San Francisco Mayor Royally Rewards Loyalty

Well, this might explain the dismissal of Alfredo Pedroza and Alex Randolph from San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's Office of Neighborhood Services: They weren't big supporters of Newsom's failed campaign for governor of California financially, with one donating only $200 and the other nothing at all.

Yashar Hedayat, the wealthy son of a rich Chicago family with only a high school diploma and no experience as a public servant, however, donated both time and money generously to the campaign -- and is now the mayor's Deputy Chief of Staff.

Pedroza and Randolph will be replaced by Nicholas Panagopoulos, who also worked on Newsom's campaign. Other Newsom campaign veterans with no municipal government experience getting City Hall appointments are new Government affairs assistant Joaquin Torres and mayoral policy advisor Jason Elliott.

All four are getting paid less than their predecessors, and Newsom told the San Francisco Chronicle the staff reductions and pay cuts are "how I lead by example" as the city continues to face massive budget deficits.

If only we could all take his example and jet off to Hawaii for the holidays! Newsom will be spending time with wife Jennifer Siebel-Newsom, baby daughter Montana Tessa Newsom at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island over the holidays.

Jackson West is in the Pacific Northwest for the holidays, and man is it cold and wet, just like he remembers.