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The party’s on at Joey and Eddy’s

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by Meghan McCloskey

At this hip restaurant in North Beach, many people gather to support Joe Alioto, who is running for District 3 Board of Supervisors. But most attendees just want a cool place to hang out and watch Obama on the big screen. Someone even dropped and shattered a beer bottle in the midst of the excitement.

Big-time Alioto supporter Peter Bails says Alioto would be great for the job. “He’s left but not off the edge,” he says. Along with other issues, Bails likes Alioto’s stance on increasing policemen on our streets, along with the fact that he’s not about drama. But Bails thinks Alioto won’t do so great in the polls. “His sister’s already there. People are afraid of that.”

Alioto’s cousin, Joe Alioto II, is in an outstanding mood. “I watched history tonight,” he says. Despite the Guardian’s skepticism on Alioto’s leadership abilities, Joe says, “I think Joe is easily the most qualified person I know–as a gentleman, as an attorney, as a family man, and as a student of history and of life.”

Obama and Prop 8

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Sarah Phelan reports from the Obama party at the Westin St. Francis:

It’s been a real scene here – people high-fiving on the streets and shouting ever since we heard about Obama. People yelling “Back to the icebox,” when Palin came onscreen during McCain’s concession speech.

Earlier I was at No on Prop 8 HQ — at the beginning, woth 5 percent of precincts reporting, yes on 8 was leading by 54%. The guy next to me said, “this is gonna be a looong next couple of hours once the Obama euphoria wears off!” A woman said, “I hope just a geographical bias,” citing Fresno and Bakersfield as likely culprits.

Newsom was supposed to show at No on 8 HQ, but hasn’t yet — which may not bode well. Apparently he’s in LA.

Geoff Kors of Equality California advised everyone here to buckle their seat belts. “We’ve still got a long way to go,” he said.

Tom Ammiano was on hand to cheer us all up, though. “The bad guys are winning,” he said, “by a small margin in the south.”

Yes on A has passed

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Saadia Malik reports:

The Yes on A campaign first heard word that their measure passed at about 9pm, just after Obama began his acceptance speech.

The measure passed overwhelmingly by 80.3 of the vote. The crowd anxiously awaited the results sipping on wine and nibbling on hors d’ouevres while taking in the national election coverage at the Prop A party headquarters.

Gene Marie O’Connell CEO of SF General said she had been laboring on the campaign sine 2000, when the state mandate for hospital seismic upgrades first passed. “This was a historic night. I’m glad Yes on A could be part of it.”

With tears in their eyes the crowd hugged each other and “It’s done” was heard.

Early numbers say Sue Lee in D1

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by Meghann Myers

The crowd at Kansai Bistro fell silent for a moment. Sue Lee’s supporters turned away from the KRON4 coverage on the three televisions and stopped sipping their drinks for a moment to hear campaign volunteer Julia read off the numbers she had just confirmed.

The first reports say that Sue Lee is carrying District 1 at 36.25 percent and Eric Mar at 35.12 percent.

A huge cheer went up through the crowd. Sue was no where to be found. I saw her walk outside to take a call on her cell about ten minutes ago. Stay tuned for the final numbers, but it looks like Lee has narrowly won this race.

Obama wins, but no SF results yet

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by Amanda Witherell

TomAmmiano11.4.08.JPG
Soon to be Assemblymember Tom Ammiano greeted by supporters at Campos for Supervisor headquarters

Up and down Valencia Street you could hear cheers echoing from bars and balconies when Florida flipped for Barack Obama. We have a new president.

But here in San Francisco, the new slate of supervisors is still pending. Outgoing supervisor Tom Ammiano just stopped by the David Campos headquarters at 24th and Mission Streets. He said the word from City Hall is “There’s a long line at SFSU still waiting to vote and they’re not releasing any results until everyone has voted.” He’s predicting no results on local races until 9:45.

In the meantime, a crowd of Campos supporters just took in Sen. John McCain’s brief concession speech. “Good-bye,” several waved to the campaigner’s departing figure shown by projection on a blank wall in the back of the campaign office.

More rockin’ at Roccapulco

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Amanda Witherell reports:

It’s going off at Roccopulco! And theres’ a line out the door at El Rio a couple doors down at the League of Pissed Off Voters and Prop H party – and so far the electricity’s still on, heh.

I just talked to Tom Jackson, the organizing director at Coleman Advocates – and he said the precinct he was working in, D11, gave 115 votes for Avalos, and 75 for Safai. And Prop B, the affordable housing measure, was winning by a wide margin.

