I had the recent pleasure of visiting the Recorders Office in San Francisco and inadvertently locked horns with city and county officials during a mere two days of research.

  As background, the reader should understand that San Francisco is a very rare example of a place which is BOTH a city and a county.  The geographic jurisdictions overlap and the Board of Supervisors of the County struggles against the City Council regularly.

  On my second day trip up to The City (which is the traditional, local vernacular for referring to San Francisco), last Monday, the 23rd started out as a balmy spring day.  Having spent over an hour on public transit, I had a natural bodily need to visit the little boys room. 

  Passing through the security checkpoint at City Hall where the Recorders Office is located, I bee-lined to the nearby public restroom, cutting off a man in a grey suit while going in to the small, one-toilet stall facility (remember, San Fran is a fairly old county building with limited space, so the public restrooms are quaint and far from extravagant).  Within seconds I heard three raps upon my chamber door and a voice saying "Excuse me, but I'm the Mayor." 

  This is a rare case of a press reporter coming out on top.  I had cut-off the Mayor, Gavin Newsome, on the way to the restroom.  The fact that he clearly expected me to exit and yeild the stall to him, while arrogant, was keeping in character with what most people think of him, so I greeted him back and told him that I would shake his hand were it not for being otherwise busy.  That ended my first and only interview (thus far) with "Da Mayor" (Willy Brown's protoge, clearly).

  The reason that I relate the above, slightly amusing story to the reader in this only-on-Source of Title report, is that it ties in with the overall culture of public service in California and subsequent events in the Recorders Office later that day.

  While researching 19 public properties covering 52 lots, I accessed Assessors Records, Tax Maps, dead-filed Assessors Parcel Maps, Grantor-Grantee Indices, Official Recors copies and more, just as we each do for our clients. 

  My business partner had advised me to wear my press badge.  He had written a very good Freelance Assignment letter for me which referenced the California Public Records Act, listing details thereof, and also mentioning the FOIA.  I never expected to need or use any of this, but was surprised by a Recorders Office supervisor who tried to run me out of their facilities not once or twice, but thrice.  The dimunitive man told me that people only spend an hour or two in "his" office and that I should do my research online.  I informed him that online records only go back through 1990 and my research was needed back to 1968.  I showed him the letter, addressed by name to the County Recorder and bearing all the official marks and seals of our firm.  I offered to speak to his supervisor and he told me that he was the supervisor.  I retorted by asking him who his immedidate manager was and he ignored me, letting the topic drop for the time being.

  A few hours later, he approached me again saying "You're still here?" and continuing to harass me for being there for so long.

  The third time, late in the day, I finally ignore him, tuning him out while I finished up my work before closing.

  I am not suggesting that the two incidents have a direct causal relationship, one to the next.  I do not need to invoke a conspiracy theory to see a common thread of arrogance and incompetence that pervades public agencies;  "tenured" workers who have no fear of termination and feel like they are doing the taxpayers a favor by being on the job. 

  I crossed swords with city and county and won.  Anyone else have days like this?