San Francisco's New Interim Mayor Says London Breed Had 'Too Much Power'
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- There are allegations about backroom dealing in the selection of San Francisco's new interim mayor.
"I'm absolutely saying it was a backroom deal," said San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen.
So is there any truth to the allegations?
Farrell spent his first day as the city's new, interim mayor after his surprise promotion doing one of the harder parts of the job: touring a fire scene.
"Making sure that the businesses owners that have been affected by the fires know the city is 100 percent behind them," Farrell said.
Farrell, a native San Franciscan and two-term supervisor from the Marina and Pacific Heights, knows that fires of resentment are still burning back at city hall over his fellow supervisors' vote to remove Acting Mayor London Breed, and put him in her place.
The feeling being that if Breed stayed on as acting mayor, it would give her a leg up over her rivals.
"I understand the emotion that was in the room last night. I heard it and felt it," Farrell said.
And he may be hearing about it for some time.
Supervisor Cohen said, "It's going to be a problem for Acting Mayor Farrell. He is going to experience a lot of resistance on the Board of Supervisors."
"To me that is too much power in one person's hand. There needs to be checks and balances," Farrell said.
Farrell made it clear that he plans to continue the middle of the road policies of former Mayor Ed Lee on housing, homelessness and public safety.
"Absolutely, one of my core missions is to continue his legacy," Farrell said.
