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:

In a sense, the choice between Lee and Chiu is underscored in their campaign slogans: "gets it done" versus "shaking things up." The question is: Which candidate is most likely to do both? San Francisco needs both.

This is where Chiu gets the clear edge. It's hard to imagine Lee going into the bureaucracy he managed for two decades and radically streamlining the workforce structures and contractor relationships associated with a government of 26,000 employees. We certainly haven't seen it during his time in the mayor's office. Lee has talked about a goal of reducing the city workforce by at least 5 percent, but one would think he would be pitching the idea with more forcefulness and specificity if it were a top priority.

Chiu makes "shaking things up" a point of emphasis. If elected, he would have a mandate to make city government more efficient and effective.

Or as Chiu himself put it, "Part of the reason I'm running for mayor is my incredible frustration at trying to manage sideways." So there, you go - David Chiu hates being sideways. (That might explain why he spent 25 hours on his feet from Monday to Tuesday.)

The Chronicle staff also liked Chiu's leadership on the Board of Supervisors and his work pushing through approvals on Hunters Point, Parkmerced and Treasure Island developments.

As for the other 10 candidates, the paper declined to state second and third choice votes, instead providing "brief assesments" of the other serious candidates.

We here at SFist, as you know, don't impose our endorsements on you good folks because we're sure you are all unique individuals with the capacity to make important decisions on your own, but we should point out that Supervisor Chiu has been sitting at the bottom of the Board of Supervisors Power Rankings for some time now. We may have been preoccupied with other matters though.

[Chron]