Those who follow every moderate-liberal-vs-progressive chess move in S.F.'s political landscape should probably find themselves a more compelling hobby. But if you are one of those people, the coming weeks should provide some mild excitement on the level of C-Span, or a PTA meeting. As the Chron explains, two things will be happening: the mayor needs to appoint an interim replacement for David Chiu's job as Supervisor of District 3, which includes North Beach, Chinatown, and Telegraph Hill; then the Board needs to vote by January 8 on who will be the next Board President — a job that comes with a certain amount of backroom power because of the ability to stack three-person committees with like-minded allies.

Chiu has already put on the agenda for Tuesday, November 18, a vote on an interim Board President to preside over the two meetings he'll be missing in December when he goes off to become an Assemblymember.

And it seems likely that whoever is chosen for the interim slot will continue to hold the President's chair in January.

According to Chuck Nevius, that person is looking more and more likely to be Jane Kim. He got Rose Pak on the horn, and Rose sounds pretty confident Jane will get the job. "What’s wrong with Jane Kim?” she asks. “Who the hell do [the moderates] want? She’s smart, she’s reasonable, she’s balanced, she’s well-liked by her colleagues, and she won’t be rubber-stamping everything (investor and Lee supporter) Ron Conway wants."

But this kind of depends on who lands in the District 3 seat, because that person becomes a deciding vote between the 5-person moderate and liberal blocs. A favorite for the job, and the one Rose Pak is gunning for, is Planning Commission President Cindy Wu, who'd apparently be likely to vote with the progressives.

Meanwhile, per city rules governing term limits, if Mayor Lee appoints someone to the seat before January 9, they can only serve six years, but if he waits until January 9, they can serve for 10, as the Examiner notes.

Is everyone asleep yet?