Yes, and he fits her type of politics to a tee!
Commissioner Michael Yaki, who was appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
He served 7 years as senior advisor to Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.
(no link)
Brown Turns Political Tables Again - Pelosi aide named to Hallinan’s seat
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - Wednesday, January 17, 1996
Author: John King, Catherine Bowman, Chronicle Staff Writers
Mayor Willie Brown put his emphatic stamp on San Francisco government yesterday by filling a vacant slot on the Board of Supervisors with Michael Yaki , an aide to Representative Nancy Pelosi .
The appointment confounded many observers. Brown had been expected to name a leader of one of the interest groups that supported him for mayor. Instead, the mayor chose the trusted assistant of one of his closest allies, albeit someone he has worked with closely during his campaign.
He will learn soon enough what voters think of his choice. Yaki fills the seat left empty by District Attorney Terence Hallinan; it is up for grabs in this fall’s elections, so if Yaki wants to stay in electoral politics he will have to prove his case soon.
Yaki ‘s selection was part of a 22-name blizzard of appointments unleashed by Brown in his first press conference as mayor. The choices included new names — 31-year-old Emilio Cruz will be the mayor’s new chief of staff — and such familiar faces as Library Commissioner Sherry Agnos, wife of former Mayor Art Agnos.
(snip)
By contrast, Yaki ‘s abrupt elevation caught people off-guard. And at least one of his future comrades questioned the wisdom of Brown’s move.
``It would have been nice to see the appointment going to people who have run before and never give up,’’ said Supervisor Angela Alioto. ``He ( Yaki ) didn’t start out as a community advocate with no money in the bank. And I am not trying to knock Yaki , because he is not the issue.’’
Yaki , at a press conference yesterday afternoon, said his work with Pelosi leaves him no stranger to the city’s tangled political web.
``Without wanting to sound immodest, I think if you were to call a lot of these groups, they would already have a good impression of me,’’ Yaki said.
For his part, Brown happily defended Yaki . Brown leaned on Yaki increasingly for policy advice as the mayoral campaign marched on.
``He’s just the best qualified,’’ Brown said. ``I looked around for persons that had my vision of the city, grass-roots contacts, were somewhat exposed to public policy-making and had experience with the federal government.’’