Dec 3, 2008 7:06 pm US/Pacific
Newsom Touts SF Shopping, But Buys SUV In Colma
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / KCBS) ―
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
AP
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom stopped off in Noe Valley Wednesday to try to drum up business for neighborhood merchants.
The mayor and officials with the Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel Council urged people to come into the city to shop for Christmas presents at holiday discounts. There should be plenty of bargains, said Newsom who was also touting a series of promotions and discounts available on the website
onlyinSanFrancisco.com.
The trouble is that one of the most visible purchases for the Mayor this year -- his official Chevy Tahoe Hybrid SUV -- wasn't bought in San Francisco at all. The $51,000 was spent at a car dealership in Colma.
On Wednesday, CBS 5 asked him why the purchase wasn't made in the city.
"I have no idea. I just candidly -- thanks for the gotcha question -- I don't have a clue,' said Newsom.
It's not trivial issue to the people who run Ellis Brooks Chevrolet on Van Ness Avenue, which is about to shut-down its new car business after 69 years.
"I think it's wrong for any of our city officials to buy anything outside the city," said Marie Brooks of Ellis Brooks Autos.
"I did not have anything to do with the purchase of that car. I said I want to get a hybrid. I want to get out of the internal combustion business. I said get me a hybrid. It took 2 years to get it," responded Newsom. "I don't have a clue. That's the answer, and I think it's an important story."
Afterwards, the mayor wouldn't even get back into his SUV while CBS 5's camera was rolling. He walked around Noe Valley instead.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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