Sweet Melissa

Let the Games Begin! Bay Area Folks on the November Ballot

On Tuesday, California voters determined who will face off in November for key state offices, and San Francisco names had a big day.

Governor

In one corner, we have Republican nominee and Atherton resident Meg Whitman, who has (so far!) spent $71 million of her own money to convince us she’s a fiscal conservative. During her Tuesday speech accepting the Republican nomination, Whitman declared herself the “nightmare” of politicians in Sacramento. I don’t disagree. I feel most sorry for the ones who will have to explain to her the rules governing the state Legislature, including the structural barriers that prevent real reform regardless of who is in charge. Awkward!

In the other corner, we have San Francisco native Jerry Brown acting like someone’s peepaw in running shorts clutching a new vegetable juicer, vowing to live forever and singing, “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet!” (Seriously, Brown played that song at his victory speech last night.) It’s as if Brown wants us to believe that during his four decades in office, he was restraining the beast that is his political genius because he wanted to wait until this moment to show us. “I know I ain’t seen nothin’ yet, baby, baby, baby.”

Lieutenant Governor

Now that Mistermayor has won the Democratic Party primary, his transformation from City Executive to Sitting Alternative is almost complete. All that’s left to do is beat Republican candidate Abel Maldonado in November, which may be difficult.

First of all, independent Hispanic voters choosing between Gavin “The Gay Marriage Guy” Newsom and Maldonado, the son of immigrant Mexican-American­ farmworkers, may go with the latter.

Second, when candidates for governor have the means, they often send money downstream to their potential lieutenants. In this case, Jerry Brown has about $16 million in the bank. Plus, it was only about five minutes (OK, months) ago that Newsom was running for governor against Brown, attacking Brown for lacking “fire in his belly.” Newsom isn’t likely on Brown’s Christmas card list, much less his “people to give money to” list.

Whitman, on the other hand, prints money on a machine she bought from the government in an eBay auction. Maldonado can out-fundraise­ Newsom by simply following Whitman around, collecting the $1,000 bills she uses to blot her lipstick.

Attorney General

On Tuesday, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris happily accepted the Democratic Party nomination for state attorney general, while Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley won the Republican Party nod. This one actually promises to be a fun race, and for once in a San Francisco vs. Los Angeles fight, we have the prettier team.

The neat twist to this race is that Cooley presides over a criminal justice system in Los Angeles that reportedly does the things Harris’ office is now in trouble for not doing: checking the backgrounds of public safety employees and telling defendants about the results.

Add the fact that Cooley has been praised by Republican leaders for landing “more death penalty convictions than the entire state of Texas last year,” versus Harris’ steadfast opposition to capital punishment — even for cop killers — and this matchup between antipodes is bound to get ugly.

Luckily, the enjoyment of political slap-fighting is one pleasure not banned in this state — yet.

Why I don't get invited to holiday parties...

With Meg Whitman inching past Jerry Brown in the polls, Democrats are rightfully concerned. Whitman has engaged in a media blitz not seen since Ross Perot bought airtime to show us pie charts and Texas politics, “If you see a snake, just kill it — don’t appoint a committee on snakes.”

If Whitman’s campaign strategy is to use the Jedi mind trick of forcefully putting thoughts in people’s heads, Jerry Brown’s campaign strategy appears to be “playing hard to get.” See, Brown doesn’t appear to have much in the way of a campaign going. Oh, I know he’s trying to show he’s creative and forward-thinking, but, as political strategies go, just because something is “unorthodox” doesn’t mean it is effective.

On Easter Sunday, I was having dinner with one of the wonkiest people I know. A former elected official, he remains active in politics and shares my love of funky, arcane details. As with most conversations these days among the civic chattering class, the subject turned to Brown’s unenthusiastic campaign.

“What if Brown drops out of the race?” I asked.

“Oh!” his eyes widened.

