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.”