Sep 26, 2007 2:42 am US/Pacific
SF Supe Jew Suspended After Shakedown Accusations
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
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San Francisco Superviser Ed Jew
AP
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Carmen Chu was named interim Supervisor for District 4
CBS
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom flexed his political muscle on Tuesday, temporarily removing from office a beleaguered city supervisor accused of shaking down small business owners having permit problems.
Newsom replaced District 4's Ed Jew on the 11-member Board of Supervisors in the interim with Carmen Chu, 29, deputy director of the mayor's budget office.
Federal prosecutors last Friday charged Jew, 47, with one felony count of fraud for allegedly demanding $80,000 in payments from owners of several Quickly tapioca drink outlets in the city. Jew pleaded not guilty to the charge and is
currently free on $1 million bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 11 before U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Laporte.
Newsom, who has called on Jew to resign, said he believed that Jew could no longer do his job effectively while defending himself from legal charges. He said the supervisor needs to focus on his family and individual future.
"Following the process of the (city) charter, I have decided to replace and discharge Supervisor Ed Jew," Newsom said at a news conference. "Enough is enough, we need to move on. We need to focus on the business of governing and
move away from sideshow political theater."
Jew had earlier pleaded not guilty to nine state felony charges of perjury and election code violations for allegedly lying about living in the Sunset District of the city and being qualified to run for supervisor last year. His pending trial in San Francisco Superior Court on those charges is scheduled for Oct. 26.
City officials served Jew with the legal documents suspending him from office at 8:48 a.m. at his flower shop at Waverly Place, in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown.
City Attorney Dennis Herrera noted that Jew had not been permanently removed from office, merely suspended.
The city charter gives Newsom the authority to suspend supervisors for "official misconduct." Under the charter, San Francisco's Ethics Commission is required to hold a hearing on Jew's suspension, then forward its recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The board has 30 days to ratify the suspension and remove Jew from office permanently.
Chu will not have a vote in the decision to remove Jew, board of supervisors President Aaron Peskin said. In order to remove Jew from the board, nine out of the remaining 10 board members must vote to do so.
"We are weighing all our options," said Jew's attorney Steven Gruel.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press and Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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