Gavin Newsom Archives
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Among the names in Paris Hilton's recently hacked Sidekick (a sort of Blackberry for the chic)?
San Franciso Mayor Gavin Newsom.
That would make him "hot." As if there was any doubt.
Mon 06:58 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It is getting harder and harder to ignore the coming split between labor unions and the Democratic Party. The split has started in California cities where hairline fractures are becoming cracks and it's going all the way to the top of the ticket.
When all is said and done, there's a good chance that the Golden State may not be a reliable Democratic stronghold because it is labor that provides Democrats with money and muscle during elections.
The signs are pretty much everywhere. But let's start in San Francisco, long home to some of the West Coast's most powerful unions. First, despite it's pre-Christmas strikes, the union lost its bid to make all contracts with San Francisco's hotels run on the same national timetable.
Continue reading "Fading Unions"Mon 12:35 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Finally. The San Francisco Chronicle got around to sending someone to write a decent and insightful profile of Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Writer Mike Weiss gets Newsom to talk about his father, his mother and his relationship with the Getty family. He gets Ann Getty to talk about her husband's relationship with the Newsom and – at last! – get at the source of Gordon Getty's closeness to Gavin's father, Bill.
This is a well-known story. It remains a mystery to me why The Chron's political writers have not seen fit to tell it. It explains a great deal: Why Newsom remains close to the Gettys. Why Gordon Getty has always looked out for him. He's just returning a favor. A big favor. Judge Newsom got Gordon Getty access to his father's billions and it did it at a time when the money was very much needed. Using his skill as a lawyer, Newsom broke the trust J.P. Getty, a nasty, miserly old many by any description, had set up to reduce his tax burden. This is the same nasty, miserly old billionaire who only grudgingly agreed to pay his grandson's – Gordon's nephew's -- Italian kidnappers. And it was Bill Newsom who carted the cash to get him released.
Sun 12:58 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Here's a little tidbit for all you Newsom watchers out there.
SFWeekly, the city's free weekly, has done a little quiz to folks sort out their feelings about the beautiful couple's split.
Knock yourselves out, the punch line about the actress who used to be married to the guy who runs our local paper makes it all somehow all worthwhile.
Thu 05:37 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Let's get this out of the way. I'm on the record as not caring one way or the other if Gavin and Kimblerly Guilfoyle Newsom stay married. Their pending divorce is not unexpected. It's sad but it has absolutely nothing to do with his ability to do his job.
If anything she had the potential to get in the way and make real trouble. Her political judgement -- telling blow job jokes to a gay audience in New York -- isn't very sound. And her ambition -- get as much exposure as possible to build an audience for your TV show -- was at odds with his.
So TheEx and The Chron are leading today's papers with the Newsom split. It was even the above-the-fold lede in today's Chron. Old San Francisco – the over-50 crowd that packed the pews at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral and who The Chron still, mistakenly, thinks runs this town – cares desparatly about the Newsom marriage. So the split beats out Gov. Schwarzenegger's fire-breathing state-of-the-state speech as the day's lede for our supposedly regional newspaper. TheEx, they're a tabloid. This is what they're supposed to do.
Maybe the Chron's getting back at Newsom for his comment to the Examiner about the potential for labor unrest at the paper. In other words, we may have a newspaper strike in our future. And you know what, this time around, I'm not sure anyone will notice.
Newsom's quickie interview with the Ex -- and the story about the split -- was far more informative and interesting than the huge and boring "Report Card" The Chron ran earlier in the week.
Thu 08:32 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Politicians hoping to make it from the local to the national stage have a series of hoops to jump through and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has successfully gotten through many of them. He is media savvy, politically and socially well-connected and well-off. He can raise money, he can get attention and he knows what to do with it. In supporting marriage for same-sex couples, he's demonstrated all this and more.
But Newsom is a less than great politician. This last election showed – for the second time – just how poorly Newsom handles an important aspect of his job: Making people do things they don't want to do.
