Jerry Brown is not mincing words about San Francisco’s latest attempt to redraw the political rulebook. The former governor this week blasted a proposed city charter amendment that would permanently block former mayors and supervisors from returning to those offices, calling the lifetime ban “a bad idea” that would stigmatize public servants. Brown, who is 87 and still comes into the city regularly, argued the change would deny voters the chance to bring back seasoned officials and would strip the charter amendment process of any sense of dignity. A move by the Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee this week nudged the proposal closer to a full board vote and a possible spot on the June ballot.
According to the Board of Supervisors, the proposal appears on the committee agenda as File 251245, listed as “Charter Amendment - Lifetime Term Limits for Mayor and Members of the Board of Supervisors,” with the chair signaling an intent to send it to the full board for consideration today. The committee placed the measure on yesterday's agenda and noted that the item had been assigned under the 30-day rule after its December introduction.
What the Measure Would Do
The amendment would change San Francisco’s current two-term consecutive limits for mayor and supervisors into lifetime term limits for those specific offices. The city’s official Legistar page for File 251245 lists the measure’s sponsors and says it would appear on the June 2 ballot if the Board of Supervisors votes to put it there. If voters approve it, the change would erase the current path that lets former officeholders sit out one election cycle, then run again for the same seat.
Brown’s Critique
In a phone interview with The San Francisco Standard, Brown dismissed the proposal as something that “doesn’t deserve the dignity of the whole process of a charter amendment” and called the stated goal of encouraging younger representation “total nonsense.” He argued that officials who return after time away often bring critical institutional knowledge back with them, pointing to his own long public career as an example of what experience can add. Brown’s political biography and his current life on a ranch in Colusa County are detailed in public records and biographical references such as Wikipedia.
Local Reaction
The measure is already stirring up drama at City Hall. Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who is the only recent example of a supervisor stepping away from the board and later returning, delivered a blistering response, saying “it’s embarrassing to watch these supervisors behave like vindictive, anti-democratic republicans,” according to The San Francisco Standard. The Board’s own records, available through the Board of Supervisors, document Peskin’s earlier service and his political comeback, which is one reason some observers view the measure as targeting specific future returns to office.
What Comes Next
The Legistar file for the proposal lists Supervisor Bilal Mahmood as the sponsor, along with five cosponsors, and shows the item as pending committee action with an expected election date of June 2. With the Rules Committee’s referral, the full board could take up the measure today. If supervisors vote to send it to the ballot, San Franciscans will decide whether to lock lifetime limits into the city charter.
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