Government dismissed the Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and councillors for ongoing infighting that resulted in the council's inability to function. The government immediately reformed the system to give the Lord Mayor a stronger mandate. Under the new system, the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor were to be directly elected by the citizens in a US presidential-style election, as opposed to being elected in-house among the councillors. First term as Lord Mayor, 2001–2004 In the 2001 Lord Mayoral election, So polled 14.9% of the primary vote, second only to Peter Sheppard, who received 15.2%, but after preferences were distributed, So comfortably defeated Sheppard. So also defeated the then-Premier Steve Bracks's preferred candidate, Peter McMullin, and former federal minister and Australian Democrats founder Don Chipp. So presided over a prosperous term in which Melbourne was voted World's Most Livable City on more than one occasion. Along with television presenter Livinia Nixon, he was the face of the "That's Melbourne" campaign to encourage tourism to the city. He campaigned against crime and was a member of the Police Minister's Crime Prevention Council. He also pushed for the federal government to build a national indigenous museum in Melbourne. So was criticised for his communication skills, partly due to his heavily Cantonese-accented English. A restaurant with ties to So was also fined $75,000 for breaches of the Food Safety Act by his own council. In 2002, So was accused of putting his relationship with the Chinese government ahead of Melbourne by refusing to meet the Dalai Lama during his Australian visit. The council was also punished by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for prohibiting Falun Gong from participating in the city's annual Moomba parade. Second term as Lord Mayor, 2004–2008 2004 election Though he had been a relatively popular mayor, So was widely expected to be defeated at the 2004 election. Despite this, he polled well on election day, achieving 42.2% of the primary vote (compared to his nearest rival who received 9.2%), and was re-elected. So's ticket for the Councillor positions was also successful, winning a historic majority in the Town Hall. Commonwealth Games During the 2006 Commonwealth Games, So was warmly welcomed by Melbourne as a figurehead of the city. This led to "John So, he's our bro'." T-shirts and "John So for PM'" shirts and stickers being manufactured and worn by some Melburnians as a testament to the city's