San Francisco News Blog

The vote pertained to a subject we covered earlier this year: the Navy's dissolution of the Restoration Advisory Board, a citizen's group that oversaw the military's clean-up of the radioactive waste at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The RAB members had turned against each other -- one half accuse the other half of grandstanding at the cost of getting anything done, the other half accuse the others of rubber-stamping the Navy's plans. After much rancor, the Navy couldn't take the chaos anymore and shut the board down. 

At Tuesday's board meeting, Supervisor John Avalos introduced legislation urging the Navy to resurrect the RAB. Maxwell stepped in with an amendment to give the Navy the option of creating other forums for community outreach -- just like the Navy has already been doing since taking away the soap box from its most vociferous critics.
 
"Who's to say we want the same people that have been on there the last 10, 15, 20 years?" Maxwell said at the meeting. "There needs to be some way of invigorating that group."

The legislation, with Maxwell's amendment included, passed 9-2. Former members of the RAB were at the ready to call for her recall.

Daniel Landry, who joined the RAB earlier this year right before the Navy shut it down, excoriated her: "If we can get signatures and get Prop. F on the ballot, surely we can recall a deadbeat supervisor," he said, referencing the failed 2008 ballot measure to force the Lennar corporation to include 50 percent affordable housing in its shipyard housing development. "So Ms. Maxwell, we thank you for doing nothing, and it's time for us to relieve you of your duty, and you will have the most painful last year of your remaining term in San Francisco history."

Board president David Chiu reminded the speakers they must address the entire board, not just one member. Then, Francisco Da Costa, another Bayview activist who has called for Maxwell's recall in the past, continued in more oblique terms: "Someone has to go, and the sooner someone goes the better."

On Wednesday, Da Costa then hit up indybay.org, to rant some more: "This woman must go -- and a letter of intent will be sent. Followed by the signatures what ever is required 10,000 signatures or more to complete the action and shut out the good for nothing B****. Time to send this big fat cow to the pastures."

But according to e-mails circulated within the Bayview's activist community, it seems not everyone is on the same page. Some detractors pointed out that Mayor Gavin Newsom would get to appoint Maxwell's replacement -- not a savory prospect for the district's progressives. Wrote activist Eric Brooks in the e-mail chain: "We musn't recall Sophie. It's just too dangerous." Brooks instead suggested "let's see if we can catch her in corruption and criminally prosecute her."

Maxwell's office says they haven't detected any signs that the effort is moving forward beyond e-flailing. "There hasn't been any traction," said Alice Guidry, one of Maxwell's aides. "Anything can happen but I don't think that's going to happen."

It hardly ever does. 

Photo   |   Jim Herd