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Supervisors advance four Arts Commission appointments amid pressure to push Mexican Museum project
Summary
The Rules Committee forwarded four Arts Commission appointments to the full Board and tabled their paired ‘reject’ motions after questioning appointees about cultural equity and whether the commission will press to move the long-delayed Mexican Museum project forward.
The Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee voted on May 19 to forward four mayoral appointees to the San Francisco Arts Commission and table related motions rejecting those same nominees, while several supervisors pressed appointees to do more to support stalled cultural projects including the Mexican Museum.
The committee read items 1–8 on the agenda — paired motions to approve and to reject reappointments and appointments for Cass Calder Smith, John Callaway, Amy Chung and Leo Chao — then invited each candidate to describe their qualifications and answer supervisors’ questions. Chair Daley and supervisors framed the hearing around whether new and reappointed commissioners would use the commission’s authority to advance projects and ensure cultural equity.
Cass Calder Smith, who identified himself as an architect and chair of the Arts Commission’s civic design review committee, described the commission’s three-stage review (concept, design development, construction documents) and said the bulk of the work is done at the committee level. He told supervisors he would seek higher design standards while trying not to create bottlenecks in project delivery.
Supervisor David Campos and others focused questioning on the Mexican Museum, a long-delayed project that several supervisors and public commentators said has a complex history of funding and developer involvement. Calder Smith said the museum had not come before his committee during his short tenure and that, while the commission often cannot directly control a project's funding or redevelopment decisions, he was willing to bring it forward for informational review and to “nudge” projects where appropriate.
John Callaway, reappointed from the arts education community, emphasized equity in arts access and said he would use his background in school arts programs to bridge the Arts Commission and the school district. Amy Chung highlighted her community arts work in the Chinese community and said she would collaborate with other commissioners to support broader cultural projects. Leo Chao, an architect with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, emphasized professional independence and said large developers have both an opportunity and responsibility to contribute to community projects.
Multiple public commenters — including leaders of the Bayview Opera House and the arts task force — spoke in favor of the nominees and underscored the importance of community arts funding and access.
Supervisor Chiu moved to forward items 1, 3, 5 and 7 (the approval motions for Calder Smith, Callaway, Chung and Chao) to the full board with positive recommendations and to table items 2, 4, 6 and 8 (the paired rejection motions). The motion passed without objection.
What happens next: the appointments will go to the full Board of Supervisors for final confirmation; supervisors and community advocates said they expect continued oversight requests, including hearings, if the Mexican Museum or similar cultural projects stall again.
