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Rules Committee advances charter amendment to require special elections for supervisor vacancies
Summary
The Rules Committee moved Item 1 out to the full Board without a committee recommendation after brief discussion and a public comment in support; the draft would require a special election for supervisor vacancies unless a regular election occurs within 180 days and would bar interim appointees from running.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on June 23 moved a charter amendment on vacancies in the Board of Supervisors to the full Board without a committee recommendation. The measure would require the Department of Elections to hold a special election when a supervisor seat becomes vacant unless a regularly scheduled election will be held within 180 days, require the mayor to appoint an interim supervisor within 28 days, and make that interim appointee ineligible to run in the resulting special election.
Proponents told the committee that the change is intended to expand voter choice and avoid prolonged executive appointments to the legislative body. A District 4 resident, Eileen Bokin, addressed the committee during public comment and called the special election requirement “an investment in democracy,” acknowledging the cost of holding a special election but saying the expense is worthwhile.
The committee’s discussion was brief. A supervisor said the measure had already received multiple hearings and recommended sending it to the full Board for committee consideration. Supervisor Gonzales moved to advance the item out of committee without a recommendation; the motion was seconded and taken without objection.
The charter amendment’s text as introduced also sets an election date (11/08/2016) in the draft and establishes the mayor’s timelines for appointment; the clerk’s introduction described this as the fifth draft. No formal roll-call vote was recorded in the committee transcript; the committee action was taken by unanimous consent. The measure will appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda for July 12, 2016 unless otherwise stated.
