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Why Every City Supervisor Should Say the F-word in Public Meetings




San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly is getting a lot of attention for his New Year's resolution to drop the F-bomb at every city council meeting in 2010.

Here's the background:  The San Francisco Bay Guardian included Daly on its list of "the absolute worst" of 2009 for uttering the expletive three times in one meeting. In response, Daly updated his Facebook status, vowing to say the f-word at every meeting in 2010. The media picked it up, and Daly's angry little joke became a bona fide resolution.

SF Mayor Gavin Newsom called the pledge an embarrassment for the city. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu left Daly a bar of soap sitting on his desk.

But here's the thing: There may be something brilliant about Daly's profanity pledge.  It got local, state and federal press.  When was the last time citizens were that tuned in to a city council meeting?

Look, is Daly's pledge silly, juvenile and hot-headed?  Probably. Did he already break it?  Yes. But maybe he's on to something?



 


Zach Patton

Zach Patton -- Executive Editor. Zach has written about a range of topics, including social policy issues and urban planning and design. Originally from Tennessee, he joined GOVERNING as a staff writer in 2004. He received the 2011 Jesse H. Neal Award for Outstanding Journalism

E-mail: zpatton@governing.com
Twitter: @governing

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