Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee often refers to his departments heads as being part of the "city family" – but sometimes the family ties can get a bit complicated.
Take the case of Nicole Elliott, the just-named, $149,459-a-year director of the newly created Office of Cannabis.
Elliot had been the mayor's liaison to the Board of Supervisors. She is also married to Jason Elliott, who was named as the mayor's chief of staff after the recent retirement of longtime top staffer Steve Kawa.
Jason Elliott's elevation to chief of staff, however, meant that Nicole would be reporting directly to her husband if she remained as board liaison, which is against the rules.
To avoid the conflict, Nicole Elliott was transferred to City Administrator Naomi Kelly's office to fill in for Kelly's deputy Bill Barnes. He has taken a leave to assist in Supervisor Jeff Sheehy's campaign to hang onto the District Eight seat next year.
Kelly is the one who picked Nicole Elliott to write the city's recreational pot policies. It's a bit of a risky move – Elliott, who is white, doesn't have all the diversity credentials that some members of the Board of Supervisors were pushing for, and she has no history in the marijuana business.
"It's an important job and a complex one – I hope she is up to the task," said Sheehy, who authored the legislation to create the department.
Supervisor Sandra Fewer said: "Legalization is an opportunity to reinvest in communities that are disproportionately impacted by racist drug laws." The Office of Cannabis, she said, will have a "tremendous responsibility" to come up with ways to "advance equity measures."
Kelly, who is part of another City Hall tandem – her husband is Harlan Kelly, general manager of the Public Utilities Commission – said Elliott was the right person for the job. Someone who is not from the weed world will be a "neutral and objective" regulator, she said.
In dealing with the supervisors as Lee's liaison to the board, Kelly said, Elliott has accumulated plenty of experience drafting legislation and become familiar with numerous city departments. She said that will come in handy at the Office of Cannabis, because Elliott "has to navigate all the bureaucracies to put together a program in an aggressive fashion" for the city to be ready for recreational sales Jan. 1.
Kelly has shown some bureaucratic smarts of her own – naming Elliott to the job while the supervisors were on their summer break and not around to complain.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: SF’s new weed boss is green to the business, but she’s got connections - San Francisco Chronicle
Author: Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross
Contact: Customer Service - San Francisco Chronicle
Photo Credit: Gabrielle Lurie
Website: San Francisco Chronicle - Bay Area news, sports, tech, food - San Francisco Chronicle
Take the case of Nicole Elliott, the just-named, $149,459-a-year director of the newly created Office of Cannabis.
Elliot had been the mayor's liaison to the Board of Supervisors. She is also married to Jason Elliott, who was named as the mayor's chief of staff after the recent retirement of longtime top staffer Steve Kawa.
Jason Elliott's elevation to chief of staff, however, meant that Nicole would be reporting directly to her husband if she remained as board liaison, which is against the rules.
To avoid the conflict, Nicole Elliott was transferred to City Administrator Naomi Kelly's office to fill in for Kelly's deputy Bill Barnes. He has taken a leave to assist in Supervisor Jeff Sheehy's campaign to hang onto the District Eight seat next year.
Kelly is the one who picked Nicole Elliott to write the city's recreational pot policies. It's a bit of a risky move – Elliott, who is white, doesn't have all the diversity credentials that some members of the Board of Supervisors were pushing for, and she has no history in the marijuana business.
"It's an important job and a complex one – I hope she is up to the task," said Sheehy, who authored the legislation to create the department.
Supervisor Sandra Fewer said: "Legalization is an opportunity to reinvest in communities that are disproportionately impacted by racist drug laws." The Office of Cannabis, she said, will have a "tremendous responsibility" to come up with ways to "advance equity measures."
Kelly, who is part of another City Hall tandem – her husband is Harlan Kelly, general manager of the Public Utilities Commission – said Elliott was the right person for the job. Someone who is not from the weed world will be a "neutral and objective" regulator, she said.
In dealing with the supervisors as Lee's liaison to the board, Kelly said, Elliott has accumulated plenty of experience drafting legislation and become familiar with numerous city departments. She said that will come in handy at the Office of Cannabis, because Elliott "has to navigate all the bureaucracies to put together a program in an aggressive fashion" for the city to be ready for recreational sales Jan. 1.
Kelly has shown some bureaucratic smarts of her own – naming Elliott to the job while the supervisors were on their summer break and not around to complain.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: SF’s new weed boss is green to the business, but she’s got connections - San Francisco Chronicle
Author: Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross
Contact: Customer Service - San Francisco Chronicle
Photo Credit: Gabrielle Lurie
Website: San Francisco Chronicle - Bay Area news, sports, tech, food - San Francisco Chronicle
