The Chron's Weird Bias

Of late, local political stories in The Chronicle have been careful to use certain terms: "far-left," "ultra-liberal" and such when describing candidates for Supervisor and the future face of San Francisco politics. Almost exclusively, in fact -- today's Erin Allday piece, in describing where the next board's political leanings will be, didn't ponder whether it would go right, center or left -- but just "how far left the next board will go."

It's completely possible that the Board could swing straight to the middle if Newsom buddies Ahsha Safai, Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd win in 11, 4 and 7 -- Elsbernd is a shoo-in, Chu certainly has the most visibility around the Sunset (and is Asian like most of her constituency), and for some reason Safai is strong. That would mean, with Michaela Alioto-Pier (who often votes with Elsbernd and Chu on whatever it is Gavin wants, and all three of whom feature prominently on Newsom-sponsored campaigns, like No On H), there would be four automatic pro-Newsom votes on every Board decision.

But that's never something the Chron considered -- just "how far left the next board will go."

The fine folks at BeyondChron have already written about this, right after the so-called "Far Left" took over the DCCC in August. "Progressive" has been erased from the lexcion (I can't find the link right now, will try to find it later) at the Chronicle, and replaced instead with almost doom-sayer-like ominous warnings of "the far left," "how far left," "how left of far left the ultra-liberals!"

Is this reflective of San Francisco voters? I don't know too many actual San Franciscans, not the nutjobs who comment on Chron articles to "RECALL DALY!!", who think that this board is some sort of out-of-touch ultra-liberal collection of liberals. What the fuck does that mean, anyway? All the so-called "liberal" candidates want the same things as the not-so-liberal ones: public safety, good schools, etc. etc. But it's the non-so-called liberal ones who are taking cash from landlords and building owners, and the liberal ones who aren't -- and who are talking about keeping middle-income folks like me in town. Is that the sign of being a non-far-lefty, taking developer cash? Then count me out.

More confusing campaigning

The funders of this sign would have you vote for somebody in District 3.

They don't care if you vote Republican or Democrat, as long as you vote for their Republican or Democrat(s).

Now, clearly it is impossible to vote for two or three candidates in the same race... so who is it that would have us be so confused?

BOMA SFIE PAC, aka the Building Owners and Managers Association, aka The Man.

As far as I can recall, these three candidates were very very mum prior to June 3 on Prop. 98, which would have phased out rent control. Prop. 98 failed, and several prominent candidates in D3, frontrunner David Chiu and my onetime benefactor Tony Gantner among them, opposed Prop. 98.

D3 is ridiculously crowded as it is, and it looks like Chiu is going to take the whole damn thing -- he's received most of the endorsements -- but if you were looking for some people to oppose, for no other reason than they take money from landlords and building owners, here you go.

"Vote for someone -- no no not them! Him? No! Her? Ok. Him -- alright, fine, too. But not HIM!"

Public restroom report card #2

Today my travels and travails took me to The Panhandle.


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There it is, woot.

In said Panhandle, there's a little garden, some basketball courts, and of course, a shitter.

Tinkle tinkle.

Normally, having a public pee and poo hole in a public park is bad news. It attracts all sorts of people, the kind of folk who might not have homes, see, and would use above receptacle to recept... aw, fuck it. You know -- homeless people fuck shit up, dammit!

But considering I routinely empty my bladder in public, I wasn't about to be so shy as to not run in and deposit my morning coffee. I did, and then as soon as some balding guy who kept giving me odd looks left, I walked around and took some photos.

And what did I see!

Mr. Clean's been here!

Seriously, this place sparkled. This is something else. Let's continue.

Clean!

I'm not kidding. Either Rec and Park JUST cleaned it, the cleanest people in town shit here, or... damn, I don't know.

Not a spec of residue anywhere in the john, not a lot of graffy, smelt like a public building, not a privvy.

In short:

Grade: A -- and a big seal of approval.

Covering all the bases or I support the everything

Seeing as how it's Elect a Supervisor time here in St. Francis Town, it's hard not to walk down a city street without seeing a campaign sign hung from a window. Sometimes, you can't help but not see several signs hanging from windows -- sometimes the same window. Sometimes, competitors share the same window.

I always wondered how it is a candidate gets a merchant to hang his or sign. Was there a stump speech? A bribe? A healthy tip in the tip jar?

The more I think about it, the more I think, 'No. Someone just handed them a fucking sign.'

Here are some examples.


Three competing supe candidates, a Peace Mom for Peace, and a Pacific Gas & Electric Co special, on a coffee shop door. Why not? It's a Big Tent.

In District 3, we have three out of 9, or 33.3333333 percent on one corner.

Three, from left to right. Does Joe's sign's sagging mean anything for the son of an Alioto?

Social Worker, plain and... badass

Is it some sort of requirement for social workers to be ex-cons, hard and caring as fuck?
This gentleman was one of the workers from the newly-reopened Walden House, attending a usual Tuesday presser at City Hall.


Hardcore head.

It also came to my attention I saw an Obamacar and didn't post Obamacar.



So there you go.

Gavin's got a brand-new ride?

And it's more fuel-efficient than a Volkswagen?

Leave it to this guy to drive a Green SUV (ok, it's black-painted, but you know what I mean).

Today at the Union Bank of California's something-or-other, Gavin exited the proceedings and hopped into what appears to be a new ride -- a shiny new Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid SUV.



SUV? In the green city? Boo! But wait!

Lest we heap hate on the Gavster for being a gas-guzzler, consider: the normal Mayoral whip, a Lincoln Town Car, gets 15 mpg in the city. The SUV? 20 mpg, a cool 5 mpg better than the stinkin' Lincoln.

Plus, you can fit way more mayoral friends in the Tahoe. Think there might even be room for Chris Daly and Rose Pak? Nah, me neither.

"You might think so, but you are in fact mistaken" #1

Today, about 12 noon, as I sit in the sunshine outside a coffee shop to use the Internet cos I don't have it at home, looking up phone numbers so I can leave messages because I don't have an office (or at least one I can use in between assignments without wasting an hour on Muni), right after having left the fifth in about 15 messages to the police spokesman, trying to get a quote for a newspaper story that would eventually spiked (didn't get the right quote, see), I am seated next to a painter. Exchange goes as follows:

Me: (on phone) This is C, reporter from etc, blah blah blah blah blah blah

Painter: Reporter, huh? Must be cool.

Me: (who makes 550 a week, with car in shop needing repairs he cannot afford to make, sitting outside cos he doesn't have internet in his one-bathroom home which he shares with three other people, too broke to move) ::silent::

Painter: But at least you must get laid a lot?

That's two-for-two, relaxed-looking pony-tailed painter man. Wanna trade jobs?

Could always be worse, though.