District 7 includes neighborhoods west of Twin Peaks, the Villas at Parkmerced, Lake Merced, Harding Park Golf Course, San Francisco State University, City College of San...
amended the resolution to welcome the Global Human Rights Torch Relay on April 5 and the Tibetan Freedom Torch on April 8 and commend "their efforts to raise awareness regarding human rights violations in China and urging the San Francisco City Representatives ... to welcome the Torch in the explicit spirit of Olympism, consistent with the United Nations Charter
United Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries...
... and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
Appointments to Public Utilities Commission
On October 22, 2003, during his one-day shift as Acting MayorActing Mayor
Acting mayor is a temporary office created by the charter of some municipal governments.-History:In many cities and towns, the charter or some similar fundamental document provides that in the event of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the mayor, another official will lead the...
, while Mayor Willie Brown traveled to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
, Daly appointed two members to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is a public agency of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and power services to the City and an additional 1.6 million customers within three San Francisco Bay Area counties.The SFPUC manages a complex water supply...
without Brown's consent, having consulted with the City Attorney
City attorney
A city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....
who had advised him that as acting mayor he had the legal authority to make appointments in Mayor Brown's absence. Brown, who had his own people in mind for the assignments, had a different opinion, stating that "[The appointments] were made by a person who was supposed to be operating in a ceremonial capacity... [It was] a conspiracy to... move away from the traditions, the rules, the customs and the conduct that has been the hallmark of this city, long before I became mayor of this city." Brown also compared Daly to a stalker and suicide bomber, stating that, "When you conspire and calculate what you intend to do several days before you're designated as the acting mayor, you really are venal, you really are violative of all the protocols. It's like stalking. You knew exactly what you were intending to do. You concealed all your steps. You carefully plotted, then you did it behind closed doors, and then you laughed about it." Brown said he found out about Daly's actions when his chief of staff called him in Tibet. Brown was sleeping at the time but with the assistance of Chinese officials, was on a plane home within hours, cutting short his trade and promotion trip to China—reportedly explaining the matter to his hosts simply as a "coup."
Nonetheless, the City Attorney stood behind its legal opinion and environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
and former Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
president Adam Werbach
Adam Werbach
Adam Werbach is an environmental activist who was elected as the youngest-ever national president of the Sierra Club in 1996 when he was 23 years old. He is the author of Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, published by Harvard Business Press, and named one of the top business books...
was later sworn in. The second appointee, architect Robin Chiang, was rescinded because Brown had already made one appointment, Andrew Lee, son of one of Brown's fund-raiser Julie Lee, who was convicted of mail fraud and witness tampering
Witness tampering
Witness tampering is harming or otherwise threatening a witness, hoping to influence his or her testimony.-Witness tampering in the USA:In the United States, the crime of witness tampering in federal cases is defined by statute at , "Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant"...
on July 12, 2008. Daly and his allies on the board said Andrew Lee represented political patronage at its worst. According to John Rizzo, vice chairman of the Bay chapter of the Sierra Club, Daly's appointments would add "expertise to the SFPUC that was greatly lacking and is a great improvement" Brown said that Daly's action went beyond betrayal and that he considers his relationship with Daly, who he had praised in recent months, over. The custom of assigning the acting mayor position to supervisors on a round-robin
Round-robin
The term round-robin was originally used to describe a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified...
basis was discontinued as a result of Daly's appointments. Daly said by way of explanation for his actions, "I'm an activist. I had an opportunity, and I took it. I stand by what I did. It was the right thing."
Controversial demeanor
Known around City Hall for his frequent use of the word fuck, Daly has a reputation for having a fiery demeanor. According to the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Daly is "either a hothead or a passionate advocate—depending on whose side you are on." Former Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein
Phil Bronstein
Phil Bronstein was the executive vice president and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle.-Career:Bronstein's career began as a reporter with KQED-TV in San Francisco. He would later move to the San Francisco Examiner. At the Examiner, Bronstein specialized in investigative projects and was a...
and other media outlets have referred to him as a "loose cannon".
Susan King, a leader of San Francisco's Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
, said about Daly, "At the end of the day, I totally appreciate the fact that he is out there in the trenches. It's not 100 percent that I agree with him, but you know where his heart is and where his values are." Nathan Nayman, executive director of the Committee on Jobs (a pro-business, PAC
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
that receives substantial funds from corporate donors and promotes economic development
), said, "Chris Daly has given the Board of Supervisors a black eye that refuses to heal. He's maniacal and he's been given to outbursts on a regular basis." The San Francisco Bay Guardian says that "Daly's a hard worker, has a solid record,...is popular in his district,...is more than a good supervisor.... He's part of the class of 2000, one of a crew of activists who swept into power in the first district elections as a rebellion against the developer-driven politics of then-mayor Willie Brown."
