Mayor of San Francisco

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The Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco is the head of the government of San Francisco, California. The mayor serves a four-year term and is limited to two terms. Because San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, the mayor is the head of government both of the county and city; however, both entities are governed by a combined set of governing bodies.

Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is the current mayor of San Francisco. He was elected on December 9, 2003 in a runoff election against Matt Gonzalez to replace outgoing mayor Willie Brown. He was re-elected to a second term on November 6, 2007 "unchallenged". His final term will expire on January 8, 2012.

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[edit] Elections

The mayor of San Francisco is elected every four years; elections take place one year before United States presidential elections. The next election for the mayor will be in 2011. Candidates must live and be registered to vote in San Francisco at the time of the election. The mayor is usually sworn in on the January 8 following the election.

[edit] Electoral system

Under California law, all city elections in the state are conducted on a non-partisan basis. Candidates' party affiliations are not listed on the ballot, and multiple candidates from a single party can run in the general election, as they are not winnowed by a primary election.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, San Francisco mayoral elections were generally run under a two-round system. If no candidate received a simple majority of votes in the general election, then the two candidates who had received the most votes competed in a second runoff election held several weeks later. Because of San Francisco's generally left-leaning politics, both candidates in these runoff elections were generally Democrats in this time period; in the 2003 election, the two final candidates were a Democrat and a Green.

In 2004, San Francisco's election system was overhauled as a result of a citywide referendum. Today, most city officials, including the mayor and the members of the city's legislature, the Board of Supervisors, are elected by a form of instant-runoff voting in which each voter ranks his or her top three choices. This system was first used in the Board of Supervisors election in 2004; it remains to be seen how it will affect the conduct and results of a city-wide mayor's race in 2011.

[edit] Electoral history

[edit] 2007

Main Article: San Francisco mayoral election, 2007

Mayor Gavin Newsom 2004-present
Mayor Gavin Newsom 2004-present

The mayoral election of 2007 took place on November 6, 2007. Mayor Gavin Newsom is the incumbent and has overwhelmingly won most of the votes of San Franciscans in the election. Issues in this campaign include keeping the 49ers in San Francisco, the high homicide rate, homelessness, potholes, infrastructure, deferred maintenance, sexual harassment issues in the Mayor's Office, hostile work environment, and transportation issues. These issues are key factors to many voters in San Francisco.

On August 31, 2007, there were thirteen candidates for the San Francisco mayoral race of 2007. Former Supervisor Tony Hall dropped out of the race on August 31, citing long odds against the highly popular incumbent Mayor Gavin Newsom. One candidate, Chicken John Rinaldi, raised sufficient contributions to qualify for matching campaign funds from the City of San Francisco. Other candidates included blogger Josh Wolf, social activist Quintin Mecke and cab driver Grasshoper Kaplan.

[edit] 2003

The mayor's election of 2003 was dominated by three top candidates: Gavin Newsom, Matt Gonzalez, and Angela Alioto. No candidate received a majority of votes in the November election, propelling Newsom and Gonzalez into a runoff. Newsom is a Democrat and held a position on the board of supervisors; Gonzalez is a member of the Green Party and was the president of the board of supervisors at the time. If he had won, Gonzalez would have been the most prominent elected Green Party member in the United States.

The run-off election took place on December 9, 2003. Newsom won with 52.8 percent of the vote to Gonzalez's 47.2 percent.[1]

[edit] Succession

If the mayor dies in office, resigns, or is unable to carry out his duties, the president of the Board of Supervisors becomes acting mayor until a special election can be held to fill the vacancy and finish the previous mayors term. This has happened many times, including when Washington Bartlett resigned to become Governor of California and was succeeded by Edward B. Pond, when James Otis died of in office and was succeeded by George Hewston, when James Rolph resigned to become Governor of California in 1931 and succeeded by Angelo Rossi and when George Moscone was assassinated in 1978 and succeeded by Dianne Feinstein.

[edit] Duties

The Mayor authors the City budget each fiscal year (from July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008, for instance), which allows for funding of City departments and activities. The Mayor appoints people to positions in the city government, occasionally with the consent of the Board of Supervisors. S/he also signs bills into law. The mayor may also veto a bill and return it to the Board of Supervisors for revision. If there is a vacancy in the Board of Supervisors or another city elected official, the Mayor appoints a replacement to fill the vacancy. The Mayor also appoints Commissioners to the more than 50 citizen-driven Commissions that oversee City departments.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Age and longevity

  • The youngest mayor ever sworn in as of 2004 is John White Geary. He was 30 years, 4 months and 1 day old upon becoming mayor in 1850.
  • The oldest mayor ever sworn in as of 2004 is Edward Robeson Taylor. He was 68 years, 9 months and 22 days old upon becoming mayor in 1907.
  • The average age of accending to the office of mayor is 48 years, 4 months and 1 day, or 17,655 days.
  • The longest-lived mayor as of 2006 is George Christopher. He was 92 years, 9 months, and 7 days old when he died in 2000
  • The shortest-lived mayor as of 2006 is Levi Richard Ellert. He was 43 years, 9 months, and 2 days old when he died in 1901
  • The average age at death for all the mayors is 68 years, 10 months and 21 days.
  • The longest post-mayoral life of any mayor was that of Henry F. Teschemacher. He lived for 41 years, 4 months, and 28 days after the end of his term as mayor.
  • Excluding James Otis and George Moscone, who died in office, the shortest post-mayoral life of any mayor was that of George Henry Sanderson. He died only 31 days after the end of his term as mayor.

[edit] Birth and death

[edit] Records as mayor

  • Charles James Brenham is the only mayor to serve two non-consecutive terms: the first in 1851, and the second again in 1852-1853
  • The longest serving mayor of San Francisco is James Rolph. He served for 18 years, 11 months, and 30 days.
  • The shortest serving mayor of San Francisco is Charles Boxton. He served only 8 days

[edit] Other offices held

  • John White Geary is the only mayor to haved served as governor in another state.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

v • d • e
Mayors of San Francisco, California

Geary · Brenham · Harris · Brenham · Garrison · Webb · Van Ness · Whelan · Burr · Teschemacher · Coon · McCoppin · Selby · Alvord · Otis · Hewston · Bryant · Kalloch · Blake · Bartlett · Pond · Sanderson · Ellert · Sutro · Phelan · Schmitz · Boxton · Taylor · McCarthy · Rolph · Rossi · Lapham · Robinson · Christopher · Shelley · Alioto · Moscone · Feinstein · Agnos · Jordan · Brown · Newsom