Dennis Herrera, who served six terms as city attorney, will step down as general manager of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in December, he said Tuesday.

Herrera, who was first elected as the city’s lawyer in 2001, touted his role in defending former Mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2004 decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses before the Supreme Court and filing the first lawsuit against the Trump administration in 2017 for threatening to withhold funding from sanctuary cities. Herrera remained in office before joining the SFPUC in 2021, replacing former General Manager Harlan Kelly who stepped down amid accusations of accepting bribes. (Kelly was convicted (opens in new tab) in 2023.)

“This decision comes with a mix of emotions,” Herrera said in a statement. “It has been the greatest honor of my professional life to serve the people of this city. San Franciscans are smart, compassionate, and resilient. It has been an incredible privilege to serve alongside so many dedicated people across San Francisco to help make our city even better. I will always cherish that, but now is the right time to start a new chapter in life.”

Mayor Daniel Lurie will nominate Herrera’s successor at the SFPUC, which regulates the city’s electrical and water services. In this role, Herrera advocated for creating a public power utility to replace PG&E, a controversial proposal that could be stymied if Lurie selects someone opposed to it.

Herrera was the first Latino elected as San Francisco city attorney.

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“It’s so hard to just put in a few sentences how amazing Dennis was,” said U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, who spent nearly a decade in the San Francisco city attorney’s office before his appointment to the federal bench in 2014, before pausing to collect himself. “I’m sorry, I’m actually getting kind of emotional right now.”

Chhabria praised Herrera’s unwavering commitment to the office. “No matter the situation, he always cared first about being a lawyer for the city,” he said.

Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who worked in the city attorney’s office for 14 years, described Herrera as a friend and mentor who modeled professionalism in public service for nearly three decades.

“Dennis Herrera is the kind of city leader who really demanded excellence from the people who worked on his team and usually got it,” Dorsey said, citing public officials who came up through the office as evidence of that standard, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, state Attorney General Rob Bonta, and state Sen. Scott Wiener.

Former San Francisco Supervisor Carole Migden, who helped run Herrera’s first campaign for city attorney, praised the retiring official as an extraordinary public servant who “did a Herculean job” and aggressively pursued wrongdoers throughout his tenure.

Pressed on how the city might cultivate more leaders like Herrera, Migden said it was possible, even without “extraordinary superpowers.” The key, she said, was demanding excellence and accountability, encouraging young people to get involved, and showing a willingness to help guide them toward their goals.

“One should always be a Dennis Herrera in an elected position,” she said.