Free Republic

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan is voluntarily giving back 25 percent of her $183,397-a-year salary. Quan will make $137,000 - or about $46,000 a year less than her immediate predecessor, Ron Dellums."We are going into some very, very tough times, and I wanted to lead the way," Quan said. . . . On the home front: San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen has joined the ranks of the foreclosed, having lost her $581,178 condo to the bank. The 33-year-old Cohen was a community organizer and ran a social-media business before her election in November from District 10. She says she was the...

The solid left majority on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has an opportunity to do what city voters haven't done for more than two decades: put a progressive in the mayor's office.Not since the election of Art Agnos in 1987 has a progressive served as mayor, and his tenure ended four years later when he lost his re-election bid to Frank Jordan, the more conservative former police chief. The only progressive mayor before Agnos, George Moscone, was assassinated in 1978, three years into his first term.Now, with Mayor Gavin Newsom, a San Francisco-style moderate, set to leave office in...

The Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 this afternoon to reject Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to sit or lie on public sidewalks during certain hours. ''The case for this legislation simply has not been made,'' said Supervisor David Campos. Defeat was expected, and the mayor already has said that he would use his executive power to put his measure before voters in November. The idea sprang from frustrated residents and merchants in the Haight-Ashbury who are fed up with people congregating in front of their homes and businesses, menacing passersby. Critics, including homeless advocates and...

Meat-Free Mondays, forbidding window advertising on Muni buses and closing a loophole in the city's plastic bag ban -- all in a day's work for the Board of Supervisors. The board on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell declaring every Monday "Vegetarian Day" or "Veg Day," which encourages restaurants, grocery stores and schools to offer more vegetarian fare. The only thing is, it doesn't actually require anything and there is no enforcement capability, just like other resolutions the board passes. Maxwell said it was important to draw attention to the relationship between diet and climate change, citing...

San Francisco's lawmakers have proposed dramatic measures to meet a huge city budget shortfall for next year, including what could be immediate layoffs for high-paid city employees and an unpaid furlough for most city employees between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The proposals come days after three City Hall budgeting offices estimated that the deficit for next year had grown to $338 million. By law, Mayor Gavin Newsom must submit a budget with no deficit to the Board of Supervisors by June 1. The board has until the end of July to pass a final budget. Board of Supervisors...

Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval's board resolution calling for San Francisco to adopt the Seattle Seahawks as its official team for the Super Bowl set off a charge among the 49ers Faithful -- but as you might guess, there's a bit of a back story to this little football play. For starters, there's no love lost between the Niners and Sandoval. The chill dates back to when Sandoval co-sponsored a resolution urging the city's Recreation and Park Commission to ban the sale of naming rights for Candlestick Park -- a move that could have cost the team (and the city) millions. When...