Newsom Camp Split Over Approach to Board

by Randy Shaw via Beyond Chron

Mon, Jul 2, 2007 7:08AM

Monday, July 2, 2007 : The recent debate over Mayor Newsom’s proposed “community court” revealed an ongoing split between the mayor’s political and policy camps. After Board President Aaron Peskin wisely reduced the proposed court’s budget from $750,000 to $500,000, and joined his Budget Committee colleagues in putting the money on reserve, Newsom re-election campaign manager Eric Jaye publicly attacked the move.

Jaye sought to frame the issue as Mayor vs. Board, and said “the mayor’s on the side of the voters.” But Julian Potter, Newsom’s top policy advisor, expressed “delight” over the Board’s action, noting that it ensured that money would be available once a plan for the court was drafted. Is there a method to Jaye’s madness, or are the Mayor’s political and policy sides at war?

There is one undisputed fact about Mayor Newsom’s proposed community court for the Tenderloin and South of Market: it is an idea in search of a specific operational plan. Board President Aaron Peskin was not alone in reaching this conclusion after speaking to all of the relevant players in the court system and mayor’s office; Newsom policy director Julian Potter confirmed that there is “no detailed plan for the court” and that “all we have right now is models from other cities.”

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