Continue reading "Growing Pains"Mon 10:26 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Did San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sink Democratic Presidential nominee John Kerry?
A few readers seem to think so.
"I nominate Newsom as the new Democratic goat of 2004," writes Mike Duffy. He had more to say:
That gay marriage stunt that Gavin Newsome pulled last year mobilized the Christian evangelicals to vote family values in Ohio. The "defend traditional marriage" initiative in Ohio (Proposition 1) was the single biggest reason that conservative Ohioans came out to vote. It even scored higher than terror. Kerry ought to give Newsome his thoughts on the matter.
Regular reader Dave Zinman, a moderately Liberal Democrat here in San Francisco, wasn't quite that caustic.
Continue reading "Blaming Newsom"Thu 09:55 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The Mayor's wife gave a speech in New York last week. And being very beautiful and married to a national politician, she got some attention from New York Post's Page Six It didn't hurt, of course, that, well, Guilfoyle Newsom answered a few questions that had been on the minds of the mayor's admirers but aren't exactly dinner table conversation
Don't say Rupert Murdoch never did anything for the citizens of San Francisco. Here's The Post's report – in full -- on what Guilfoyle Newsom had to say for herself and her man.
October 16, 2004 -- DEMOCRATS really are more open-minded about sex than Republicans. Take Kimberly Newsom, attractive Court TV anchor wife of handsome San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. When her husband couldn't make it as scheduled to speak at Thursday night's Empire State Pride Agenda dinner at the Sheraton, the year's biggest gay rights fund-raiser, Kimberly filled in for him. She was eloquent and uplifting as she spoke of equality. But she really brought the house down when she talked about her hunky hubby's anatomy. "I know that many of you wanted to see my husband and some of you had questions out there. Is he hot? Yeah. Is he hung? Yeah. Is he [she waved her hand to suggest bisexual]? Not unless you can give a better [she mimicked eating a banana] than me. Thank you very much." Then she left the stage to cheers and applause. Unfazed by the bawdy humor were Cate Edwards, daughter of John Edwards, Jim McGreevey, Betsy Gotbaum, Alan Hevesi and a host of other Democratic politicians — and Mayor Bloomberg.
Like I said, Way Way Way Too Much Information.
UPDATE: Mrs. Newsom dials up The Chron's Matier and Ross to say The NYPost got it all wrong. She didn't do that thing with the banana. Sure she didn't.
Besides talking about your husband's hidden assets is, uh, is....uh, okay?
Tue 08:48 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Comes now The New Yorker to weigh in, evaluate and look at our youthful mayor. This is, by the way, what comes of appearing on Charlie Rose. Same crowd, different media tools. And it speaks well to Mayor Gavin Newsom's political future as well as his ability to raise money.
The New Yorker piece is their "Letter from California" which should really be called "A Letter From Brooklyn about California" and no, nothing's available on-line but Usual Suspect-in-Chief Alex Clemens has had a PDF file of the story tucked under a bright red headline. You can go over there, download and read it.
There is one little teeny blooper that might go unnoticed by New York readers. Newsom tells the gentleman from Brooklyn that there was no polling done on "Care Not Cash." Uh. Not true. There's was polling. It might not have been done by Newsom or his campaign but it was done 'cause I read 'em.
UPDATE: Comes now, not a minute too soon, The San Francisco Chronicle to report on the reporter who wrote the Nesom profile. There's even less here than usually meets the eye in The Chron but if you want a great example of provincial journalism -- "They like us, they really like us. They know where we live!" -- this is about as good as it gets.
Sat 01:36 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The San Francisco hotel lock-out started yesterday and well, things are awfully quiet, no? That our Democratic mayor is ducking the whole matter is even more intriguing.
Given the city's history of labor strife, this is both surprising and interesting. And it's not a good sign for labor coming as it does on the heels of the grocery lock out down south that ended with the unions far from victorious.
