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Phillip Matier,Andrew Ross Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Yet another departure at San Francisco City Hall - this time it's the $132,000-a-year executive director of the Film Commission, Stefanie Coyote. But, unlike mayoral press secretary Nathan Ballard and other staffers who have resigned on their own lately, Coyote's exit came as surprise. "She was totally blindsided - I don't think she saw it coming," said a Coyote confidante. We're told Mayor Gavin Newsom asked Coyote, the wife of actor Peter Coyote, for her resignation last week. That was unusual in itself, as Newsom is known for his aversion to firing anyone. The mayor's office declined to comment, calling it a personnel matter. City Hall sources say the mayor felt Coyote could have been doing more to lure filmmakers to the city. They also cite Coyote's less-than-PR-conscious ways - as evidenced by the Fox News flap her office generated a couple of years back when it made the Marines jump through hoops to film a recruiting ad in the city. There may be a bit of personal politics at play here as well. Before Newsom dropped out of the governor's race, Coyote's husband was publicly supporting his longtime friend and Newsom rival, Attorney General Jerry Brown. Film Commission President Lorrae Rominger, who had Coyote's job during Frank Jordan's mayoral administration, said Tuesday she was surprised to hear about her exit. "It's the mayor's decision," Rominger said. "He obviously is making a bunch of changes in his administration, and he certainly has the right to do it." A Film Commission rep said Coyote was off for the Thanksgiving holiday and unavailable for comment. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/24/BA5M1APVE8.DTL