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Politics Blog

Ramos reflects on D11

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By Alex Jacobs

Julio Ramos calmly sat back in his election HQ late Tuesday night after hearing about the numbers. Ramos held 15% of the vote and was 240 votes behind Myrna Lim, the closest competition. The race for District 11 supervisor will now be decided through ranked-choice voting, based on voters’ second and third choices. John Avalos was leading with 29% to 24% for second place Ahsha Safai.
“Avalos ran a really good campaign,” said Ramos, who shares some of Avalos’s progressive politics.
With the theme of change constantly reiterrated this election, a push for change in the Excelsior has yet to take place. There are several capable candidates and Ramos remains hopeful.

Newsom’s green words for Obama

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by Amanda Witherell

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photo courtesy of Green Guerrillas against Greenwash

Environmental news web site, Grist, tapped a short list of people perceived as environmentalists and asked them to “imagine they found themselves in an elevator with the president-elect — giving them one minute of his undivided attention.”

Top of their list: our Mayor Gavin Newsom. Despite his lack of support for local environmental initiatives, in the national spotlight Newsom offers more comprehensive suggestions than many of the others posted by Grist.

They include following up on that $150 billion promise to invest in clean technology, more aggressive national efficiency standards for automobiles, buildings, and appliances, national cap and trade for carbon emissions, bilateral energy summit with China, green collar jobs, and financial support for local greening initiatives.

Read them all here.

The Chron notices Prop. H — when it loses

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By Tim Redmond

Isn’t it interesting that the Chronicle, which mostly ignored the Clean Energy Act when it was on the ballot, suddenly gives it a big headline — lead story on the local page — when PG&E beats it?

Ya think the result might have been different if the daily had covered the issue all along like this and reported on PG&E’s big-money lies? Ya think?

High speed rail coming to SF

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By Steven T. Jones

Amid all the hoopla about last night’s big election, many people are overlooking another big win for San Francisco: the narrow approval of Prop. 1A, the $10 billion bond measure that is the first huge step to bringing high-speed trains into San Francisco. Just imagine walking, biking, or taking BART or Muni to the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco, buying a $77 ticket, hopping on a sleek train that reaches up to 220 mph, and then arriving a Union Station in Los Angeles two and a half hours later.
In 10 years, you may not have to imagine it because it’ll be a reality. We’ll have more on this in the next couple days, including what those next steps will be and the status of a couple of lawsuits that challenging the project.

Late night on the Prop. 8 watch

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Anna Rendall reports:

Now that The First Big Win was out of the way, the happy masses thronged down the halls of the Westin St. Francis Hotel to the next meeting room where the focus was on No on 8. That was before 10 p.m.

By midnight, the halls were cleared and in the ballroom, scattered couples danced leisurely to “New York, New York” as others booed and hurrahed the overhead projector, which showed poll results from different counties in California. San Francisco got a big whoop from the crowd for its No on 8 votes, but others, like Sutter County with a 70 percent approval of Proposition 8, didn’t fare well with the audience. By the time the crowd was gently sent off, no solid results had come in.

Yee and Fewer enthused about elections

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By Alex Jacobs

Norman Yee and Sandra Fewer’s campaign party kicked off with a bang as Barack Obama was announced the President Elect at 8pm. Displayed on an enormous flat screen television, the news was met with wild applause and jubilant cheers. Both schoolboard candidates were ecstatic about the Obama victory.
“It’s so exciting,” said Sandra Lee Fewer.
Fewer told the Guardian that running in this historic election was a wonderful experience.
“I am very hopeful for this country, for this city, and hopeful that there will be change,” said Fewer.

A coupla sobering moments

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By Tim Redmond

WIth all the celebrating going on, it’s worth noting that Prop. B — the affordable housing measure — is still too close to call, and Prop. 8 — the attack on same-sex marriage — is still ahead.

And there are still 100,000 absentee ballots to be counted in San Francisco.

The new school board

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By Tim Redmond

Looks like the new school board will be …. new. Three of the four seats elected will go to newcomers. Norman Yee was re-elected, but longtime incumbent Jill Wynns apparently didn’t make it. The new members will be Sandy Fewer, Bobbi Lopez and Rachel Norton.

