Serving his second term as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, David Chiu stunned many wonk insiders after snatching the coveted SF Chronicle mayoral endorsement. Chiu serves as Supervisor for District 3, which his home to North Beach, Chinatown, Telegraph Hill, Russian Hill, Polk Street, Nob Hill, Union Square, the Financial District, the Barbary Coast and Fisherman's Wharf. He earned his undergraduate degree, law degree, and master's degree in public policy from Harvard University. But wait, there's more... more ›

In their latest move to win the hearts and minds of San Franciscans with slick pop culture references (See also: Chiubacca), Team Chiu has put together a trailer for "Cityball". Which is a fictitious movie that is exactly like Moneyball except not in Oakland and not about baseball. (And not starring Brad Pitt.) Observe: more ›

After subjecting candidates to lengthy endorsement interviews, the editorial staff at the paper of record has emerged from whatever smokey backroom it is they discuss these things in (The Tempest, probably) and announced their picks for Mayor. Although the paper originally endorsed one of Board President David Chiu's opponents in the District Three election back in 2008, the paper has since come around to his "pragmatic and principled" style and his track record as a proven "problem solver" to name give him their #1 vote. The endorsement comes as a bit of a surprise, given that the paper has been fluffing up Ed Lee all year long, but the editorial staff defended their decision: more ›

As we mentioned earlier early voting opened today at City Hall. Right on cue, candidates David Chiu, Joanna Rees and Mayor Ed Lee all showed up to cast their votes. Luckily, one of our favorite photographers-about-town was there to capture all the excitement of watching someone fill out a ballot. We think it's safe to assume everyone listed themselves as their #1 vote. more ›

Jeff Adachi, John Avalos, David Chiu, Bevan Dufty, Dennis Herrera, Joanna Rees, Phil Ting, and Leland Yee will all sport their finest bikinis (or not) during this Saturday's fundraiser car wash for McKinley Elementary School. No word yet if frontrunner Ed Lee will show up for some sudsy fun in the sun, but a boy can dream. Anyway, here are the rules: more ›

Too poor or too interesting to attend this year's Burning Man festivities in the Black Rock Desert? Have no worries. Here's some live streaming to whet your appetite. Arid-looking, yes? Unlike the days of yore, however, this year's Burning Man has plenty of luxe style and artisanal comforts for "[p]eople [who] have less and less time to be radically self-reliant." more ›

The most popular story on the 'Gate right now? That would Matier and Ross's column about the wheelchair ramp to the Board President's chair, currently being constructed in the Board of Supervisors chamber, whose total cost looks to be topping out at about $700,000 after design and construction. It's kind of a symbolic ramp, is the thing, with Chiu -- who doesn't require a wheelchair -- defending the project by saying "San Francisco has been at the forefront of access issues, and it's important the board reflect that." John Avalos was the only supervisor to vote against the project, which, because of issues surrounding the historic room, etc., was originally estimated to cost $1 million. more ›

Supervisors David Chiu and Jane Kim will voyage to the annual art and drug festival in the Nevada desert known as Burning Man. For whatever reason, they plan on spending only 24 hours there, flying there in a private plane. "For several years, I've wanted to visit the Black Rock Desert to learn about how Burning Man is building 21st Century community, creating art, and fostering sustainability," Chiu told the SF Bay Guardian's Steve Jones. more ›

Arriving late to the Pier 38 offices of Automattic yesterday evening for a mayoral candidate forum on Open Government, we caught the tail end of opening remarks from a panel comprised of the nine candidates for mayor that people actually take seriously. The polite debate that followed ostensibly focused on the vague topic of technology, but actually drifted everywhere from Treasure Island development to smartphone apps for Muni Operators. Mostly it was an opportunity for these candidates to see who could toss around the most buzzwords without sounding like a complete tool while their media team set their thumbs on fire tweeting updates and pull-quotes to loyal Internet followers. more ›

