Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has done what a lot of us have been expecting for months now: He left me a message tonight saying he’s changed his registration from Green to Democrat. I think that’s a recognition that the Green Party isn’t the functional political entity in San Francisco that it once could have been — and that the only way he’s going to get elected to higher office is as a Dem. He’s clearly looking at the mayor’s race, but I think he’s also looking at the state Legislature; if Mark Leno ran for mayor and won, and Assemblymember Tom Ammiano ran for Leno’s Senate seat and won, then the 13th Assembly District seat would be open. Besides, with term limits, Ammiano’s seat will open up pretty soon anyway. And it’s highly unlikely a Green could win that race right now.
So welcome to the party, Ross — now you get the fun of voting in the Democratic primaries, which are often the only real elections around here, and you can vote for Democratic County Central Committee (although I don’t think you can run; you have to be a Dem for 12 months to do that).
And Gavin Newsom pulled papers for. Lt. Gov.
It’s going to a wild year.