By Steven T. Jones
Despite recent denials about collaboration between the Mayor’s Office and the firefighters union – both of which are represented by political consultant Eric Jaye – the Mayor’s Office is actively involved in organizing and promoting a firefighters rally before this Tuesday’s board meeting on the interim budget.
The rally is being promoted on Facebook by top mayoral advisor Mike Farrah, who has indicated that he will attend along with Jaye, Rob Black (who Newsom backed for supervisor, but who now works for the Chamber of Commerce), and former Newsom flack Jennifer Petrucione.
Also invited by Farrah are Newsom press secretary Nathan Ballard, Chamber VP Jim Lazarus, Sup. Sean Elsbernd, conservative pollster Ben Tulchin, political consultant Tom Hseih, Examiner editor Jim Pimentel (who helps write editorials endorsing John McCain and denying climate change), and Newsom staffers Catherine Dodd, Wade Crowfoot, Daniel Homsey, and Dariush Kayhan.
Yup, that sound like independent grassroots advocacy at its best. Or Team Newsom’s version of it anyway. Meanwhile, the firefighters union continues its alarmist media blitz equating budget cuts to recklessly endangering San Francisco. Ridiculous. This department has always had tons of fat to trim, and the current scare tactics are utterly shameless.