By Patrick Hope : sfexaminer – excerpt (includes audio track)
Some people say the post of mayor of San Francisco is one of the strongest of its kind in the nation; others insist it has been so hobbled by voter-approved restrictions that nobody could do the job effectively.
The question, central to the current mayor’s race, reflects the historic tug-of-war in San Francisco over how much authority should rest with The City’s elected chief executive versus other arms of city government — notably the Board of Supervisors — especially since 1996, when voters most recently approved a City Charter.
That was the year that the legendary Willie Brown began the first of his two controversial terms as mayor, a tenure that many cite today as an example of what a powerful and effective executive can be — but which rankled others who perceived a culture of corruption…(more)