Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Golden Gate Appointments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rules Committee Continues Labor-Backed Golden Gate Bridge Appointment After Heated Exchange
Summary
After extensive public testimony from labor unions and a sharp exchange between Chair Chris Daly and nominee Larry Mazzola Jr., the Rules Committee continued a labor-backed appointment to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District to the call of the chair (roll call: 2–1 on an amendment).
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on March 19 continued action on a labor-backed appointment to the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District after a daylong hearing that drew dozens of union speakers and a heated exchange between the committee chair and the nominee.
Chair Chris Daly opened the discussion on the two Golden Gate seats and heard an incumbent director outline priorities including a suicide-deterrent project, seismic retrofit work and long-term revenue challenges facing the District. Labor candidate Larry Mazzola Jr. presented his application emphasizing job protection for union workers, safety standards for bridge projects and support for bridge-related capital investments.
Why it matters: The Golden Gate Bridge District oversees major safety and capital programs — including the suicide barrier and Doyle Drive work — and its funding choices affect tolls, ferry and bus operations and large construction contracts across the Bay Area. The composition of the board also reflects a long-standing practice of reserving a seat for labor representation.
During the meeting, Mazzola and Chair Daly clashed over a March 9 letter from Mazzola that Daly said contained "inaccuracies, distortions and inconsistencies." Daly said he had reviewed the video and transcript and that he had to "point by point, dismantle" the assertions. Mazzola defended the letter as an honest reflection of how he felt at the time, saying he had written from his perspective and without access to the transcript when he drafted it.
Labor turnout was heavy: more than a dozen union leaders and representatives — including speakers identifying themselves with Local 38, the Carpenters, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and other building trades councils — urged supervisors to approve Mazzola as the labor representative. Supporters stressed his union experience and his commitment to worker safety for bridge projects.
Supervisors debated competing priorities: the value of incumbency and institutional knowledge on regional boards versus the technical transportation expertise of other applicants. In floor action, a motion related to Labor’s preferred candidate was amended to a continuance to the call of the chair; the amendment’s roll call recorded Supervisor Chu voting No and Supervisors Campos and Daly voting Aye. The committee continued the labor appointment to the call of the chair.
What’s next: The committee continued the item; the chair indicated the panel will consider additional labor nominees or return the item to the calendar when further work between labor and the Board has occurred.
Sources: Committee testimony and public comment at the Rules Committee meeting on March 19; supervisors’ floor roll-call on the amendment.
