Did you know that Mayor Ed Lee is in Brazil this week? Well, he is, on a trip bought for him by a flock of high-powered big business donors.
Here's Lee's daily calendar of public events planned for the trip thus far, as sent by his office to the media:
Saturday, March 12, 2016 Mayor Lee to lead LatinSF economic trade mission to Panama City, Panama. Mayor Lee to conduct meetings in Panama City, Panama.Monday, March 14, 2016
Mayor Lee to lead LatinSF economic trade mission to São Paulo, Brazil.Tuesday, March 15, 2016
9:00 AM (Brasília Time)
Mayor Lee to make opening remarks at Zendesk Relate Live conference.
Unique Hotel
4700 Avenida Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, São Paulo, BrazilWednesday, March 16, 2016
Mayor Lee to conduct meetings in São Paulo, Brazil.
Pretty fun, right? According to the Chron's Matier and Ross, the jaunt is "a weeklong business-pump-up junket hosted and paid for by a who’s who in the corporate world." Which totally does not sound suggestive at all.
The trip, which M&R says cost a relatively paltry $6,400, is being paid for by LatinSF, a (per their website) "public-private partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) and the San Francisco Center for Economic Development (SFCED)." Lee launched the agency in 2014 during "his first official trade mission to Latin America," a press release from LatinSF's debut notes.
But who gave LatinSF the dough for Lee's South American adventure? Some pretty big fish, M&R report! Specifically, they say, "Pacific Gas and Electric Co.; Silicon Valley Bank; mega-real-estate brokerage firm Newmark, Cornish and Carey; big-time legal firm Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman; and accounting firm Drummond Advisors."
Following Lee's days is São Paulo, M&R say, he'll go to Rio. Peter Allen would be so proud.