Newsom’s Mass Firings Could BackfirePaul Hogarthbyline‚ Sep. 11‚ 2007With his re-election still two months away, Mayor Gavin Newsom requested yesterday that all Department Heads – as well as all his commission appointees – resign, so that he can start his second term with a clean slate. If Newsom weren’t such a shoo-in to win in November, this move would be ridiculed as presumptuous. But it also speaks volumes about a Mayor who has governed for four years with no strong agenda, and has publicly confessed that the lack of a serious challenger is throwing him off-guard. If Newsom wants to clean house, why did he keep so many veterans of the Willie Brown era for four years – and what does this shake-up say about a popular Mayor who could not even generate an opponent? Newsom has even asked department heads that he cannot remove to submit their resignation, as well as commissioners who don’t serve at his pleasure – and don’t have to resign. While the Mayor’s not expected to accept all the resignations, the City Charter could put a foil in his plans. The Police Commission, for example, can accept the Police Chief’s resignation – even if the Mayor does not. |