San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's push to have hundreds of city department heads, mayoral-appointed commissioners and senior staffers in his office submit their resignation letters by the end of the week was met with pockets of resistance Tuesday, with some city officials vowing to defy the order.The day after Newsom surprised most department leaders and told them to hand in their letters of resignation by Friday because he wants to start his second term with "a clean slate," some city officials bristled at the request and many were downright puzzled.
Port Commissioner Mike Hardeman, a longtime Newsom supporter whom the mayor reappointed to the commission that manages the city's waterfront, said publicly what others will only say privately: He does not intend to turn in a resignation letter, let alone step down from his post.
"I don't think I'm going to, and I don't know of any other labor person that's going to," said Hardeman, who is active in local union circles and who has served on the Port Commission since 1994. "You took an oath to serve. ... There's not supposed to be any outside interference from the supervisors or mayor, and if you resign that means you're being influenced."
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