Surprising news from City Hall

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Tim Redmond reports:

With 20% of vote in, the progressive candidates are not only withstanding the downtown assault, they’re doing remarkably well.

Gerardo Sandoval appears to have won the judicial race ousting incumbent Tom Mellon. In D3 David Chiu is now 17points ahead of Alioto and is winning 38-21.

In D1, Erc Mar and Sue Lee are still too close to call, and very few precincts in D11 are reporting yet.

Prop B is looking better and better and will probably pass.

Rockin’ at Roccapulco for Quezada

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Meghan McCloskey reports from the Eric Quezada party at Roccapulco:

Only a couple people sat in this beautifully appointed Mission Street club at 7:59 pm when we learned that Obama had enough electoral votes to become the President of the USA. Applause erupted as if the place were packed.

At 8:45, Quezada, candidate for D9 supe, walked in the door and headed straight for the front of the room. “We’ve already won” he said, looking up at Obama on the big screen. “So have some drinks and let’s celebrate the change we want!”

Rosalba Navarro, who works with Quezada 17 years ago in East Palo Alto in a parent organization that aided bilingual education in schools, says there’s no better perspon for the job. “He’s always been a fighter for the underdog,” she sais. “It’s great to have him support our community.”

Supporters wore bright yellow t-shirts with Quezada’s name on them to show their enthusiasm. Campaign volunteer Yeseenia Ruiz said, “The Guardian’s endorsement definitely helped Eric’s campaign, because people got to know him a little better. Just seeing his name you don’t know where he’s from. But articles in the paper help get people out there.”

Ove 100 volunterers have worked on his campaign Ruiz sasy volunteering ius what his ccampaign is all about.”

Avalos looks strong in key D11 race

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By Steven T. Jones

John Avalos and his small army of campaign volunteers entered Bottom’s Up bar as Barack Obama was giving his televised acceptance speech. It was a buoyant moment. Avalos had the lead with the absentee votes and he said that his team’s exit polling at the precincts had him about 20 points up at the polls.
“I’ve been feeling pretty confident for about a week,” Avalos told me.
After getting hammered by downtown’s well-funded attacks and a strong campaign by the mayor’s candidate, Ahsha Safai, labor came on strong for the Avalos campaign, which already had been waging a sustained volunteer effort with deep connections to the district.
“This is really about our neighborhood,” Avalos said. “It was the people in this room that really turned it around.”
And he said the attacks by groups like the Association of Realtor backfired: “No one out here believed that horseshit.”

Tears, cheers, and bubbly for Obama … and Sheehan?

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By Molly Freedenberg

There’s no sign at Inner Mission Tavern that this is a Cindy Sheehan party, but it’s most certainly one for Obama. When Virginia was announced for the Democratic nominee, the bar erupted in cheers – a sound dwarfed only by the joyous explosion when CNN predicted him the winner of the 2008 presidential election several minutes later. The night’s two bartenders (also the owners), both in Obama T-shirts, popped bottles of champagne for those lucky enough to be seated at the bar in the packed-beyond-belief room. The cheers, congratulations, and happy hugs stopped for Senator McCain’s speech, which was met first with a combination of boos and cheers, and then with appreciation for his surprisingly gracious concession speech. “This is my favorite McCain speech,” said one party attendee. As everyone waited for President-elect Obama to appear on CNN, the bar had to ask for patrons to pass their empty glasses to the front, as they’d run out of everything. “Obama’s so awesome he sold the bar out of beer!” someone exclaimed. And then Obama took the (TV) stage. Everyone in the room listened attentively. Some shed tears. Some of the biggest responses were to Obama’s acknowledgement of the millenial generation’s refusal to accept their reputation for apathy, and Obama’s mention that this is also a victory for those who are gay. Then, just like the live audience in Chicago, bar patrons chanted “Yes We Can” along with Obama’s pulpit-style closig. With the speech over and the bar starting to empty, there’s still no mention of Sheehan (nor any results available). But somehow, I imagine no matter the results of local elections tonight, most of these people will go home happy.

First results from City Hall

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Tim Redmond calls in:

The absentee votes are now in – and they show interesting trends in D1 Eric Mar and Sue Lee are in a virtual dead heat, with Lee about 1% ahead. Since the absentee voters tend to run conservative, this is good news for Mar.

In D3, David Chiu is well ahead beating Joseph Alioto, Jr., by 12 points.

In D9, David Campos is 7 points ahead of Mark Sanchez, with Eric Quezada a distant third.

