George Gascón D.A. appointment a bold move

In the end, outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision on who should replace outgoing District Attorney Kamala Harris came down to a choice: bold or safe.

He chose bold, selecting Police Chief George Gascón in a move that completely redraws both the city's law enforcement and political landscapes.

Gascón emerged as a candidate for the D.A.'s job only after about a dozen potential candidates failed to pass the shifting policy and political criteria laid out by Newsom and outgoing District Attorney Harris.

As an increasingly frustrated Newsom huddled with his staff to consider alternatives, somebody in the room recalled that Gascón himself is a lawyer.

Add in that Gascón is Latino, popular with the public, moderate and, as an incumbent, would be in the instant front-runner in this year's election.

Put it together and what had initially been a toss-off suggestion became an increasingly interesting idea.

Newsom went back and forth between Gascón and the safer selection of retired Judge Harry Low. But once the ball got rolling, bold won out. After all, putting in a police chief as D.A. is the sort of out-of-the-ballpark move that Newsom loves to pull.

"This really came out of left field," Gascón told us. "Frankly, it just wasn't something I was thinking about."

But it didn't take long for him to make up his mind. After talking it over with his wife - and making a series of calls to the likes of former Mayor Willie Brown and Chinatown activist Rose Pak to get their input and gauge his chances for getting elected come fall - he was good to go.

Sunday morning, Newsom, his Chief of Staff Steve Kawa and Brown met with Gascón and sealed the deal over breakfast at the Four Seasons.

At his swearing-in ceremony a few hours later, Gascón said he planned to continue many of Harris' programs.

There will be one distinct change, however. Unlike Harris, Gascón said he had no objection to seeking the death penalty in cases that warrant it.

Top Cop? In the short run, Assistant Chief Jeff Godown - whom former Chief Gascón brought up from Los Angeles - will take over the department while the Police Commission considers a permanent replacement.

And chances are, whoever is picked will come from within the department.

Commissioners we spoke with Sunday indicated that there was little reason to launch a national search since they could only guarantee applicants a job until the end of the year, when a new mayor is elected.

Bouncing ball: Word that Oracle owner Larry Ellison just tried to buy the New Orleans Hornets triggered speculation that he was looking to move the NBA team to San Jose.

Sports insiders say the real play may have been to bring the team to a new arena next to AT&T; Park in San Francisco.

It would have been a nice payback for Ellison - having lost the bidding war for the Golden State Warriors, across the bay.

It may also explain why, despite Ellison's claim that he offered $350 million to buy the Hornets, the NBA itself stepped in and bought the team for a price league execs would only say was in excess of $300 million.

Leno punts: State Sen. Mark Leno won't be running for San Francisco mayor in November after all.

"I have a big job to do here in Sacramento," Leno said.

Friends say Leno, who was just named chairman of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, is better off honchoing the new governor's budget and trying to position himself to become the first gay state Senate president.

Full house: Former Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, a termed-out Democrat from Fremont, becomes the latest outgoing lawmaker to land a $128,109-a-year state appointment.

Torrico was named to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board by Assembly Speaker John Pérez - where he will join former Assembly members Bonnie Garcia and George Plescia and ex-state Sens. Roy Ashburn, Denise Moreno Ducheny and Dennis Hollingsworth for a full house of unemployed lawmakers.

EXTRA! Catch our blog at www.sfgate.com/matierandross.

Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815 or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle