Only one question was submitted to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee by the Board of Supervisors during his voter-mandated appearance Tuesday, bringing up concerns about whether changes should be made to the process.
The monthly appearances in front of the board were required by the city’s voters, nearly 60 percent of whom approved Proposition C in November 2010.
But the call for the public meetings between the mayor and supervisors came during the term of then-Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had a more contentious relationship with the board than Lee.
Since they took effect after Newsom was elected lieutenant governor and was replaced by Lee, the meetings have featured scripted five-minute answers to questions provided by supervisors a week in advance.
The board was given the power to formulate the rules for the mayor’s appearances and chose the more scripted proceedings.
“We should think about ways to make it more interactive,” Campos said before today’s meeting, although he said he was not sure if making any changes would have the support of a majority of the supervisors.
The only question asked by the board today was by Carmen Chu, who asked what the city was doing to promote economic growth along Taraval Street in her district.
It was the first time that only one question had been asked to the mayor by the board.
Lee jokingly thanked the other supervisors for their lack of questions, and continued the joking while speaking to reporters outside board chambers.
“Maybe they’re quite satisfied by my answers and they get shorter,” he said.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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