California, Mayor | featured news

The former city leader is given a 1-year sentence, plus probation, community service and must pay $17,000 in restitution... A former Cudahy mayor was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison for his part in taking $17,000 in bribes from a man who wanted to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the city in southeast Los Angeles County.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) says it's too early to make changes in a mediation process for municipalities seeking to file for protection. Legislation that could have delayed some municipal bankruptcies has been tabled after being opposed by the mayors of California's largest cities, including Los Angeles' Antonio Villaraigosa.

Mayor Ed Lee held a commanding lead in the mayor's race against a diverse slate of 15 candidates, but because he didn't garner a majority in Tuesday's election the city's instant runoff system has kicked in. Lee, a former city administrator who replaced then-Mayor Gavin Newsom when he became lieutenant governor in January, was ahead with nearly 31 percent of the vote.

The city's police union on Tuesday blasted Mayor Jean Quan and city officials for sending mixed messages about the Occupy Oakland encampment and upcoming general strike.

Jeff Adachi says he grew up hearing the stories of his Japanese-American family's internment during World War II. "They lost everything. But they taught me not to be bitter, to get an education and to stand up for what's right," Adachi, San Francisco's public defender, writes on the website devoted to his campaign for the city's mayor.

Ed Lee will announce today that he is running for a full four-year term as San Francisco mayor, vaulting himself to the top of a crowded field of candidates while breaking a promise not to run that sealed his appointment as interim mayor seven months ago."I've changed my mind," Lee told The Chronicle in an interview Sunday. "I know it might be hard for people to understand that change ... but my change of mind in seeking this office has everything to do with wanting what's best for this city."

San Francisco welcomed its first Asian-American leader Tuesday, as City Administrator Edwin Lee was sworn in as interim mayor before a crowd of hundreds. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Lee to fill the remainder of Mayor Gavin Newsom's term. Newsom was sworn in Monday as California's lieutenant governor.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged hundreds of Californians to heed evacuation orders and flee their homes before a dangerous storm hits their area Wednesday morning.

There was only one official Democratic candidate for governor of California, and now, officially, there is none. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom — who announced last spring via Twitter that he would seek the state’s highest office in 2010 — announced Friday that he was withdrawing from the race.

He hasn't formally announced he's a candidate yet, but a new Field Poll shows California Attorney General Jerry Brown already has a strong lead in next year's governor's race. Brown's Democratic rival, San Francisco Mayor ...