SF Mayor Lee Not Interested In China Ambassador Position

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — San Francisco's Mayor Ed Lee said he is not interested in becoming the next U.S. ambassador to China.

This week, Gary Locke, the current ambassador, announced that he's stepping down from the post.

Mayor Ed Lee is in China now for his second official visit to that country since becoming mayor.

An article in Thursday morning's San Francisco Chronicle focused on speculation Lee might be tapped for the State Department job.

Lee's spokeswoman, Christine Falvey told KCBS, however, that he's not interested. She said Lee wants to stay mayor of San Francisco.

Another possible Bay Area candidate could be former State Controller Steve Westly who was on President Obama's short list for the job back in 2008.

Westly has NOT returned calls for comment to KCBS.