San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has vetoed a ban on Happy Meals that made the Bay Area even more of a laughingstock than usual. The Board of Supervisors passed the measure by a veto-proof margin of 8-3, so we suspect the veto will be overridden, but kudos to Newsom for trying.
The measure will prohibit restaurants from giving away toys with meals unless they meet strict nutritional standards and include fruits and vegetables. Newsom said this wasn’t the way to combat childhood obesity.
“There are times when a city can go too far. There’s a time when we even cross the line,” Newsom said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Doing these types of toy bans is inappropriate, I don’t think particularly effective, and I just think goes way too far in inserting government to try to be the decision-maker in someone’s life as opposed to parents.”
ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross says, “Despite the unfortunate grammar, we applaud Mayor Newsom for his unusually candid comments about governmental over-reaching. Are you listening, Michael Bloomberg?”