By Tim Redmond : 48hills – excerpt

Mayor names an East Bay consultant who hasn’t been involved in local activism on land-use issues.

Mayor London Breed has nominated for a crucial Planning Commission seat an economic consultant who works in the East Bay and has, as far as I can tell, no record of engagement or activism on any local planning or land-use issue.

In fact, it’s surprising how little information is available about Derek Braun…

Braun, according to his resume and LinkedIn account and the resume he submitted to the Board of Supes, is a principal at Strategic Economics, a Berkeley outfit that does studies for local government. He has a master’s degree in planning from the University of Southern California…

On his resume, he lists two “affiliations:” The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and SPUR. The coalition has more than 12,000 members, and he’s not on the board. SPUR also has a large membership, and he’s not on the board or any committees…

In fact, it’s very unusual for the mayor to nominate someone to such a powerful body who has no clear record in local politics, no way for the supes to judge what type of perspective he would bring to the panel…(more)

He doesn’t need to talk to the media or the supervisors because he meets all the requirements Breed needs by being affiliated with SF Bicycle Coalition and SPUR and his firm probably contracts with the city.