Supervisor Bevan Dufty was today elevated from vice-chair
to the chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
Photos by Luke Thomas
By Luke Thomas
January 27, 2009
By a 6-5 vote, mayoral hopeful Supervisor Bevan Dufty was today elected to the chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA).
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was elected Vice-chair by consent.
Dufty, who was nominated by Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, received six votes from Supervisors Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, Sean Elsbernd, Maxwell and David Campos. He replaces former Supervisor Jake McGoldrick who is termed out of office.
Supervisor Chris Daly, who remained the only progressive nominee after Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi rescinded his nomination for chair, received five votes from Supervisors John Avalos, David Chiu, Eric Mar, Ross Mirkarimi and himself.
The SFCTA “administers and oversees the delivery of the Proposition K half-cent local transportation sales tax program and New Expenditure Plan, which was passed by 75 percent of San Francisco voters in November 2003. The Authority was created in 1989 to administer Prop K’s predecessor, the Proposition B half-cent transportation sales tax program, which began in 1990 and continued until it was superseded by Prop K.”
Campos, a progressive, explained his vote for Dufty over Daly, saying: “If you look at the substantive issues that come before this body, I don’t think there’s a distinction between progressives and non-progressives. If there were, I certainly would have supported who is identified as a progressive.”
By his own definition, Supervisor Dufty is a “liberal moderate.”
“To my knowledge, there is no substantive difference between the positions that commissioner Dufty or commissioner Daly would take,” Campos said.
“I think it is important for us, as progressives, to remain unified and push forward a progressive agenda where that matters. I don’t think that this is that place,” he added.
Campos said had he known Daly and Mirkarimi were interested in the SFCTA chairship, “it might have been a different thing.”
“The only person who expressed an interest to me was Supervisor Dufty,” he said, adding that Dufty approached him “within the last few days.”
Supervisor David Campos
More Info
San Francisco County Transportation Authority
More photos after the jump
Supervisors Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi nominated each other for SFCTA chair.
Following Dufty’s election to SFCTA chair, Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi
and David Campos exchange words.
Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and Board President David Chiu.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Follow Me:
The Hunger Site
January 31, 2009 at 10:25 am
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has nominated Ross Mirkarimi to be represent a three-county region (San Francisco, Marin, and Sonoma) on the Coastal Commission. There are two other individuals from north of San Francisco who have also been nominated, but San Francisco has not had a representative on a statewide commission whose mission is the environmental protection of the coast since former Supervisor Robert Mendelsohn served on the California Coastal Zone Conservation Commission several decades ago.
Now is the time for the rest of us to get behind Ross Mirkarimi and urge State Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg to push through the appointment of Mirkarimi to the commission.
Darrell Steinberg
Capitol Office
State Capitol, Room 205
Sacramento, CA 95814
January 29, 2009 at 9:12 pm
So why is it again that progressives do the heavy lifting for little or nothing during the campaign season and the liberals and moderates take the prizes?
Obama gets to say “I won,” deal with it. Why don’t progressives?
-marc
January 27, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Boy, this is a very, very tough call to make, don’t you think? Because BOTH contenders would have been great at this most-important of positions.
As it turned out, Supervisor Bevan Dufty is an excellent choice to chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. Supervisor Chris Daly would have been great here as well, but he need not feel slighted (I don’t think that he does).
These appointments usually work out for the best for the supervisors and for the citizens. Congratulations to both Mr. Dufty and to Mr. Daly!