Could Newsom Be Forced to Spend the $28 Million Housing Package?Paul Hogarthbyline‚ Jun. 05‚ 2007I took a lot of heat for suggesting that progressives should not run a candidate for Mayor, but what policy goals are not getting accomplished because Newsom is in office? If the Mayor won't support legislation, progressives can often gather enough votes at the Board of Supervisors to override a veto. But I began to reconsider that position last month after the Board passed a $28 million affordable housing package by an 8-3 vote, only to have the Mayor say that he simply won’t spend the money. While the Left still doesn’t have a candidate for November, is there a way to get the Mayor’s Office of Housing to spend that money besides throwing Newsom out of office? At the federal level, Presidents Nixon and Reagan were sued – and lost – when they refused to spend money on social programs that Congress had allocated. While the executive branch implements the budget and has a certain level of discretion, is there a legal basis to mandate the spending of appropriated funds? |