Rodel Rodis, a longtime member of the Community College Board, didn’t make the cut either; Milton Marks was re-elected, and so was Natalie Berg (boo), but progressive Chris Jackson won, along with Steve Ngo, who is kind of a question mark.

So more change.

A night for progressives

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By Tim Redmond

The amazing thing tonight is that district elections — celebrated in the Harvey Milk movie, brought back by Tom Ammiano — continues to work.

I ran into Republican consultant Chris Bowman early this evening, and he told me that he thought the 2000 election, which brought a progressive majority to the Board of Supervisors, was an unusal event, driven by anger at then-Mayor WIllie Brown. This time around, he was expecting a more moderate slate to win.

But guess what: Organizing on the ground still beats big money when you elect supervisors by district.

Hope in the streets

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By Tim Redmond

San Francisco is going crazy. I haven’t seen this much excitement in the streets since we shut down the city when the Iraq war began. But this time, we actually have something to celebrate.

Spontaneous parties broke out at 16 and Guerrero and 19th and Valencia; the cops closed the streets (and told me they weren’t going to break up the parties — for a while). Everywhere I rode on my bike, people were waving and screaming, and when I stopped for a bottle of bourbon at my corner store on the way home, the guy gave it to me cheap — “the Obama discount.”

The city is full of hope. That’s a rare commodity these days, and I want it to last. I want Obama to realize that this was a progressive victory, that he won not with the party power structure but with the grassroots, with activists who belong to the left side of the Democratic Party, and that he will take office with a huge, monumental mandate. We’re going to want real change. When you give this many people this much to believe in, you don’t want to let them down.

So let’s celebrate tonight — and tomorrow, let’s remember that WE won this victory, and we now have to make sure that our standard-bearer doesn’t forget that.

Dancing in the streets

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By Steven T. Jones

The Mission District was jubilant tonight, with champagne-wielding, Obama-cheering groups of celebrants roaming the streets and woo-hooing at the constantly honking cars and jingling bikes, and then finally gathering by the hundreds at the intersection of 19th and Valencia shortly after 10 p.m., where they remained for at least an hour, dancing, soaking in the moment, unmolested by police that were nowhere to be found. It was a spontaneous celebration of a historic moment by citizens of the country’s most progressive city.
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“We have change,” was the chant that a young boy standing atop a van started, animating the crowd.

Mirkarimi,Obama Celebration at Rassela’s

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By Jeremy Spitz

From the scene at Rassela’s on Fillmore you might assume that the whole world, or at least the whole city, is celebrating tonight.

The party is ostensibly for the re-election of Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi in District 5 but I could not find him amid the loud, crowded rooms. Supervisor Mirkarimi’s victory was never really debated, and either way, a certain president-elect from Illinois stole the show.

It is truly a historic night here in San Francisco. Happy citizens of all races, creeds, and income brackets have come together…to dance. As I write this, a distinguished looking, white haired businessman is getting down on the dance floor with a woman who appears to be homeless.

It is truly a day of unity for the city. Party hard san Francisco, for tomorrow we go to work.

David Chiu, Aaron Peskin represent

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Sarah Phelan reports:

A nice turnout for David Chiu’s party at Broadway Suites, opposite Showgirls, next to Crow Bar near Chinatown – definitely the stripper area: Will David be taking it off?

Chiu was pretty happy because he said he ran “the most grassroots campaign — against one of the mnost moneyed campaigns in San Francisco history.”

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, he had 40% of the vote.

Current D3 supe Aaron Peskin came on stage and announced, “Let me introduce next supe for D3: David Chiu!”

And Chiu responded, “This is completely overwhelming, beautiful day.”

He may be the first Chinese American to represent Chinatown.

Prop. H: $10 million and it’s this close

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By Tim Redmond

Well. Prop. H, the Clean Energy Act, is going down to defeat. But the public-power campaign — against very little money, with $10 million in PG&E cash against it — made a remarkable showing. In the end, Yes on H will have about 45 percent, which demonstrates both the ability of the organizers (great job, Julian Davis) and the willingness of nearly half of the voters to defy the most expensive campaign in San Francisco initiative history. It appears the progressives will still have control of the Board; this isn’t going away.

