Ed Lee is Mayor of San Francisco.

Or I.M. (interim mayor).

Hooray?

Hold your horses. There’s still lots of process left before it’s final.

And even then. It’s still just “I.M.”

So why doesn’t it feel as exciting as it is historic?

I would have wished it were done in a more heroic and mythic way, perhaps a thrilling campaign with speeches and drama and perhaps a nail-biter ballot count.

And then maybe we could hoist up Ed Lee on the lions at the Grant Ave. gate.

This  was perhaps a bit too political.

 A little like an arranged marriage.  An internal Supes vote with a touch of intrigue for this interm mayor.

The pick was between some retreads (Hennessey, a good guy and a progressive’s progressive, Agnos the former mayor, Peskin the former but still ambitious supe). The vote deadlocked at 5 between Lee and Hennessey.

Then Lee won a subsequent vote, 10-1. ( Chris Daly was the lone dissenter. That’s  enough reason to like Lee if you’re a non-Asian).

But a new board installed Saturday or Sunday could change it all.

A moment in the sun, is what it is.

A campaign for the real mayor in November could begin sooner than Lee can rearrange the pictures on the office wall.

And then we may even see some Asian American candidates  (as well as others) who may challenge Lee for the post.

But if this weekend plays out, Lee was there first and that deserves a firecracker or two.

And he’ll be mayor for the New Year parade!

Still, to use a math analogy, is Lee more than a “placeholder” enjoying his time in the sun? 

We shall see.

This may have been a little symbolic affirmative action.  Asians have been powerful in city politics but no one got the top job, until now. A generation of younger Asian Americans will definitely change  thatnc certainly in the next 5-10 years.  Ed Lee is just the beginning as San Francisco’s official leadership actually begins to look like the city it serves.