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.