Randy Knox: “Anything is possible”

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Ricky Angel reports:

A block away from Randy Knox’s campaign HQ, a vivacious crowd cheered Barack Obama’s presidency. Inside Knox’s HQ, Knox told the Guardian: “Barack has shown that anything is possible.”

Knox, a biracial black candidate running for District 11 Supervisor, has been avidly campaigning. He told the Guardian: “It has been an enlightening experience.” Knox said he has learned a lot about his neighborhood and “community reaction has been positive because they share the same intent.” Knox, a long time resident of District 11 relayed that the intent was to revive a neighborhood neglected by City Hall.

Volunteer and friend, Marcus Wong, 23, supports Knox. Wong told the Guardian: “Randy has the ability to do something amazing in life.” Alex Humphrey, 39, turned down a paid position with the Obama campaign to volunteer for Knox. Humphrey stated: “There is no one, running for District 11 Supervisor, as qualified as Randy.”

Throughout the night, various campaign personnel commemorated Knox as a personable and genuine man.

Although results would not be in for a few days, Wong said, “I’m optimistic. Definitely optimistic.”

Obama parties break out; Castro calms

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At 16th and Dolores, at 19th and Valencia — drums, screams, police, but all peacful. People streaming out of bars like the Kilowatt, singing, celebrating …

Also: in the Castro things have calmed down a bit as the tension of uncalled prop 8 close race sinks in. “People were happy, but now they don’t know what the hell to do, ” says my BF. “They were exuberant for the cameras for the 11 o’clock news, but now everyone’s just milling around a little despondently. I’m going to Moby Dick for a drink.”

Cheng pulls in fourth for District 3

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Anna Rendall reports:

At 10 p.m., Claudine Cheng was in high spirits despite that the polls indicated she was in fourth for District 3 supervisor. With 8 percent of the vote she was far behind David Chui, who currently leads with 38 percent, according to the San Francisco Department of Elections Web site.

Surrounded by local residents, family, friends and a great food spread, Cheng, former deputy attorney for the city and Treasure Island Development Authority President, pointed out that the real results won’t be in until Friday. Besides, there was plenty of cheering in the room for Barack Obama, who had just won the presidency.

However, Cheng’s campaign manager, Ryan Chamberlain, wasn’t so upbeat at the moment. He said that he knew a couple of weeks ago where her race for District 3 supervisor was headed.

“A few weeks ago it became a Joe Alioto versus David Chui race … not so much about what they were doing or what they were saying but because of the negativ[ity],” said Chamberlain. “ The left started beating up on Joe … the right started beating up on David. The name recognition was that you’re either on side or the other. When that happened I could tell we just started to get lost in the debate.”

Yes on K waits …

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Saadia Malik reports:

Yes on K campaign workers were still waiting at Zeitgeist bar to hear if their measure had passed at 10:30pm. At this time, just a handful of people remained at the middle bar where the party was located, drinking beer and watching the news on TV.

As the others left, tired of waiting for the slow-coming results, campaign organizer Sadie Lune remained optimistic about results either way.

“Right now I’m so full of hope and joy” she said, after a day of last minute campaigning. She said she was unfamilar with the political campaign process prior to the yes on prop K ballot measure, but was pleased with the response from voters.

“Any result seems like a gateway for opportunity.”

McCarthy’s “end of campaign” party

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Ricky Angel reports:

Tears of joy erupted from Denise McCarthy’s campaign as we learned Barack Obama won the presidency.

As for the McCarthy campaign, she told the Guardian, “This isn’t a victory party, it’s the ‘end of a campaign’ party.”

McCarthy, running for supe in D3, explained that her campaign was officially over, but it could be days before they learn the results. Her husband Tom McCarthy reiterated that it was too early to tell — although he stated that Denise has a strong history in the district that no one else has.

Paige Labourdette and nephew Harry Libarle supported by volunteering for the campaign. Labourdette told the Guardian, “I think she’s going to win. She has a lot of experience and community support.”

Passerby Frederick Geers of the Richmond said he would have voted for McCarthy – “There’s enough Aliotos in City Hall already.”

Approximately 30 guests enlivened McCarthy’s campaign party at Polk and Jackson.

