Steven T. Jones
There’s been much fretting among Mayor Gavin Newsom’s critics that no serious candidate has yet stepped forward to challenge him. But that’s not to nobody is challenging him. In fact, according the Elections Department, a baker’s dozen of San Franciscans have filed for a potential run (the list won’t be finalized until August). They are Cesar Ascarrunz, Rodney Hauge, Lonnie Holmes, Kenneth Kahn, Grasshopper Kaplan, Robert McCullough, Matthew Mengarelli, David Merlin, Antonio Mims, Malinka Moye, Robert Myers, Frederick Renz, and Ahimsa Porter Sumchai. None are exactly household names. The only one I know is Sumchai, whose base is basically Bayview Hunters Point lefties. But I had a chance this afternoon to chat with the latest mayoral candidate: David Merlin.