Feb 10, 2009 11:51 pm US/Pacific
SF Supes Override Newsom Veto Of Special Election
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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The board of supervisors chambers is shown at City Hall in San Francisco. In the foreground are supervisors Chris Daly, second from left, and Ross Mirkarimi, right.
AP
San Francisco supervisors Tuesday overrode a mayoral veto and set a June 2 date for a special election to address the city's fiscal emergency, but may under a new resolution consider pushing the election date off until the end of August.
Supervisors rejected Mayor Gavin Newsom's veto of the June 2 special election by an 8-2 vote this afternoon. Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Carmen Chu voted against the override, and Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier was absent for Tuesday's meeting.
The city faces a $576 million budget deficit, by current estimates. The special election itself is expected to cost the city $3 to $4 million.
After a meeting Sunday between supervisors and representatives from the labor, business and small business communities that was widely praised Tuesday as a helpful dialogue, Board President David Chiu introduced legislation that could set the special election date as far back as Aug. 31.
Chiu said he was interested in building a "citywide consensus" on how to best address the budget crisis, while keeping the June 2 election date as an option.
Chiu said Monday that both business and labor representatives agreed at Sunday's meeting that any economic package must include "structural reforms, layoffs and wage concessions, and new revenues." He said he would support a later election date if there were "more firm agreement on elements of a plan."
Among various tax measures being considered, Supervisor John Avalos has proposed a gross receipts tax on large corporations and a half-cent sales tax. He said both could raise more than $100 million for the city.
Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard has said the mayor favors spending reductions and budgetary reforms over tax increases.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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