By Tim Redmond
Joe Lynn with Sup. John Avalos at a celebration of Lynn’s life in August. Photo by Luke Thomas.
Joe Lynn — crusader for sunshine, crusader for honest, ethical government, font of wisdom and knowledge about campaign reform and wonderful, sweet man — died yesterday after a six-month battle with leukemia.
The former staffer at the Ethics Commission was fearless, willing to risk his own job to take on the likes of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. After leaving the commission, he was a frequent critic of its practices.
He was a fighter to the end; a lot of us didn’t think he’d make it through the summer, but he left the hospital, and when I saw him at the Guardian Best of the Bay party in September, he was in great spirits. But his body finally gave out at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 9th.
The web is full of plaudits for Lynn, but one of my favorites comes from Marc Salomon:
Let’s hope that instead of the usual hyperventilating memorializing by politicos, that instead of mourning, they can organize to pass the Joe Lynn Ethics Reform Act of 2010 so that Joe’s passing will not be cause for the clinking of champagne glasses by the elites in their mansions who feel entitled to own San Francisco politics.
Well said. We’ll miss you, Joe.