Here’s what we put together: If Brown stays in the race long enough to win the party primary in June, the field would be clear of gadflys and single-issue activists running for the Democratic nod. (Pdf of full list of candidates here: Download Gov Candidates.) Once it’s Brown versus some Republican (let’s just pretend there’s still a question about who that will be) Brown could drop out of the race. At that point, volunteered my dinner companion, the state Democratic Central Committee would appoint Brown’s replacement, which could be anyone — a moneyed Democrat like Steve Westley, a popular politician like Dianne Feinstein, or even a young lieutenant governor candidate.

Democratic groups like Level the Playing Field 2010 are raising money to defeat a Republican candidate (rhymes with Whitman) and a substitute Democratic Party candidate could just as easily benefit from those efforts.

“It’s a thought,” he grinned.

“Pass the cornbread.” 

He'd go to Sacramento to be Governor, but Lt. Gov? Prolly not.

A recent poll showed Mistermayor as a front-runner if he were to enter the race for lieutenant governor, and since then local wonks have been chirping about whether he will run.

Here is my 2 cents, er, chirps: The answer is no.

It just doesn’t make any sense. Why would Mayor Gavin Newsom go all the way to that sad little place called Sacramento just to hold Meg Whitman’s umbrella? And while serving on the Agriculture and Water Transition Task Force (not making that one up) might be tempting, I doubt the lieutenant governor gets a security detail or even keys to the office supply cabinet.

Not Mistermayor’s style at all.

There’s another issue at play here, though: Who becomes mayor if Newsom leaves office a year early?

Let’s assume he’s elected lieutenant governor and takes office in January. The Board of Supervisors would then appoint a new mayor who must serve at least four months but could serve up to a year, depending on the date of the next election, when voters would finally have a say. (Charter sec. 13.101.5.)

The board-appointed mayor need not be a supervisor. It could be anyone. Yes, anyone. (Mayor Griffin?) With a progressive majority at the board, I think the prospect of a year with Mayor Chiu, Mayor Peskin, Mayor Daly or Mayor Campos is frightening enough for Newsom to forgo the glint of glory that comes with the office of lieutenant governor.

Odds and Ends: Kamala's Co-Author, Brain-Melting, Security Costs and a Holiday Miracle

Many of you might wake up on Christmas morning to find a copy of San Francisco District Attorney (and State Attorney General-hopeful) Kamala Harris’ book “Smart on Crime, A Career Prosecutors Plan to Make Us Safer” under the tree. If you enjoy that read, just wait until January 2010 when Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman’s new book “The Power of Many; Values for Success in Business and in Life,” comes out. Both books were co-authored by Joan O'C. Hamilton, who obviously has found a niche.

Speaking of sharing ideas…

Mistermayor is backing a proposal by the Commission on the Environment's policy committee that would require cell phone radiation absorption levels be posted next to the price tag of any cell phone sold in San Francisco. Maine Rep. Andrea Boland, D-Sanford has out-crazied even our fair city by stating that she’ll propose a law in January requiring cell phones to sport a label that says “Warning” in large, red letters and (I’m not making this up) a graphic, in color, of a child’s brain next to the warning. You win, Andrea.

Speaking of copying San Francisco…

The San Francisco scuffle about the cost of having the police guard Mistermayor while he was campaigning for governor appears to have inspired city council members in Washington, D.C. Last week D.C. councilmember Phil Mendelson asked the D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier for detailed financial information about Mayor Adrian Fenty's security detail. It seems Mayor Fenty is on a cycling team and has been using motorcycle escorts so his team could ride in unauthorized places and run red lights.

Stay away from Critical Mass, Mistermayor.

Speaking of Police…

Back in June the Board passed a resolution, sponsored by Bevan Dufty, demanding that the San Francisco Police Department properly staff its Fraud Section. With only eight officers to deal with over 1,000 cases per year, it was reportedly taking about one year to even begin investigating a given case.

I called police department spokeswoman Lieutenant Tomioka last week to see if there had been any progress in getting more staff in the section.

Tomioka told me a string of facts that basically amounts to a Christmas miracle: the Fraud Section (now called the Economic Crimes Unit) has just added 7 whole brand new inspectors to its ranks, bringing the total number to 15 inspectors and one civilian support staff member. According to Tomioka, the change was made in early December as part of some larger departmental changes.

