Ed Lee Mayor Race: San Francisco Greets New Candidate With Cold Reception (VIDEO)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Since he officially announced his candidacy Monday, San Francisco has been buzzing with the news that acting Mayor Ed Lee will indeed seek a full term -- and the city hasn't given its new contender the warmest welcome.

Lee was greeted with boos, hisses and air horns during Monday night's mayoral debate at the Castro Theatre (so much so that the moderator told the audience to "stop booing the mayor," according to SF Appeal). That same morning, as Lee filed papers at City Hall to confirm his place in the race, a man was arrested for interrupting the scene, loudly heckling the mayor for "breaking his oath."

(SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO)

The cold reception comes after months of speculation as to whether Ed Lee -- whom the Board of Supervisors appointed as interim mayor to fill the position vacated by Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom in January -- would declare his candidacy for a full mayoral term. The decision to tap Lee as temporary mayor at the time hinged partially on his disinterest in running for a four-year term.

Earlier rumors of Lee's possible candidacy created sharp divides among San Francisco politicos, with some local leaders (like Senator Dianne Feinstein) championing a run, and others (like former supervisor Chris Daly) lambasting the mayor for "feigning" reluctance, suggesting his original intention was to enter the race all along. Meanwhile, the community-organized "Run Ed Run" campaign, which generated 51,000 supporters and the Chronicle revealed to be funded by powerful interest groups, dismantled upon Lee's declaration.

Much of the resistance to Lee's candidacy announcement came from the crop of other mayoral hopefuls, who chided him during Monday's debate for changing his mind to run. "He didn't change his mind, he broke his word," Supervisor John Avalos said.

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu questioned the ethics behind the "Run, Ed, Run" push. State Senator Leland Yee asked Lee to resign now that he has "broken his promise." City Attorney Dennis Herrera highlighted Lee's pattern of succumbing to external pressures, citing the fact that he initially resisted the interim mayor position until advisers convinced him otherwise. "Will he be his own man in the future, and stand up and say no and take unpopular positions?" Herrera said. "That's what this race is all about."

Perhaps the sharpest criticism following Lee's announcement came not from a fellow candidate, but from Daly, who has vocally opposed Lee's potential candidacy from the beginning. "Ed Lee is a liar and should be greeted as such," he wrote in the description of his new Facebook group, "Ed Lee's a Liar," which orchestrated protests outside both City Hall and the Castro Theatre Monday. The man arrested while Lee filed papers is listed as a co-founder of Daly's Facebook group.

For his part, Lee maintains that he's done nothing wrong and simply wants to serve the people of San Francisco. "I've worked very hard to change the tone of government in the city," he said during Monday's debate, "and the last seven months showed we can get a lot done when we set politics aside."

A recent CBS News poll showed Ed Lee leading the pack of candidates, with 35 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him if the election were held today.

WATCH (courtesy of CBS News):

Comments

[gypsy508]

08:20 AM on 08/13/2011

Lee's only strength as mayor was that he wasn't a candidate. Now he's just another politician.

[toughlove]

03:55 PM on 08/11/2011

Ed Lee, the best of the worst in the Mayor's race. I was at first hesitant to even think of voting for Ed, but now after the attacks by some Board of Supervisors and other Mayor candidates has made me rethink the possibility that I may actually vote for him.

[NamithaSF]

01:06 PM on 08/11/2011

That's "interim mayor lee". Thank you.

[goodog]

12:15 PM on 08/11/2011

57 comments after three days at the top of the page means that this is a non-story of no national interest.

It's time to apply some editorial proportion and perspective and move on. Local pique over this provincial personality clash is not catching fire.

[sfsoma]

12:06 PM on 08/11/2011

Ed Lee deserves to be booed. He is nothing more than a tool of PakBrown and Chamber of commerce.

[Romeo Yere]

06:53 AM on 08/12/2011

So you're a David Campos supporter then.

Of course, you also have those two Hispanic socialists Dennis Herrera and John Avalos to choose from, both of whom have already announced their candidacy.

Either way, liberal San Francisco is screwed again.

Can't the sanctuary, asylum city of San Francisco come up with better candidates than these clowns or are these the only ones they have??

LMAO

[inmyhumbleopinion]

07:31 PM on 08/10/2011

OMG, who even listens to Chris Daly anymore? Notice how well the Board of Supervisors is working now that he's out?

Ed Lee is probably the sanest thing to happen to SF politics ever. Even though I live in the SF 'burbs, I'm glad he's running.

[mayacanogop]

05:22 PM on 08/10/2011

Just another example of “Liberal Fascism” and why do Huffingtpost censores keep on censoring
To explain Lefties or Metro White Elite Liberals are always vigilant towards suppression of freedom of speech when Conservatives use law enforcement to disperse crowed and individuals when protesting and use terms as Big Brother The Regime stopping on people’s rights suppressing independent voices. Yet this example clearly demonstrates a literal brown shirt example the left talked about conservatives. The song “California Uber Ale”s by the Dead Kennedys explains the hypocrisy of the left when it comes to suppressing freedom of speech don’t you say in fact it was mocking Jerry Brown

[Dan Vee]

06:25 PM on 08/11/2011

I don't think I want to trust Jello Biafra for political advice. The dude ended up suing everybody for his greedy self and became a parody.
And if you don't agree with the articles on the HuffPost...then why are you on here?
Go on the Fox Website, you'll make plenty of friends there.

[mayacanogop]

05:01 PM on 08/10/2011

Just another example of “Liberal Fascism”
A literal brown Black shirt example the left talked about conservatives. The song “California Uber Ale”s by the Dead Kennedys explains the hypocrisy of the left and wonder if MSNBC will cover this. ..............not

[deborahjoybrat]

04:38 PM on 08/10/2011

Boo Booo Booooooooooooooo!

[LibertyRoy]

04:25 PM on 08/10/2011

Hahahaha! love it. Boo away!

[Bud Budha]

03:27 PM on 08/10/2011

My vote is for Eric the Midget Acor, er!

[NamithaSF]

03:25 PM on 08/10/2011

There is a facebook page I found that is logging many of the SF Mayoral debates. It has mostly videos including the one this week at the Castro Theatre.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100002617118975&sk=wall

[scipio2009]

03:22 PM on 08/10/2011

I don't care what anyone else has to say: I've already found my choice to be the next Mayor of San Francisco, and that man is Mayor Ed Lee!

[mothergrace]

01:52 PM on 08/10/2011

Oh please, my comment is "pending" since yesterday morning?

Honestly.

Lee has an unfair advantage running as an incumbent for an office to which he was appointed, not elected.

I think it is perfectly fine if people voice their displeasure over his broken promise which was a large part of why he was appointed in the first place.

Maybe the two will balance out.

[NamithaSF]

03:24 PM on 08/10/2011

Wow, you and I agree on something. I will vote for Tony Hall, Joanna Rees, and Alioto-Pier in that order.

Lee is a Rose Pak/Willie Brown stooge. He takes credit for the sun rising.

[WHTrout]

11:50 AM on 08/10/2011

For me, there are two reasons not to vote for Ed Lee --
1) Willie Brown
2) Rose Pak
If those two are pushing for Lee's election, you just KNOW that there has been a lot of underhanded back-room "deals" and exchange of money. Because that's just how Brown and Pak operate. Their support for Lee makes me look for another candidate for mayor.