San Franciscans may not have Supervisor Chris Daly to kick around much longer -- term limits mean he can't run for his current job again, and his wife and kids have headed off to the suburbs.
Sarah Low-Daly and the couple's children have moved into a home a couple doors down from where Low-Daly grew up in Fairfield, California.
In a statement, Daly said that the decision hinged on what the family felt was best for the children:
Even though Sarah and the kids make frequent visits to the City, it is tough to be apart from my family. But Sarah and I are determined to do what is best for our kids - which means moving them closer to multi-generational family support.
The supervisor assured his constituents that he's still biking to work from his old place, and may keep the Mission pied-à-terre even after his term expires.
Daly, popular in his own district if no other and a vocal critic of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's administration, is known for both his wit and his temper (and his cocktail mixing).
Loved and hated with equal passion, detractors are having a field day with the announcement with catcalls of "carpetbagger."
As San Francisco Weekly points out, "While folks who demonize Chris Daly are often far more unpleasant than Daly on his worst day -- you have to admit he's given them some great material to work with here."
After all, former San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew was convicted of perjury for lying about living in San Francisco, so the issue is a touchy subject.
Then again, Daly's brand of political theater was rarely one of cynical calculation, and it's a bit of a disservice to his family to assume that the decision was his alone.
Photo by Hasan Diwan.
Jackson West figures at least Daly can't be called a careerist politician.