Continue reading "The Fading Union Label"Sat 01:14 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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This month’s GQ has a nice profile of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. There’s nothing there you regular readers didn’t already know: The Mayor is a Democrat with a spine. Yawn.
The obligatory Clinton reference – made by reporters of any ambitious, attractive Democrat – is made politely and briefly. Yawn.
There's no link so you'll have to cruise to the newstand to get the thing. It's the Will Ferrell cover.
Fri 10:58 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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San Francisco’s homeless issue isn’t going away. Not if The Chron has its (belated) way. In stories that should have been done a year ago, the paper takes a look at what’s going on in Philadephia and New York.
Wed 09:16 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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San Francisco political consultant Jim Ross has written a brief and informative run-down of how San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom won. It is as clear a model as we’re likely to get for the on-line voting campaign of the future so some attention is warranted.
Sun 02:11 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Welcome to the new San Francisco, the city of political harmony.
Hard to believe but that’s the best way to read the latest polls presented to us today by The SF Chronicle’s Matier and Ross.
Continue reading "The City of Brotherly Love By the Bay"Wed 12:19 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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San Francisco’s homeless problem has been decried by everyone from The Kicker’s Elizabeth Spiers (back when she was a Gawker girl) to the city’s restaurant association. Mayor Gavin Newsom’s mayoral victory owes much to his “Care not Cash” campaign, turn cash support payments into housing and other kinds of help.
Continue reading "Homeless No More"Wed 12:15 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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A few days ago, at a fundraiser for Public Knowledge, I fell into a conversation about San Francisco politics after someone I was talking with suggested this ‘blog was “just” about local politics.
Local politics isn’t considered interesting by Big Media, unless of course, Graydon Carter writes a hard-hitting expose on New York City’s anti-smoking policies. But San Francisco is unusual in a number of respects. Its ethnic diversity, for starters. But so is the way in which the city has been pulled and tugged by the sudden influx of a newly wealthy group of young, efficient-minded business people. I wrote about this a few years ago; it’s the political force that elected Gavin Newsom and makes Plan C an increasingly important part of San Francisco politics. The city’s staunch traditional Liberalism combined with this new way of looking at things – that Progressive Libertarianism I keep babbling about – is forging some interesting political perspectives and creating some new political figures.
The highest profile this week is District Attorney Kamala Harris. With her refusal to ask for the death penalty against the young man who shot SFPolice officer Isaac Espinoza, Harris is staring down the department’s union rank and file and its top brass. For too long, Democrats anxious not be seen as soft on crime have used the death penalty as a way to prove their top cop mettle. It’s an approach that’s worked pretty effectively. But this nation frequent use of death penalty earns it (more) enmity overseas and, even more interestingly, it’s under attack by a supposedly conservative Supreme Court. Harris’ position may, over time, prove to be a smart play for her own career as well as her party’s.
Mayor Gavin Newsom is getting huzzahs from all over, most recently in this week’s SFWeekly which quotes New Democratic Network executive director Simon Rosenberg extolling the new mayor’s virtues. Much of what the NDN likes about Newsom – his business savvy, his pragmatism – has yet to be tested: His ability to manage the city. In letting the city issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples Newsom has upped his profile and carved out – like Harris – a piece of political turf all his own.
Centrists Democrats who have long wrapped themselves in the language of social and fiscal moderation, to get out from under the “tax and spend” label. Newsom is going to try to do one – solve a budget mess -- without the other and it’s not clear where he’s headed or if he will succeed. But again, this could be a turning point – an important one that forges a pragmatic business sense with a refreshing social liberalism -- for the Democratic Party.
All politics is local. But some local politics is more interesting than others.
Fri 10:23 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Christopher Newsom is hitting the big time. Hard. Thursday night he got himself on Charlie Rose.
