Step down to run

It’s time to turn political arm-twisting into plain law. The matter involves San Francisco city commission members who hold policymaking posts while running for political office on the side. It’s an invitation to divided loyalties and deal-making trouble but violates no laws.

Until now, the matter was solved by a call from the mayor’s office, delivered in pleading or thundering terms depending on the top officeholder’s frame of mind, asking the commission member to step down. In some cases, the officeholder agreed and in other cases not.

Mayor Willie Brown, now a Chronicle columnist, made it plain he didn’t like the practice and pushed wannabe politicos to quit their appointed perches. Subsequent mayors tried to do the same but with less success and enthusiasm. Under Mayor Ed Lee, there are five commission members in the City Hall constellation running for various posts including supervisor and City College board while at least one has bowed out in deference to the lightly observed rule.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin wants a standard put in place to cap the situation: Once an appointee on a city or regional panel pulls papers to run, he or she needs to leave City Hall, no matter the scale or prominence of the commission.

It’s the right idea, though it may be too strict. Some commissions — police, planning or port, for example — come with vaster powers and financial stakes than other panels with less potential for trouble. Regulating the scale of highrises or mega-developments while running for office isn’t the same as deciding on arts policies or working with veterans groups.

Peskin, a maverick progressive with a sharp eye for government abuse, should consider amending his idea to focus on key city commissions and regional panels, not every one of them. Moderating the political ambitions of city commission members makes sense in this case.