See, it’s not all bad news.

Happy Holidays, San Francisco!

How a fight becomes a law: Security Reimbursement Ordinance

In July 2008, Mistermayor got married in Montana. And instead of springing for a diamond-encrusted meat thermometer, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi offered up a different kind of probe: he demanded to know how much it had cost The City for two police officers to drive to Montana and provide security detail for the mayor. Met with a resounding “Whatever, dude ... that’s classified” from both the Mayor’s Office and the Police Department, Mirkarimi was never able to get to the bottom of his request.

By February, Mistermayor’s campaign to be the captain of the Titanic (read: governor of California) was in full swing, so Mirkarimi requested the price of security for gubernatorial campaign events in locations such as Donner Pass Road in Truckee. Once again, the answer was no, accompanied by an eye roll.

Undeterred, Mirkarimi introduced legislation in August aimed at making sure elected officials who campaign for themselves or others outside San Francisco while employing “dignitary security” provided by taxpayers disclose and pay back the cost of providing that detail. (PDF of ordinance here: Download Security Reimbursement.)

Once you recover from the giggles that inevitably ensue when one imagines the word “dignitary” being connected to any city elected official, please note that the Board of Supervisors Rules Committee will consider this proposed law at 10 a.m. today.

Of course, now that Mistermayor has ceased his statewide campaign, this law looks a lot less necessary. But Mirkarimi maintains that the law is still important because, while “Mayor Newsom’s practices certainly highlighted the need for reform,” the issue is one of transparency and saving taxpayer money. “There have got to be some larger strategies [to deal with The City’s constant deficit],” Mirkarimi said, “but it doesn’t mean we should ignore the smaller ones.”

Indeed, the immediate savings for taxpayers is likely to be very, very small. District Attorney Kamala Harris, who is provided security in her capacity as The City’s top prosecutor and is campaigning to be the next California attorney general, is the only local official to whom this law may currently apply. Harris’ office could not be reached for comment. (Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier is running for state insurance commissioner, but is not entitled to a security detail.)

One person who’s not happy with the proposal is President Gary Delagnes of the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association. “This is just politics as usual in San Francisco,” he told me. “If Mirkarimi and the mayor want to play their stupid games, fine. But leave my people out of it.”

If this law passes, future city officials campaigning outside San Francisco probably will.

Newsom needs more than vows to change bankrupt California - UPDATED

Mistermayor released a new campaign advertisement last week. About a minute in length, the ad consists of a series of black and white photos, many of which — unsurprisingly — feature Gavin Newsom. (Video at bottom of post.)

Clearly going for a JFK "look at this public-yet-private moment" style, Newsom is rarely looking at the camera and his expressions alternate between optimistic fighter and contemplative softie. Music reminiscent of "Air and Simple Gifts" from President Barack Obama’s inauguration plays in the background.

The ad wisely ends with "Don’t just change governors. Change California." Approval ratings for our current state legislature and governor are just above the Taliban, but below Swine Flu. According to a recent Field Poll, more than half of all Californians want "fundamental change" in the way state government works and would support a constitutional overhaul.

Seizing upon this winter of our discontent, Newsom’s ad co-opts the cause of a constitutional convention. While the slideshow and music are playing, a voiceover says, "This is the race that will shake the system, that will change the state constitution, that will lower the two-thirds majority [required to pass a budget], that will pass the budget …" 

UPDATE: First noticed by the wonderfully astute MattyMatt in this video's comments section on YouTube, there appears to be a controversy over whether "Constitutional Convention" was photoshopped onto a sign being held by a Newsom supporter in one pic used in the ad. Two of my favorite bloggers have written about this in more depth: Greg Dewar and Jim Herd.

The Newsom campaign is smart to align itself with a popular cause like government reform, but promising to bring fundamental changes also opens the door for folks to look at continued problems right here in San Francisco: crippling set-asides, out of control retiree health spending and dysfunction between the executive and legislative branches of government.

What our bankrupt state needs is something akin to a United Nations Purse-Keeping force because we are winning the war on prosperity. If Mistermayor has a blue helmet, we’re all eager to see it.