Faced with tight transition, Mayor-elect Bass invites Garcetti staff to stay on through April, but would let an outside advisor run through the process with him
San Francisco mayors go into their post-election transition meetings, and one of the first tasks of the new mayor will be to ensure that the next administration can get the job done. It’s an unprecedented challenge for the new leader to be able to work with his or her predecessor’s staff to make sure the transition goes smoothly.
The incoming mayor of San Francisco, London Breed, made it clear from the night she officially took office that her transition team would consist of members from across the political spectrum.
She was also careful to make sure she kept her transition team intact, by inviting former colleagues or staff members into key transition roles to help her smooth the way.
Some of the new mayor’s transition team members will be her close advisers, political consultants, and friends who will help her make the transition to office. But she will also invite outside advisers.
“The mayor-elect will welcome the opportunity to bring together her team and her closest advisers to ensure that the incoming administration can get the job done,” Breed spokeswoman Nicole Wong said.
While Mayor-elect Breed won’t officially reveal the team’s members for weeks, she has said they will be people from across party lines.
“I have never worked with more diverse groups of people who are talented, hardworking, and dedicated to the city of San Francisco,” she said. “The transition team will be comprised of people who are diverse in race and ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation and in political party.”
So far, most prominent transition team members have been people from the mayor’s political team, including:
Mayor London Breed’s chief of staff, Mark Squilla, who was her chief of staff during the campaign and during the transition; former San Francisco city attorney and Mayor Ed Lee’s chief of staff