Rose is famous for getting folks he meets at Manhattan dinner parties to repeat, on air, their private conversations. Last time he did it with Steven Brill who predicted (correctly) a slam-dunk conviction for Martha Stewart. All of which means Newsom’ stock with an important crowd has just gone waaaaay up. In San Francisco, it’s already sky high. Three months into his first term, Newsom’s approval rating is a breathtaking 75 percent, according to recent polls.
Continue reading "Leverage"Sun 11:54 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Our very own Little LoveSpring (also known as Wedding-stock) -- 29 days of same sex marriage bliss -- has come to an end. We here in San Francisco are going to miss it.
It’s time for the lawyers to take over the gay marriage fight. Time to put away the flowers and the tuxedoes and the hastily bought wedding dresses. The guys and gals in the nicely cut grey cashmere suits will be at this for a good long time. And while I’m no attorney, I’d say you can look for the San Francisco cases to hit the U.S. Supreme Court in about a year – well after the election but in time to have a further beneficial effect on San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s political future. No matter what the courts decide,he wins.
Continue reading "What a Swell Party It Was"Sun 06:41 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Ya think San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's popular? It's getting worse.
Check out the new bumper stickers available at cafepress.com
Over at Gaypornblog.com Newsom's ahead in the hotornot mayor race too. He's leading 63-37 against the kid from New Palz, N.Y.
We told you he was a star.
Thanks to Oliver Muoto for the cafepress link.
Tue 03:19 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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San Franciso Mayor Gavin Newsom has caught the eye -- literally -- of Gaypornblog.com, a link you might not want to hit while you're sitting in the office.
They're running an election and once again, ironically enough, just like our little municiple election, Newsom's facing another Green Party opponent, Jason West the Mayor of New Palz, N.Y. for the title of "hottest mayor."
Do you think these guys are getting sick of being judged on their looks? Oh, well, at last look, Newsom was ahead, er, winning.
(link via Gawker)
Wed 04:06 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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If it weren’t for the growing popularity of gay marriage – yesterday you could get married in New Palz, N.Y., today it’s Portland, tomorrow, who knows? – next Wednesday’s SF Bay Guardian would probably carry this headline:
Until Gavin Newsom told city officials to start granting marriage licenses to same sex couples, his credibility as a mayoral candidate was wrapped up in passage of a “workforce housing,” initiative.
Continue reading "Party On"Wed 03:54 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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We now know the answer to the quiet questions asked about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s national political ambition.
Yes. He does have them. In abundance. That didn’t take long, did it?
With his decision to allow San Francisco to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Newsom has deftly corralled the city’s contentious gay community as his first step onto the national stage. It’s a very smart strategy and it’s been well executed at all levels. Watching Newsom on BBC America Saturday evening, you knew the mayor and the city had changed. And think, just the other day I was starting to miss former mayor Willie Brown.
Regardless of what the courts rule and rule and rule again; (this is a classic test case headed straight at the Supreme Court), Newsom has earned himself friends and fundraisers – politically minded gays give and give generously -- for a long, long time.
This is the stuff that makes political careers: good timing, smart politics and, not to be too coy about it, properly orchestrated grandstanding and intelligent media manipulation. Newsom got himself and his city a full slow news worth weekend of national and international ink and pretty much everybody involved looks good. After all, who doesn’t like a wedding? Unlike the usual San Francisco displays, Newsom’s piece of political theater – Gay Weddings on Valentine’s Day, how corny, how memorable, how sweet –- concerns a pressing issue of our time. The right to marry, the legal and social protections the institution affords couples is an issue that affects millions of people, their parents and their children. Newsom’s decision will resonate farther than the cheers that greeted almost every couple that appeared on City Hall steps holding their freshly signed marriage licenses aloft. It’s a mountain. It’s not a molehill.
