Much has been written about how Jane Kim beat San Francisco's "progressive machine" last week to win the District 6 Supervisor race. But a precinct analysis of the election results tells a far bigger story, and explains how she pulled it off. Just like Howard Dean's Fifty State Strategy helped Democrats win nationwide, Jane Kim was everywhere - and conceded no part of District 6. Debra Walker carried the North Mission and a few progressive pockets, but racking up margins in some core precincts is not enough when your opponent actively contests every neighborhood. Kim beat Walker in the Tenderloin (where she had a better operation), and easily won the Chinese precincts - but also carried places like Treasure Island and the Western Addition. And as Jane's field coordinator for condos in Eastern SOMA, I'm very proud she won those precincts by a landslide - as we were the only campaign to show up. These were the Rob Black voters of 2006, but Kim proved that even a progressive can win those neighborhoods - if you bother to talk to them.
Mayor Gavin Newsom has entered the race for Lieutenant Governor, a job he ridiculed while running for Governor - and his supporters include San Francisco progressives who figure it's an opportunity to get rid of him. Nonetheless, an endorsement list that includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Teachers Association and Sacramento's legislative leaders (along with an opponent with unimpressive fundraising totals) should make Newsom the front-runner for the Democratic primary. But it won't be pretty - given that Garry South (who ran his gubernatorial campaign) now works for his competitor, L.A. City Councilmember Janice Hahn. The Hahn campaign has been vicious on Gavin so far, using the kind of scorched-earth tactics that South is famous for. Newsom may win the nomination on June 8th, but he could end up suffering the same fate as Garry South's last victim. Phil Angelides had much of the Democratic leadership behind him when he ran for Governor, but only won the primary after a bruising fight with South client Steve Westly. And it left him so bloodied that he went on to lose the general election by a landslide.
Gavin Newsom's Channel 5 interview last week revealed a Mayor defensive about his recent behavior, and it suggested he will lash out against critics by making vindictive budget moves. It's only November, but Newsom has already ordered every Department Head to propose 30% in cuts - alarming those who rely on City contracts to provide front-line services to the poor. At the same time, the Mayor and his spokesman both said they will avoid touching the Police and Fire Departments - neither of whom got cut this year, while Health and Human Services were slashed. Rather than react to another round of cuts, now is the time for progressives to step up and offer their solutions to a very real budget crisis. With Newsom not running for Governor, why does he still need five press secretaries - or his "pet projects"? And if the Mayor is really thinking about quitting politics (as the Wall Street Journal implied), why is he still sucking up to the Police and Firefighters Union - or the real estate lobby by pushing a dangerous proposal that will lead to mass evictions?
(Originally published on Wednesday, I promoted this for weekend frontpage viewing because I think the last 7 months have clearly shown the limits of what can be done on the national stage if we don't significantly beef up our scrutiny from the bottom up. - promoted by Paul Rosenberg)
It's Wednesday morning, and I have packed my bags for a long flight to Pittsburgh to attend Netroots Nation. It will be my third year going as a blogger from Beyond Chron - but my first as a speaker. Evan Coren, who parlayed his blog activism to win a seat on the City Council in Columbia, Maryland has recruited me for a panel discussion on Friday afternoon called Local Blogs: Covering City and County Government and Empowering Activism. We will be joined by panelists from Philadelphia, Chicago and New Orleans - for a superb line-up of bloggers who play a key role in their local governments. The following is my story about covering San Francisco politics ...
Last Friday at 5:00 p.m. (which he's apt to do when releasing bad news), San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom vetoed three pro-tenant ordinances designed to help renters facing hard times. He even nixed a relatively mild proposal to limit "banked" rent increases to 8% - despite this being consistent with existing policies at the Mayor's Office of Housing. Newsom's record on tenant issues in San Francisco has always been bad, and his latest act does not bode well for next year's statewide elections. California's 14 million renters need a champion in the Governor's Mansion after six years of a hostile Republican Administration, but Newsom currently only has one opponent for the Democratic primary - California Attorney General Jerry Brown. Based on his record as Mayor of Oakland, Brown can be counted on to be just as anti-tenant - if not worse - than Newsom. There is no excuse why a deep blue state like California can't have a pro-tenant Governor, and the current field of Democratic candidates creates an opening for a new person to jump into the fray.