The Examiner's Ken Garcia might be bored by the Mayor's Race, but over at the Chronicle the mud has started to fly. After last week's news that some city officials will be getting pay raises despite a budget deficit, former Marina supervisor, current mayoral hopeful and St. Helena homeowner Michela Alioto-Pier has called on city officials to turn them down. Fellow mayoral hopeful, board president and North Beach supe David Chiu already offered to give his back, but on the left progressive candidate and current 1998 Honda Civic owner John Avalos wants to make sure everyone sees this for what it is: Avalos called Alioto-Pier's request "pure, base pandering to the lowest common denominator of the electorate," while explaining to the Chronicle that he is "scraping by" and that his aforementioned Honda Civic is "making a lot of funny noises right now." Car troubles aside, Avalos told the Chronicle he is also prepared to turn down the $2,000 raise. more ›

Oh snap. This morning at AT&T's 739 Folsom office, Phonebook Free SF delivered thousands of unwanted phonebooks to the company's doorstep. See, San Francisco Supervisors and environmental groups are trying to make San Francisco "the first city in the nation to stop unwanted phone book distribution." Even though legislation says that anyone who wants a phonebook can still get one, "corporate interests are mounting a fear campaign and spending big money to kill this legislation." more ›

Have you ever wanted to have an intimate dinner with Supervisor Jane Kim? Ride your bike alongside Supervisor David Chiu? Sup with Supervisor David Campos at Moki's? Well then, head over to to Som on Wednesday (tomorrow!) for the S.F. Board of Supervisors Fundraiser for Japan. In addition to wonks galore, there will be a presentation from the Consulate General of Japan, DJ tunes by local resident B-Haul (Tasty), lots of booze, and a silent auction. Said auction, featuring goodies offered by your Supervisors, will include the following items: more ›

According to Bay City News, a group of about 200 people converged on City Hall today to protest David Chiu's proposed ban on unsolicited Yellow Pages - proving once again that San Francisco can get a crowd together to protest pretty much anything. more ›

Board of Supervisors President and Boston native David Chiu, 40, will toss his hat into mayoral ring today. He plans on making it official at around 11 a.m.-ish. Chiu, if you recall, caused minor waves within elite wonk circles after helping Ed Lee land the interim mayor gig. more ›

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu announced today "that he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the San Francisco District Attorney's job." In yet another closed door meeting with Newsom, Chiu declined the offer, which sparked some surprise within the city's navel-gazing wonk sect. Many suspected Chiu would take the prized gig left vacant by Sate Attorney Kamala Harris. more ›

Yesterday's eight-and-a-half-hour meeting of the Board of Supervisors regarding the vote for interim mayor -- a drama which, as we noted, riveted at least several dozen non-blogging, non-journalist San Franciscans -- culminated in yet another delay, with the final vote happening Friday. However all signs point to Ed Lee getting the job. Who is this Ed Lee, you ask? Why he's our not-oft-spoken-about City Administrator, and he's Gavin's first choice for a "caretaker" mayor. more ›

As we pointed out the other day, the Board of Supervisors is set to select Gavin's successor tomorrow. Technically speaking, the most important vote this board will ever make is to decide whether whether they should use the process designed by Board Clerk Angela Cavillo to select a new Mayor. more ›

We asked who you wanted as the interim San Francisco mayor yesterday. A decent pool of 560 responded to our unscientific poll. The winner? David Chiu. more ›

Last night was the SF Bike Coalition's Annual holiday fund-raising party. How did they raise much-needed cash? With an auction. Matt Smith has the details: A dinner with Board of Supervisors Prez Daivd Chiu ($500!) and a $210 Burning Man ticket combined with a s'mores party ($800!) So, yeah, dinner with a mega-important wonk and munching on too-sweet treats with sand up your ass -- sounds like a blast! No, really, it does. Read more over at SF Weekly. Read more about the SF Bike Coalition at SFBike.org. more ›

In an effort to conserve energy, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu introduced legislation yesterday that "would prohibit downtown commercial buildings from leaving the lights on after hours," according to reports. If passed, Chiu's idea would "require commercial building owners to phase in the darkened skyline over one year," which would make San Francisco the only city in North America to shut off their office building lights at night to converse energy. If your recall, Aaron Peskin introduced similar legislation last year, which failed after the Building Owners and Managers Association of San Francisco gave it a thumbs down. more ›