The city politics are obvious. Newsom has consolidated support within the city’s gay community, a group that was divided debating his liberal credentials. Mayoral rival Matt Gonzalez is going to have a hard time calling Newsom a Republican or suggesting that his ideology or ideas are superior. Of course, Republicans are going to have a hard time dismissing Newsom’s decision to allow same-sex couples to marry. A straight, good-looking Irish Catholic with a beautiful wife and a lot of rich friends, well, uh, he’s almost one of them, isn’t he?
As for the state politics, again, Newsom has good timing. You’ve noticed how quiet it is out there? Me too. There are a couple of reasons for this. Gov. Schwarzenegger needs support for his bond issue propositions which will be on March 2 ballot – the day of what looks like it might be a pretty hot Democratic primary. He can’t alienate Democrats right now. He needs them and he will continue to need them until the state’s budget woes are resolved. So Schwarzenegger can’t exactly land on Newsom with both feet for violating the state’s constitution. Not that he would, anyway. The governor’s on record – I believe his exact words were that he didn’t “give a shit” who people sleep with -- as being pro-gay rights.
That leaves the most the national Republican Party, itself divided on this issue as Schwarzenegger, New York Times columnist David Brooks and blogger extraordinaire Andrew Sullivan regularly illustrate, to take Newsom on. Win or lose as he goes up against the right wing, Newsom looks good to his supporters, especially those newly converted liberal gays. So he boxes in his local critics. He gets more media exposure, nationally and internationally, which gives him political clout locally and across the state. More importantly, he very quietly, gets points from the Democratic Party for taking the heat on this issue so national figures – like oh, possible presidential candidates from Massachusetts where gay rights is also hotly contested – can duck while the party gets credit for doing the right thing by the gay community.
In a slight paraphrase of the great Al Davis: It’s just a win, baby, just a win.
UPDATE: Want to see how much media coverage we're talking about? See the links Alex Clemons has culled for The Usual Suspects which provided the leads for some of the links in this post. Thanks, Alex!
Tue 11:41 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Deep down in The Chronicle story about San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s self-inflicted pay cut (he feels your pain), there’s an interesting exchange between the new mayor and political lifer Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown.
It’s the nutshell of the debate about the purpose of government that pretty much sums up the forces that got Newsom and Arnold Schwarzenegger elected, the stuff that could sustain President George Bush. This is not a liberal versus conservative argument in the classic sense. But it is the difference between an old style of governing versus a newer, less congenial style the relies on responsibility and action more than symbolism. That’s why opponents have a hard time putting Schwarzenegger and Newsom in little neat boxes. They’re not wed to party; they’re businessmen. They want to get the job done. That’s how they see the world.
Jerry Brown, the Transcendental Jesuit, is a politician, born into and reared in one of the most political households in the country. He has little use for talk about efficiency and improvement and “best practices” when it comes to government. But smartly, Brown doesn’t go for the silly Liberal attack though, he zones in on the practical matters.
From The Chron:
"Government is not about efficiency,'' Brown said at a business breakfast in Oakland. "Government is about making the leadership of government look good. If we look bad, we're out of office. I hate to tell you.''
Newsom respectfully disagreed with the elder politico.
"I think one of the big problems with politicians today is the abdication of responsibility and the lack of leadership, and leadership to me, at the end of the day, is about results,'' Newsom said. "People want someone who can get things done.''
And while we’re here, please note once again the fine, fine media strategy that the Newsom folks continue to execute. Out of the gate, they squeezed the Left. Now, he’s squeezing the right by making ‘em feel, well “guilty,” is too strong a word, how about “responsible”? Tuesday, the mayor tells his hardcore downtown supporters that he’s gonna raise their taxes. Thursday, he takes a pay cut.
Coincidence? I don’t think so and neither, I’ll bet, does Newsom’s new press guy, Pete Ragone. A master. At work. Efficient. And looking good.
Fri 09:46 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The media roll-out for the new administration of SF Mayor Gavin Newsom has been top-notch. It’s not all show, either. Much of it is smart positioning. So pay attention. There are deals to be cut. This is Pol’tix 101 and we can always use a refresher course.
