Newsom surprised Peskin's call is news now

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom said Friday that Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin has made harassing and threatening phones call to elected officials and private citizens for years and that he was surprised the behavior made the news just this week.

The Chronicle reported Thursday that Monique Moyer, executive director of the Port of San Francisco, wrote a letter to the city's Department of Human Resources and Newsom's office in August describing a series of calls from Peskin to her and other port officials that she characterized as "outlandish harassment."

She said Peskin had threatened to cut the department's funding and eliminate jobs of port officials because they disagreed with him over building-height limits on the city's waterfront. The calls included one to Moyer's home at 8:45 p.m. in which he said he would be "going after" her, she said.

Moyer said the calls violated a city law prohibiting board members from interfering in city departments' business. The city attorney's office and the Department of Human Resources are investigating.

After an unrelated event in the Bayview neighborhood Friday, Newsom said numerous city officials and private citizens have called his office in recent days to report having received threatening phone calls over the years from Peskin. Newsom added that he was proud of Moyer for raising the issue.

"Everyone's been hearing this for years. I don't think there's a person in city government who's surprised," Newsom said. "I don't think anyone that I've met in elected office or a community leader hasn't received these types of calls.

"What was surprising is why it took so long for this to come out," he said. "The only reason it seems to have is that someone had the courage to actually write down the impact it had on her and her staff. I can't tell you how many people are still unwilling, particularly in the private sector with projects coming before the board ... to say it."

Peskin did not return calls seeking comment Friday, but did have a couple of backers call The Chronicle to voice their support for the supervisor. Earlier this week, he denied he had violated the law.

"I take my job seriously," he said in response to Moyer's complaint. "I aggressively pursue policies and outcomes that I think are in the best interest of the city. I know the boundaries of appropriate behavior. Things get heated from time to time in the legislative arena."

He also said the 5-month-old complaint from Moyer had been leaked by the Newsom administration in retaliation for Peskin's blast at the mayor for using Municipal Transportation Agency funds to pay senior staffers' salaries.

Nathan Ballard, Newsom's press secretary, said that was an attempt to change the subject.

"Aaron Peskin is in hot water because of his own threatening behavior," Ballard said. "He needs to act like a grown man and stop blaming everyone else for the predicament he's in."

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