Matier & Ross: Peskin involved in more dustups at City Hall {San Francisco Politics}

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 11/12/7 | Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross

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Fresh from his battle with Gap founder Donald Fisher, San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin is embroiled in two more clashes - one over allegations that he tried to arm-twist city department leaders to do his bidding and another with a supervisor who accuses him of flipping on a vote as a political payback.

Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier's beef is that Peskin switched his vote from "yes" to "no" at an Oct. 23 meeting of the board, and thus effectively tabled a charter amendment she had proposed to set qualifications for appointees to the city's Ethics, Elections and Sunshine commissions.

"I went to (Peskin's) office and asked him why he switched his vote. His exact words were, 'Payback is a bitch,' " Alioto said Friday in a letter to City Attorney Dennis Herrera and District Attorney Kamala Harris.

Alioto said Peskin was paying her back for coming out against his Proposition A - which, if Tuesday's election results hold up, would limit parking downtown, and which Fisher opposed.

Alioto asked the lawyers to give an opinion on whether Peskin had violated state and local ethics laws.

Peskin's response to us: "I'm deeply saddened to see her sink to such low levels. It's just a cheap political shot by someone beholden to the unscrupulous downtown interests funded by Republican billionaire Don Fisher."

Peskin then added, "She's a whiny brat, and she has been a whiny brat ever since she arrived at the Board of Supervisors."

"This has nothing to do with Don Fisher," Alioto-Pier shot back. "People have been complaining about Supervisor Peskin threatening them for a long time."

[SmithL]

Aaron Peskin

Michela Alioto-Pier

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