In D11, John Avalos and Myrna Lim and Ahsha Safai are within 1 percentage point.

Prop 8 is going down 67 to 33 in SF.

On the ballot measures it’s a mixed bag:

Prop A is well ahead with 80 % of vote and will pass easily.

Prop B losing 55-45 anfd that will tighten up but be close.

Prop H has taken a beating from the $10mill PG&E campaign – it’s behind 67-33 …

The three revenue measurea — N, O, and Q — are all ahead and looking to pass.

It appears we will not be naming a sewage treatment plant after G.W. Bush: It’s down 70-30

If the trends hold as they usually do, with progressives picking up considerably on election day, this could turn out to be a very strong night for progressive candidates.

at this point it does not appear that downtown has successded in its efforts to buy the board.

Obama wins!!

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Rassela’s Jazz Club just went nuts as the word came down that the West Coast results put Obama over the top. Our long national nightmare is finally over and everyone just expressed their unbridled sense of happiness and relief. Now the hard work really begins. Well, tomorrow it does. Tonight we celebrate and hope for good results on the local and state levels.

Prop 8 numbers may change fast

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Tim Redmond calls in from City Hall:

We still have no results at SF Cit Hall for local races. Apparently there are still people voting at SF State — and the city’s not releasing anything until that last polling place closes.

What that means among other things is that any statewide numbers on Prop 8 are bound to be flawed because they don’t include roughly 400,00 projected votes in SF – the vast majorityj of which will be no on 8. It’s probably the same in LA.

Prop 8 numbers with 10% of CA reporting:

Yes: 1,598,117
No: 1,348,648

Ed Note — so don’t despair yet!

No word yet, but Mandarin Bistro is packed

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by Meghann Myers

“He’s kinda like Barack Obama, you know? It’s change we need.”

That’s what Eric Mar organizer Shaw-San Liu said to me when I asked her what sets Mar apart from the other candidates.

“He’s not a career politician, he’s not paid for by special interests,” added Linshao Chin.

The two of them were sitting on a couch at Mar’s headquarters on Geary, slumped with exhaustion after a long day. Around them, supporters huddled around a laptop to check the national poll numbers.

“Obama is our president!” they shouted simultaneously.

Now we’ve moved to China Bistro a few blocks away where Mar’s after party is being held. We still don’t know if he won. A few volunteers — the unlucky ones who aren’t noshing on egg rolls and chow mein — are running over to the police station and firehouse to check their polling numbers.

Update: The local precincts are reporting Mar up to 30% (9:11 pm)

Avalos at City Hall

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Tim Redmond calls in to report from the Dept of Elections at City Hall:

Still no results here, but I just talked to John Avalos who says his precinct reports are showing him way ahead.

“We had 5,100 people identified as our voters and we got most of them the polls,” Avalos says, “and labor had thousands more. I’m feeling really good right now.

“Of course, we have no hard results yet. And given that there are still people voting downstairs, it may be a while … “

Turnout: Heavy early, light later

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By Tim Redmond

Polls were packed this morning in San Francisco, but I’m hearing that the after-work number are much slower. No line at all in Bernal Heights tonight. I hope that means everyone voted early.

In LA, the turnout has been “ridiculously huge.”

Avalos workers on the streets

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By Tim Redmond

I was walking down Ocean Ave tonight and there were John Avalos workers at every corner, handing out slate cards and urging people to get to the polls. If visibility in the district is a factor, he’s doing well.

Vote; it’s not over

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By Tim Redmond

If you’re reading this, and you haven’t voted yet, get out of the house and do it. Now. Yes, the Fat Lady is humming her practice chords and it’s pretty clear that Barack Obama will be the next president. In fact, it’s shaping up as a night that will change the balance of power in DC dramatically, with major Democratic wins in the Senate. And Obama has already re-written the electoral map and changed American politics.

But he still has to win CA — and Californians still have to — have to — reject Prop. 8.

And the future of San Francisco is in the balance. We can move to clean energy (Yes on H!) affordable housing )Yes on B!) and elect progressive supervisors.

So this is going to be an historic night, and you still have an hour to be part of it. I just saw Gavin Newsom on TV saying that nobody would be turned away if they are in line outside a polling place at 8 pm. Go.

Strong start

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By Steven T. Jones

Democrats have already picked up three new U.S. Senate seats by beating back Republican stalwarts Liddy Dole and John Sununu, and Obama has won Pennsylvania and Michigan and is looking good in the battleground states of Ohio and Florida (which would mean “game over” for the McCain).
With two hours of voting still to go in California, the winds of change are already starting to blow our way from the east. But it’s not enough to win — for the change we need, this election has to carry with it a strong mandate for fundamental reform. And that means maintaining San Francisco’s status as a progressive leader in the country, so keeping pushing and voting.