“We ran the fucking table”

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Tim Redmond reports from City Hall:

I just talked to labor organizer Robert Haaland, who helped run the union-backed campaigns for progressive supervisors. His comment:

“It was grassroots hard work against big downtown money — and we ran the fucking table. It’s amazing, we were up against the biggest downtown blitz ever seen in district elections. It’s obviously a big night for labor and it’s a big loss for you-know-who.”

Just kidding! Eric Mar pulls ahead to win big.

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by Meghann Myers

From Mandarin Bistro to Kansai Bistro and back again, the dead heat between District 1 Supervisor candidates Eric Mar and Sue Lee has ended with Mar carrying 42.51 percent of the vote with all precincts reporting.

After two hours basking in the glow of Obama’s victory, Mar supporters at Mandarin Bistro roared as the final numbers were announced. Mar’s victory marks the end of a genuine grassroots campaign, in the face of other candidates whom Mar supporters described as engaged in “politics as usual” and “corporate.”

“Here’s to change we need!” shouted volunteer Shaw-San Liu as she clinked paper cups full of champagne with other supporters. Earlier in the evening, Liu compared Mar’s campaign to Barack Obama’s own struggle to rise to the top.

Whoa

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Tim Redmond reports:

It now appears that the Progressives have won Districts 1, 3, and 11.

Mar pulled far ahead in D1.

Chiu is well ahead in D3.

Avalos is comfortably in D11.

It’s still too early to tell for sure, and anything can change with ranked voting and as the later precincts come in.

But downtown and the mayor are taking it in the shorts, and the Progressives who run the Democratic party are headed for a victory even many of them did not expect.

Labor Council Celebrates Victory for Obama, Prop A

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At first only one thing mattered to the organizers and workers at San Francisco Labor Council party at the Temple Bar. The MSNBC screens on the wall called the election for Obama just minutes after the western polls closed. Shocked silence gradually turned into giddy exuberance as the reality set in that Barack Obama had won the election, and handily at that.

After the president elect delivered his victory speech Damita Davis-Howard, President of SEUI 1021 delivered the news that Prop A was ahead by 80 percent, Avalos and Chiu were leading and Mar was trailing by only one point.

“This is everything that SEIU has been working for,” said Steve Stallone, President of the International Labor Communications Association. “ This is our election.”

Brenda Barros, who has worked at SF General for 27 years, said that she was “ecstatic” about the outcome.

“I’m so glad the people of San Francisco have validated the importance of SF General,” she said.

As the Supervisor races remain too close to call and Prop 8 seems to be trailing dangerously, San Francisco labor is celebrating the victory of Barack Obama and what looks like a solid victory on Prop A.

“There is nothing we can’t do, said Davis-Howard. “We can get up in the morning and say: Yes, We Can.” To which the audience responded, “Yes, We Can, Yes, We Can!”

Safai will sleep well tonight

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By Molly Freedenberg

It was a very different scene at Pissed Off Pete’s, the headquarters for District 11 Board of Supervisors candidtate Ahsha Safai, than it was at Inner Mission Bar. Where Sheehan’s party was filled with mostly 30-something white hipsters, former punks, and scruffy activist-types, Safai’s was a mix of older voters from diverse backrounds and grown-up types in suits. Safai himself looked calm and casual, if sophisticated, in grey slacks and a black fleece zip-up jacket. Though cars honked and people yelled along most of Mission Street, things seemed to be winding down at Pete’s by 10pm, when Safai took the stage. He acknowledged results for his race probably wouldn’t be in for a day or two, but thanked his volunteers and campaign managers for their “bottoms-up, grassroots” campaign – with special thanks for his wife, and childhood friend Sammy B., and Summer Branch. “Everything changes tomorrow,” he told the crowd. As he finished his brief speech, the crowd cheered “Ahsha, Ahsha, Ahsha!” before filtering out into the night. As for Safai, he admitted to the Guardian that it’s a difficult process to campaign, and especially not to know the results yet. But he was uplifted by Obama’s win. “It lifts you,” he said, adding that he’s “the other skinny guy with the funny name.” As for how Safai will sleep tonight with so much of San Francisco politics up in the air, he didn’t hesitate: “I’m exhausted. I’ll probably sleep like a baby.” It probably doesn’t hurt that as soon as he rejoined the crowd, his advisors said his numbers looked good.

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