The Berkeley Planet said "Chris Daly [has] a strong progressive record in [his] legislative bod[y],... first elected because [he] engaged [his] district’s most disenfranchised population."
In 2001, Daly nearly came to blows with Mayor Willie Brown after Daly brought homeless activists to a meeting that was supposed to be "private." Asked to apologize, Daly replied, "I will apologize that I was lured into the mayor's finger-pointing politics." In November 2004, fellow supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier
Michela Alioto-Pier
Michela Alioto-Pier served as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She represented District 2, encompassing the Marina and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. She previously served as a member of the San Francisco Port Commission. She was appointed to the Board of Supervisors by Gavin...
lodged a petition for censure against Daly after he told a landlord advocate to "fuck off" at a tenants' rights hearing (the petition failed by a vote of 8-2).
In 2001, Daly famously told his colleagues at a Supervisors' meeting, "I'm not feeling the love," when they rejected his proposals for balancing the budget, as he stormed out of the room. In 2002, Daly was arrested after a confrontation with police over a land use dispute concerning Hastings Law School, and reportedly told the arresting officer that he would have him fired; no charges were filed.
In June 2007, after learning that an attempted budget maneuver would be unsuccessful, Daly, according to San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross, "went ballistic — singling out fellow progressive leader Ross Mirkarimi
Ross Mirkarimi
Ross Mirkarimi is a member of the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, California, a marijuana legalization advocate, and co-founder of the Green Party of California. He was elected in 2004 to represent District 5...
for a tongue lashing so heated that fellow supervisors joked about calling in the SWAT team to cool things down".
On June 19, 2007, during a Board of Supervisors meeting, Daly suggested that Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
uses cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and is a hypocrite for proposing public health cuts for substance abuse treatment for the poor. Daly stated that it was ironic of Newsom to propose cuts to a drug treatment program, "while the mayor of San Francisco artfully dodges every question about allegations of his own cocaine use." The mayor's press secretary said Daly's remarks were "sleazy politics of personal destruction." The Board of Supervisors President stated that "Supervisor Daly's comments were conduct unbecoming and do not represent the position of the Board of Supervisors or its president." The editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle recommended censuring Daly.
During an August 7, 2008, Rules Committee hearing after Daly had presented his resolution to turn the San Francisco Zoo
San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo, housing more than 260 animal species, is a zoo located in the southwestern corner of San Francisco, California, between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway...
into a rescue facility
Animal shelter
An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...
and when he was out of the room, a student from Lowell High School
Lowell High School (San Francisco)
Lowell High School is a public magnet school in San Francisco, California. The school opened in 1856 as the Union Grammar School and attained its current name in 1896. Lowell moved to its current location in the Merced Manor neighborhood in 1962....
who had waited two hours for her chance to speak in support of the zoo, began to cry at the podium, because she, like the other speakers, was only allowed one minute to speak. Normally at Board of Supervisors hearings, speakers have 2–3 minutes to speak, but time is limited by the discretion of the chair often to shorter periods of time, especially if there are a large number of speakers. This was the second time the item had been heard in committee, and Chris Daly chose to limit public comment to one minute, so that another item regarding black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
flight from the City could be heard at that same hearing. Carl Friedman, the Director of the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control, said, "There were a lot of young people there who have never been to a government meeting. For this to be their first experience was embarrassing." When asked about the situation, the student responded, "I didn't mean to cry, I just kind of lost it. I thought they were supposed to listen to us."
On January 8, 2010, Daly announced to the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee, "I vow to use the word fuck in each of my remaining Board of Supervisors meetings."
On July 27, 2010 Daly called for at least 50 percent of proposed new Hunters Point housing be affordable. He stated that although it would be impossible for Lennar (the project's Miami-based developer) to meet this expanded affordability requirement, that nevertheless shouldn't be a concern.
If the project becomes too expensive for local residents to move in, "there's going to be a pretty new neighborhood, with lots of white folks living in the Bayview," Daly said.
Michael Cohen, head of the mayor's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, stated that Daly's amendment was a deal-killer, because "the project is not financially viable at 50 percent affordable."