Mayor Gavin Newsom must assume that when releasing a budget everyone expects to have cuts, the press will just take a few pictures, jot down some snappy quotes, and - maybe - read his one-page press release. Beyond Chron, however, bothered to review the whole proposal, and the numbers contradict what Newsom said in his speech - where he assured us Public Health cuts would be less severe than feared. The budget has over $100 million in cuts for that Department, not $43 million as he claimed. Newsom also said the Mayor's Office would get a 28% cut, but the figures show only 9% of his staff are being laid off - and the division that runs his media operation would actually get bigger. And in a strange twist, Newsom said he really didn't like some cuts that he proposed - and would "count on" the Supervisors to restore them during the add-back process, but left unsaid where to find the money. As San Francisco faces its worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression, Newsom bragged that Police and Fire are getting no layoffs - while the rich and Downtown businesses will not be paying more taxes. He also warned more budget cuts are coming from the state, echoing the threats of Governor Schwarzenegger.
Before the California Democratic Convention ended yesterday, delegates bucked the Party leadership on the May 19th ballot measures - by securing a "no endorsement" on Propositions 1A, 1D and 1E. State legislators and Party operatives pushed "yes" on all six measures, but enough of the grassroots who stayed for the tail end of the session refused to go along. I've been attending these Conventions for 12 years, and it's clear now that activists and "reform" types run the Party - a stark contrast to how it once was. That's because Howard Dean and Barack Obama brought in a new wave of rank-and-file members, and now we see the impact. College students have replaced the "professional" types that once dominated the Young Democrats caucus. Reformer Hillary Crosby won the race for State Party Controller, and even John Burton's election as Party Chair is a good thing for the activist wing. Politicians must adapt to this change, and it's clear some of them - like John Garamendi - still don't get it. In the race for Governor, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom was not well received at the Convention by delegates from his hometown - as he painted a rosy picture of how things are in the City. And while Chris Daly ran as a "reformer" in the race for Regional Director, other factors contributed his defeat.
When San Francisco blogger Sasha McGee noticed that Gavin Newsom was being feted by PG&E; and AT&T; at the Denver convention, it wasn't much of a surprise to see a DLC candidate running for governor of the largest state. What was a surprise, was that Moveon was also listed as a sponsor.Moveon is Not Greenwashing Gavin Newsom's Corporate Party
I have little doubt that Senator Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic Nominee had it not been for her caving to right wing talking points and voting for the Iraq War. Being on the wrong side the the biggest foreign policy disaster in a generation is what advanced her career from inevitable nominee to junior senator. At the time, many of us in the netroots were flabbergasted, we knew it was a disastrous course of action and came to the conclusion that those who sided with George Bush and the neocons either had no grasp of the situation or were doing it for as a purely political calculation (and a poor one at that as Clinton discovered).
Iraq was the single biggest foreign policy decision, but when it comes to the global climate crisis, I'm getting a sense of déjà vu from the positioning and language used by San Francisco Mayor and 2010 California Gubernatorial hopeful Gavin Newsom as to why he's siding with PG&E; against the Sierra Club on clean, renewable energy.
As many of you saw, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gave a green speech introduction for Van Jones on Sunday at Netroots Nation. But immediately after his green speech, a local blogger asked a very important question:
I just asked Newsom if he would support the Clean Energy Act. At first, he said yes -- absolutely. Then he said, "oh are you talking about the one about PG&E;?" I said yes. He said, "oh no it's horrible." I asked him to elaborate, but he would not. I then asked, "is that because your consultant [Eric Jaye] is working for PG&E;?" Newsom denied it, but really. It was kinda pathetic.
Indeed. As we all know, Al Gore thinks the entire country needs to go 100% clean electrically by 2019 and Mayor Newsom won't try for his city to do the same by 2040?
