[mt_climber13]

The mayor is weak. That's what it boils down to.

And it's not about laws or charters. Any mayor can grant themselves powers via executive orders.

One of my favorite stories is how Mayor Daley of Chicago handled a decrepit building that was proposed to be demolished for new development but which was arbitrarily deemed "historic" by some "concerned citizens."

He had it bulldozed in the middle of the night so that there would be no demonstrations. In the morning, it was gone. Now there was nothing left to fight about. (Pagoda Theatre is calling...)

Willie Brown had similar strategies while developing the AT&T Park area. He was actually a quite effective leader at getting what he wanted done.

A mayor is elected by the majority of the citizenry. It isn't right that a city official elected by a few thousand people can block or destroy development that is to benefit the entire city.

Lee and Newsom have been very fragile leaders on a whole string of issues. They were and are afraid to stand up to the (and I'll be nice here) "fringe" element of San Francisco which is far from the majority, yet which always manages to make that city a laughing stock on a national scale with their insane policies.