Mayor's Office: Kamala Harris Will *Not* Name Her Successor

I didn't say that thing I said...

​Earlier today, SF Weekly noted that reports of Mayor Gavin Newsom allowing District Attorney Kamala Harris to name her own replacement came as a surprise to even the DA's office.

Turns out the mayor was a bit surprised, too.

Mayoral spokesman Tony Winnicker said those reports weren't entirely accurate. The mayor hasn't ceded his responsibility to name the next DA to Harris (and, as SF Weekly noted, only the mayor has the ability to make that appointment). Rather, "What the mayor essentially said is that he would consult with and likely defer to Kamala's recommendation and advice on the district attorney should he be the one to make the appointment," said Winnicker. "And he thinks he'll be the one."

The spokesman said the lieutenant governor-to-be and attorney general-to-be have had a brief discussion about this, but nothing substantive. "They haven't discussed it since she declared victory," he said. "I'm sure they'll be on the same page. It'll be a collaborative decision I'm sure they'll agree on in the end."

In order for Newsom to appoint Harris' successor -- rather than the job falling to Newsom's own successor -- the DA will have to resign before Newsom does. "It could be days, it could be hours, frankly, it could be two minutes," says Winnicker.

When -- or even whether -- this will happen apparently hasn't been a topic of discussion yet. Neither has a list of what names the two could agree on to replace the district attorney. "A lot of people are floating their own names," says Winnicker.

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