Alioto-Pier Termed Out of Office

A California Supreme Court decision Wednesday has ended San Francisco  Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier's bid to run for re-election.

The court denied a request by Alioto-Pier for an emergency  review of a recent appeals court ruling against her.

The decision means that Alioto-Pier cannot run for re-election in  District 2 in November and will be termed out of office in January.

"While I am disappointed in the outcome, I of course respect the  judicial process," Alioto-Pier said in a statement. "I will continue to work  hard for the residents of my district and the people of San Francisco for the  remainder of my time in office."

District 2 covers many of the City's northern neighborhoods,  including the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill and part of  the Richmond District.

Alioto-Pier, who has served nearly seven years as supervisor, had  claimed that, because she was initially appointed to the position by the  mayor, her first term should not count under the City charter's two-term  limit for supervisors.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera opposed her position, and although a  superior court judge ruled in Alioto-Pier's favor on July 22, a state appeals  court reversed the decision on Aug. 24, saying she had already served two  full terms.

"Michela Alioto-Pier is someone I've regarded as an ally on  important issues, from protecting public safety to fighting to shut down the  Mirant power plant," Herrera said in a prepared statement this afternoon.

"While we obviously disagreed on the interpretation of the City's  term limits law, I have always respected her right to pursue this dispute in  court," Herrera said.

Herrera had argued that the voter-approved term-limit rule had a  provision that if an appointed supervisor serves more than two years of a  term, it should be rounded up to count as a full four-year term.

Alioto-Pier, however, said, "I believed and continued to believe  that the intent of the voters as reflected in the plain language of our city  charter allows me to run for second four-year term."

Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Alioto-Pier to replace him as  District 2 supervisor in 2004 after he was elected mayor.

Alioto-Pier then won an election in November 2004 to serve out the  remaining two years of the four-year term and was re-elected to another  four-year term in November 2006.

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