The right to ask - and the obligation to answer - queries at the city’s new, voter-mandated monthly Question Time for the mayor at the board. A full police security detail, a driver, the designation of "first lady" for your wife if you’ve got one - and even a portrait in the wood-paneled hallway of Room 200.
All this will belong to one person unless and until the Board of Supervisors can agree on an interim mayor to fill Mayor Gavin Newsom’s seat when he’s sworn in as lieutenant governor in January.
What some would call a quirk of the City Charter states that when the mayor’s office is vacant, the board president - now David Chiu - becomes acting mayor with the full power of both offices.
"The only thing you’re missing is the judicial branch," said City Hall historian Ellen Schumer. "Maybe David should wear a long judge’s robe!"
Even without the robe, Chiu stands to gain tremendous power and perks - except not two paychecks.
If the board president serves as acting mayor, he or she keeps the supervisor salary of $96,549, according to the city controller’s office. But get the six votes to become interim mayor and the salary jumps to the mayor’s pay: $247,473. That’s one reason supervisors can’t vote for themselves to be interim mayor.
Blurred Lines
The seeming violation of the separation of powers if Chiu were to be board president and mayor could last mere minutes or almost a year, depending on how quickly the board appoints an interim mayor to serve until voters make their pick in November 2011.
Newsom is supposed to be sworn in Jan. 3. The current board has the power to choose an interim mayor if the office is vacant and they can agree before the new board is sworn in Jan. 8. That group then has to pick a new board president - which may be Chiu or somebody else - and can select an interim mayor if the old board hasn’t already done so.
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd said he wouldn’t be bothered by one person running the board and the mayor’s office if it lasted mere days, but anything longer is "a huge concern."
"I don’t know who in their right mind thinks they have the practical skills to run the legislative and executive branches," he said.
It is a strange part of the City Charter, agreed political consultant Alex Clemens.
"Everything about this process strikes me as odd," he said. "San Francisco has not in the past set itself up for an easy and clear succession process, and that is why so many people are so interested. ... For political junkies, it’s the World Series all over again."
For Chiu or the next board president one might think it would be like winning the World Series and the Super Bowl in the blood sport that is San Francisco politics.
But the reality is that the workload would be massive, and the acting mayor may be at the whim of the board, which could replace him or her at any time with six votes for an interim mayor.
"It’s not an ideal situation," Chiu said. "It would be challenging, and there would likely be legal questions that would come up."
Chiu said it’s probably not in the city’s best interests for one person to hold both jobs long term - exactly how long he couldn’t say because the city hasn’t gone through that.
The next board president may have no choice, though, if supervisors can’t agree on a successor mayor.
An acting Mayor Chiu could also appoint a replacement for himself on the board, but then would lose both jobs because he no longer would be board president.
"He would never make such a mistake," board Clerk Angela Calvillo said.
No clear precedent
Many current members of the board have served as acting mayor when Newsom has been out of state, but there hasn’t been an actual mayoral vacancy since the assassination of Mayor George Moscone in 1978. Board President Dianne Feinstein automatically became acting mayor and was named mayor by the board.
Since then, the role of acting mayor has been almost entirely ceremonial. Except for when Supervisor Chris Daly used his acting mayor designation under a Tibet-bound Mayor Willie Brown in 2003 to fill two open seats on the Public Utilities Commission, angering Brown.
"Acting mayor is not ceremonial in any way," Daly said. "Probably a number of days could not go by without needing leadership from the mayor of San Francisco."
But this situation would be far different, Elsbernd pointed out.
"When I’m acting mayor, let’s say there’s an earthquake. I’ve got a cell phone, and I can call the mayor," he said. "In this instance, you’re not calling Lt. Gov. Newsom. This is the real deal."
Schumer, the historian, said Chiu would probably be sworn in in a small, private ceremony without the pomp and circumstance of a formal mayoral inauguration.
What would happen if Chiu was rendered incapable of remaining board president and acting mayor? The Charter used to spell out a line of succession that would have the chair of the budget committee take the post followed by the most senior member of the board. But that was eliminated, and now the board would be back to square one - voting for a board president who would automatically become mayor.
Chiu said he’s still considering the many ramifications of holding the city’s two most powerful offices. But he does know he doesn’t want Newsom’s black hybrid SUV.
He admits it’s a bit premature, "But I do hope the next acting mayor rides a hybrid bike," Chiu said.
So does that mean the mayoral security detail would also be on bikes? Police Chief George Gascón just chuckled at the idea.
"Let’s wait until we get there," Gascón said.
