Last week, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan was caught behaving badly when KRON newsman Stanley Roberts shamed her on television after a viewer sent a photo of Ms. Quan apparently reading email on her phone while driving.

Quan’s spokesman says the mayor of the Bay Area’s third largest city was using a mapping application as she drove from City Hall, which I guess makes it all better to drive carelessly.

Then yesterday, Quan was involved in a traffic collision at an intersection. There are conflicting witness statements — some witnesses claim Quan was looking down at her lap when she ran a red light, while Quan says the other driver ran the red light.

In a city where over 50,000 residents routinely bike, walk, or ride public transit to work, Quan is generally supportive of policies to encourage active transportation. A majority of her constituency still drive alone to their workplace, however, so it would be nice for Quan to practice a little more political leadership by doing more than just signing a pledge to avoid texting while driving.