Mayoral Candidates Compete to Praise Suhr

Support indicates new police chief will stay on after Lee steps down
By: Gerry Shih

The leading candidates to become San Francisco's next mayor rallied behind Greg Suhr, the 30-year veteran who was sworn in Wednesday as the city's new police chief.

The broad display of support suggests that Suhr will continue to lead the San Francisco Police Department after interim Mayor Ed Lee, who made the appointment, steps down in January. The next mayor will have the authority to name his own police chief. 

City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and former Supervisor Bevan Dufty -- all of whom have declared themselves as candidates -- gushed over Suhr.

“I can’t imagine a better choice to lead the San Francisco Police Department,” Herrera said. “I fully anticipate that he’s going to be there to provide the continuity and consistency that the police department needs, and I’m hopeful that it’s going to be a long-term basis.”

Chiu said he was “confident that Chief Suhr has the experience and vision to lead the department in the long run.”

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Another leading candidate, state Sen. Leland Yee, also responded positively to the selection. "As a Supervisor, I worked closely with Greg when he was captain of the Mission District and I have seen him effectively reduce crime in the Bayview," Yee said in a statement. "He has the skills to effectively lead the department."

City officials who have spoken to Lee say the mayor hoped to leave behind a long-term pick with enough broad political support to remain in the post.

"While I'm an interim mayor, I don't make interim decisions," Lee said at Suhr’s swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday. In the weeks leading up to the appointment, the mayor reportedly interviewed Suhr twice and spoke to City Hall officials extensively to gauge their opinions.

In addition, officials said, the mayor sought a chief who commanded the respect of rank-and-file officers and could enforce discipline following an embarrassing scandal last year involving illegal drug raids at SRO hotels.

Lee also did himself a favor on another front: the delicate pension reform negotiations that Lee has said would define his legacy as mayor.

The appointment came with Lee in the final stages of stitching together support among the city’s public unions for his pension reform initiative. The talks nearly fell apart three weeks ago, but Lee has since repaired ties with all of the unions except the Service Employees International Union Local 1021.

Gary P. Delagnes, the head of the police union, said that he was “very open with the mayor very early” that the union strongly backed Suhr to lead the department, and that Lee could demonstrate his good faith on other issues, like pension reform, by making the pick.

 

 

“I don’t know if that was a major factor in his decision,” said Delagnes, “but if Greg hadn’t gotten the job, it would’ve affected the relationship between myself and the mayor because he obviously wouldn’t take my counsel on something that I have to say about.”

The mayoral candidates’ support for Suhr will likely also be swayed by pressure from the police union, which is one of the most generous donors in San Francisco political races.

“I’ve spoken to all the major candidates on this topic and every one of them assured me that they were fine with Greg Suhr,” Delagnes said. “Regardless of who wins the mayor’s race, I wouldn’t expect any changes.”

Beyond the political considerations, Suhr’s appointment has been met with widespread approval from the police commission, District Attorney George Gascón and even some of the police department’s natural opponents.

Terrance Alan, a lobbyist with the city’s nightlife and entertainment industry, which has continually clashed with the police force for the better part of the past five years, said recently that Suhr’s appointment would be “a godsend.”

Suhr, a native who attended St. Ignatius Preparatory and the University of San Francisco, brings some baggage as part of his long history on the force. His relationship with former Chief Heather Fong was notoriously poor. In 2006, she exiled him to a post near the city’s Hetch Hetchy water supply. In 2009, she demoted him from deputy chief for not promptly reporting a domestic-violence incident involving a female friend, even though the friend said Suhr saved her life.

Suhr was also indicted in 2003 for allegedly obstructing an investigation involving off-duty officers who allegedly beat up a man in the Mission District over Mexican food. That charge was later dismissed.

But Suhr made plenty of friends during the time he headed the department’s patrol operations, as well as when he captained the Mission Station and later the Bayview Station.

“He taught me what community policing was,” said Dufty, the mayoral candidate. “Greg has touched every corner of this city.”

Jeff Adachi, the public defender who most recently criticized the police for raiding SRO rooms without warrants, said he had known Suhr for almost two decades.

“Greg is somebody who understands the pressures of being a police officer, but at the same time he’s experienced enough to know it’s better to play by the rules,” said Adachi.

Having observed Suhr handle the police department’s internal politics, Adachi called the new chief a “consummate professional.

“I remember when he’s been up and when he’s been down,” said Adachi. “When things happened to him he wouldn’t lash out, he would just be a good soldier.”