Election day luncheon in SF

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willie.jpg
Former Mayor Willie Brown, with luncheon co-hosts Angelo Quaranta (left) and Alex Clemens (right) behund.

By Steven T. Jones

I ran into Willie Brown as we were both headed into today’s Election Day luncheon at the California Culinary Academy – a two-decade-long tradition hosted by political power brokers Angelo Quaranta and the late Bob McCarthy (with Alex Clemens now stepping into that host role) – and asked for his electoral predictions.

“There’ll be no surprises,” Brown told me, “not a one.”

I took that as a hopeful sign that Barack Obama will win the presidency by an electoral landslide and Democrats will add significantly to their congressional majorities, but it didn’t tell me much about tonight’s nail biters, including the fate of the same sex marriage Proposition 8 or the balance of power on the Board of Supervisors.

Inside, many of the political luminaries expressed real anxiety over Prop. 8, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who warned Brown and the media against any early Obama victory parties that might hurt Prop. 8, the high-speed rail bond measure Prop. 1A, or the other crucial measures that need every Obama supporter they can muster.

Early voting helps Obama

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By Tim Redmond

Although the Brad Blog — the go-to place for stories about voting problems — reports that there are still mounting issues in Virginia, DailyKos says that early voting has lessened the congestion in places like Colorado.

So that’s all looking good. I just hope the networks don’t call if for Obama before the polls close in CA; there’s still way too much on the state ballot that could suffer if Obama supporters stay home and think it’s over.

Of course, if Obama wins PA and Florida, it will be hard for anyone to report that it’s anything but an Obama victory.

Yes on 8 people backing Safai?

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By Tim Redmond

Tommi Avicolli Mecca, a longtime queer/housing activist, just called me to say that he saw a truck driving around with Yes on 8 signs and Safai for Supervisor signs. Kinda scary — not that Safai supports Prop. 8 (he doesn’t, and his campaign isn’t promoting yes on 8 by any means, and he has the backing of Gavin Newsom, who is pretty much the No on 8 poster boy these days.) And no candidate can ever controll all of his or her supporters. (Fog City Journal caught an Alioto supporter standing in front of City Hall shouting Yes on 8.

But if bigots who want to take away basic civil rights think Ahsha Safai is a good candidate for local office, you have to wonder. I hope he denounces them, quick.

(I called the Safai office and a volunteer answered the phone and said “as far as we know, none of our supporters carried Yes on 8 signs.” But she said she a campaign spokesperson would get back to me with a formal statement. I haven’t heard from them yet. I also left a message on Safai’s cell phone. I’ll let you know if he calls back.)

By the way: Is this a photo of Safai hanging out with Rodrigo Santos, the Republican head of the downtown-backed Coalition for Responsible Growth? CRG is putting money into a lot of supes races, but isn’t supposed to be directly coordinating with any candidates.

Certainly looks that way, and people who know Santos better than I do confirm that’s him in the pic.

1104santos.jpg

Black President

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Something to listen to as you count the hours…

Long lines!

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1104vote.jpg
Jody votes in the shadow of the Chevron refinery

By Tim Redmond

I’ve never had to wait in line for more than a few minutes to vote in Bernal Heights, but this morning my precinct was packed. Nobody complaining, though; we were all excited she was to see the lines. At 7 am, when my partner went to vote, it was almost an hour long; I went a little later, but still had to wait almost 30 minutes.

That’s partially the long ballot — but it’s mostly huge turnout. Which is wonderful, and I hope is a sign of what’s going to happen nationwide.

Of course, there are problems already on the East Coast, particularly, it seems, in Virginia. I’m sure we’ll hear plenty more stories of ballot malfunctions as the day goes on.

In Philly, where my sister lives (and in a state McCain must win to have a prayer) the lines were around the block, and so far, no major issues; her husband is a poll watcher for Obama and says things are going smoothly so far.

There are, of course, still those who think the GOP can steal it again, and as Bill Clinton says, paranoids win elections.

But it will take a monumental effort to turn this tide. My favorite moment so far: This report from my friend Jody Colley, the publisher of the East Bay Express, who voted in Richmond this morning:

In line to vote and absolutely bawling because this little old black
woman gets to vote for a black man the first time ever.

The only sobering thing is the strong carcegenic aroma of the Chevron refinery.

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