A Mayoral Aide's Body of Work
by Ann Gerhart and Annie Groer

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown's personal assistant may be more popular than the colorful mayor himself -- at least among Washington area Web surfers. Esther Hwang, Brown's 23-year-old scheduling secretary, has racked up 1.4 million hits on her Web site (www.esther.com), and it's not because people are suddenly interested in public policy on the West Coast.

The former Miss Asian America and winner of the 1998 Honolulu Bikini Competition has posted her modeling portfolio online, complete with vital statistics (34C-23-35) and revealing photos of her in lingerie, swimwear and a mermaid costume. Browsers from Vienna, Falls Church and Springfield have made their home towns among the top 10 cities registering visits to the site, reports Post special correspondent Tom McNichol.

Surfers who manage to scroll past the photos will learn that Hwang plans to compete in this year's Miss California USA pageant, and, in true beauty queen tradition, she has a list of unassailable ambitions, including attending law school, teaching literature, writing books, being a champion dog breeder and helping others.

The University of California at Berkeley grad majored in English and Asian American history and had limited office experience before becoming Brown's $42,760-a-year scheduling secretary in February. Brown had met Hwang once before hiring her -- it was the mayor who crowned her Miss Asian America last year.

Such a relationship would likely blow up into a tedious debate in Washington, where the most exciting thing you can say about the politics of clothes is that city hall could soon be occupied by a man who favors bow ties.

In San Francisco, things work differently: Upon hearing about his scheduling secretary's racy Web site, the mayor immediately demanded full-size photos printed up. "He thinks it's great," says Hwang. "He says he's afraid he'll lose me to Hollywood."