First, Newsom gets front and center behind Proposition J, the “workforce housing” initiative that’s going to be on the March ballot. Supported by the Chamber of Commerce, Prop J will create a special development zone of tall buildings as long as developers set aside some units for lower-income housing. Prop J needs 51 percent to pass and the city’s business interests really want this.
To fight off what will probably be profound opposition to Prop J from the Coalition of Neighborhoods and anti-development groups, Newsom’s folks leaked their intention to pay close, close attention to the city’s building department. One of the big – and reasonable – objections to Prop J is that the city’s planning and inspections departments can’t be trusted to enforce codes, agreements or approved plans. A cleaner-running department, among other things, blunts that objection.
Then, Newsom announces his support for a $150 million bond measure for supportive housing for the homeless. Even homeless “advocate” Randy Shaw likes this idea.. But the supportive housing measure – headed for the November ballot – needs a two-thirds majority to win approval. That’s a problem if you’re a housing advocate, particularly one who’s high on rhetoric. Because bond issues can – depending on how they’re structured – increase property taxes. And property owners don’t like it when they’re taxes go up. Why do you think Prop 13 is the “third rail” of California politics?
Newsom’s done some other stuff. Gave a “big tent,” speech at his swearing in ceremony reminding everyone that this City Hall stuff is a team effort. Appointed a woman to run the fire department (giggle). Appointed a PR savvy black woman to help Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman get through the next few months. He’s probably going to appoint – The Ex’s predictions notwithstanding – a disabled white woman, Michela Alioto to his former District 2 seat.
All of this should be – at least in the public’s mind – squeezing the city’s progressives into a tight little corner. Newsom’s appointments are smart and diverse. And there is very little room for the Left to walk away from the “supportive housing” measure. But to get the job done, they’ll need their traditional enemies – the chamber, downtown businesses, the real estate guys, hotels – to sign on and help get the thing passed. Once they’re on board behind “supportive housing” – and they are -- the Lefties can’t walk away. If they do, you can bet someone in City Hall will dial 777-1111 and ask for Phil.
Mon 10:49 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It’s looking like Proposition J might be the San Francisco political fight of the decade. Well, okay, maybe just this year.
Either way, it’s shaping up as a good test of soon-to-be Mayor Gavin Newsom’s character. The neighborhoods are getting restless. Prop J is nothing more than a land grab, says Tony Kelly, president of the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association. Kelly says he and his neighbors have been trying to plan the development of the land just north of their ‘hood for years and they don’t like the SF Chamber of Commerce swooping in and, well, messing with their hard work.
“The residents of the central waterfront took on the planning department five years ago, creating and publishing their own neighborhood zoning plan that added 3000 housing units in a livable, vibrant mix,”Kelly wrote in an email. “That vision has been mixed (in good ways and bad) with the city's own “better neighborhoods” rezoning program. That program has been stalled in the planning department recently, due to lack of funding for environmental impact reports.
“But somehow, there's plenty of money for the Chamber of Commerce to raise for their own ham-fisted approach to fixing the housing crisis and, incidentally, create great gobs of money where there wasn't money before. Money isn't bad, of course; but stomping on an existing neighborhood and five-plus years of hard work is.”
Kelly’s mixing apples and oranges when he talks about money for the initiative and the city’s funding. And the idea that any land in the city, particularly land near 280, the road to Silicon Valley wouldn’t attract greedy, rapacious land developers is a short-sighted one. But Kelly’s broader point is worth thinking about. San Francisco’s planning and building departments and their processes are in a world of hurt. The mess that’s been created there is really what the fight over Prop J will be about. It’s a stand-in for a planning process and department that’s alienated neighborhoods – all of them, it seems. It’s pissed off developers – most of them, it feels like. It’s politicized. It’s corrupt – show me another city where “expediters” are treated as credible business people. It’s ineffective and oh, yeah, it doesn’t seem to be working very well.
