San Francisco supervisors to delay vote on Happy Meal toy ban

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San Francisco supervisors have decided to put off voting on a proposed ban on handing out promotional toys with fattening childrens’ meals until after the state and national election campaigns are over.

The vote on the so-called Happy Meal ban will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 2 -- at a late-afternoon meeting on Election Day that will ensure that the measure is not considered until the campaigning ends and many voters have already gone to the polls. The vote originally was scheduled for today.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is running for lieutenant governor and has already been mocked by an opponent as a member of the ‘food police,’ has said he will veto the measure. As a result, Supervisor Eric Mar has been trying to line up a super-majority of eight votes on the 11-member board, which would allow supervisors to override Newsom’s veto.

The holdout and swing vote, Supervisor Bevan Dufty, has said he is undecided about whether to join the seven supervisors who already support the measure. But Mar said he is convinced that when the ordinance comes up for a vote Nov. 2, he will have all of the votes he needs.

Mar said he will use the next two weeks to develop an implementation plan for the measure, which is supported by many public health officials but opposed by the California Restaurant Assn., McDonalds and others.

-- Sharon Bernstein