supported the turnaround of the local chapter, which resulted in support for victims of the Cedar wildfire, praise from former critics for the transparency of fund raising efforts, and a staff re-organization that substantially reduced overhead costs. Sanders had also been active in the private sector, serving as founding partner and consultant for local high-tech start-ups involved with homeland security and infrastructure assessment. He is currently board chair of the San Diego Police Foundation, established to raise private funds for SDPD equipment and programs. He serves on the board of STAR/PAL, the San Diego Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, San Diego State University's Dean's advisory board, and Coronado First Bank (in organization). Sanders has served on the Wells Fargo Community Bank Board, the Mediation Center's Board, the National Conference for Community and Justice Board, the Vera Institute of Justice's advisory board on Foster Children, and the Children's Initiative. Sanders has been nominated to the National Red Cross Board of Governors. Mayor Jerry Sanders was elected mayor in a special run-off election held November 8, 2005, following the resignation of Mayor Dick Murphy in the wake of the San Diego pension scandal. He received 54% of the vote against city council member Donna Frye. Sanders was the first mayor under San Diego's "strong mayor system" of city government. Sanders is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston mayor Thomas Menino. Coincidentally, when Bloomberg left the Republican Party in 2007, San Diego became the largest U.S. city with a Republican mayor. On September 19, 2007, Sanders abruptly reversed his public opposition to same-sex marriage before signing a City Council resolution aimed at overturning the state's ban on same-sex weddings. He gave a tearful speech in which he explained that he could not tell his daughter Lisa, who is gay, that her relationship with a partner is not as important as that of a straight couple and that he had "decided to lead with my heart...to take a stand on behalf of equality and social justice." Sanders won reelection over businessman Steve Francis in 2008. He left office on December 3, 2012, due to term limits. The next day he became the president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. In popular culture In the 2012 episode "Butterballs" of the