Or is it? Look, planners piss people off. To some extent, saying “no” is part of the gig. And city residents’ reluctance to consider higher, denser development is well-entrenched. Maybe the problem here is that the Chamber – like many business interests sees Newsom’s election as its personal triumph – ignoring the niceties of grassroots support? Managing those expectations, really, is the test of Newsom’s character and his election promises. Along with everyone else he wants a City Hall that runs cleanly and fairly but the ghosts of the past – in this case the shenangigans over live/work lofts – are, fairly or not, haunting Prop J and its laudable goals.
Tue 10:27 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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The workforce housing wars have started. And I’m not helping.
In the “Crystal Ball 2004” predictions, I called Prop J a bond measure. Blame it on the flu. Here’s how Alex Clemens corrected me: "It's not a bond - it's a market-driven option for housing builders. In two areas of town, if builders want to build more densely, Planning will allow them to do so - if they build 39% of their units as affordable to low- and average-income families. No public funds, no tax dollars, totally optional for builders."
Okay. So now go read today's Ex piece which – hey, Adriel, your editors not working Sundays? – pretty much says the ballot initiative benefits only the wealthy and not the poor. Bias anyone?
I say again. I will say a thousand times: More housing is better than what we have now. The Chamber, which is hot for Prop J because they think it will “revitalize” downtown is probably over-stating their case (that’s their job) but more housing means cheaper housing. And, in housing, cheaper is better.
Mon 11:42 AM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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Tom Ammiano is profiled in today's Chron in a piece that talks about his move to the center as campaign tactic.
Meanwhile, The Ex engages in a little flat-out Gavin Newsom bashing as Adriel Hampton channels the Three Dot King, Herb Caen.
Hampton's caught a common occurrence. When Newsom doesn't show -- or leaves early -- at a community mayoral forum his competitors lay the insults and little jabs on one after the other. When he's there, they couldn't be nicer to him.
"You've noticed that, too?" asks Libertarian candidate Michael Denny, the only guy who is -- proudly -- running to Newsom's right.
It's odd and, frankly, it makes the non-Newsom Left, seem less high-minded than they'd like to think. Of course, community mayoral forums are catch-as-catch-can affairs. There's no getting around that. Both the campaigns and community organizations rely almost entirely on volunteers. But it would be nice if candidates could stop arguing about who's showing up, who was invited, who was left out and whether it was deliberate, and focus on what most of the people in their audience want to hear about, their plans, their hopes and their goals for the city. It might even boost attendance at these things.
Part of the problem is that there are simply too many forums for all the candidates to make all the time. This hurts every one and it creates a side show -- did he show? was she invited? wat was the scheduling conflict? -- that detracts from what should be the business at hand.
"It would be much better to have two or three really solid mayoral discussions," says Denny.
Mon 04:12 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
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It turned into a story about the number of homeless deaths in San Francisco, but the speech mayoral hopeful Gavin Newsom has started delivering is a lot more impassioned than you'd expect. It's not the usual moaning and groaning about empty needles and used condoms (and there's plenty of that) and how he'll make it all go away.
Instead, he talks about compassion and caring and how the city has failed. It's an interesting tactic, one that works particularly well with skeptics who think that Newsom, who has so much corporate support that it's almost embarrassing, is balancing his political ambitions on the backs of the city's less fortunate. He talks past his audience to his critics.
At the City Club and again that evening before a group of doctors and other medical types on Russian Hill, Newsom talked about how little the city has done for its homeless, the effects that heroin addiction have on the San Francisco's street people and the need for reform. It's a smart tactic one that, in addition to showing how Newsom really feels on the issue, goes a lot way to getting him out from under his most serious criticism: that he is too young, too green and not professional enough to run the city.
Tue 01:54 PM | permalink | printer-friendly version | email this article
