Like gossiping and checking one’s iPhone, it’s never good manners to talk politics at the dinner table. But we all do it. And so, in preparation for dinner conversations on this day, when everyone except unfit parents camping out at department stores will be at a table somewhere, I give you a quick primer on what has happened recently in San Francisco politics.
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For most of America, San Francisco is the kooky place where anything goes. Last week when the Los Angeles City Council passed a resolution in favor of “Meatless Mondays,” the eyerolls that followed were punctuated by the fact that our fair city had beaten them to the punch by two years.
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Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers. As we gather with relatives and people we call family to express gratitude for those lovely elements of life that get us through the other 99 percent, there is something to be thankful for even in the world of local politics. Recently, I found a new link on the San Francisco government website: the Board of Supervisors’ meeting minutes from 1906 until the present.
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In 2009, the Capitol Weekly published a “Legislative Scorecard” ranking all members of the state Assembly and Senate. On a scale of 1 to 100, with 100 being the most liberal, San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano scored a perfect 100.
First elected to the Assembly in 2008, Ammiano is unflinchingly and unapologetically progressive. As part three of our four-part series examining what our local representatives are doing in Sacramento, we look at what bills were signed into law in 2012 that came from the desk of Ammiano.
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To borrow a phrase from Whoopi Goldberg’s character in the movie “Ghost”: Proposition 13, you in danger, girl.
Backers of Proposition 32 smacked a beehive, inadvertantly handing the Democratic Party its first supermajority since 1888. The tax increases and constitutional amendments that are certain to follow are the true legacy of the Yes on 32 campaign.
Prop. 32 would have prohibited unions and corporations from giving to candidates’ campaigns and from raising money through automatic deductions — a death knell for the political clout of public employee unions.
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When I first began writing about local politics, the Board of Supervisors was depressingly funny. There was former (and current) comedian Tom Ammiano, wry Aaron Peskin, “supervisor straitjacket” Chris Daly and the lovable, poetry-quoting Jake McGoldrick. But that was then. The class of 2010 has been relatively calm and grown-up, enjoying a decent working relationship with each other and with Mayor Ed Lee. As a citizen, this makes me happy, but as someone who watches board meetings, it just makes me sleepy.
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At an aptly titled “special meeting” of the City Operations and Neighborhood Services committee last Friday, supervisors Sean Elsbernd, Carmen Chu and Scott Wiener heard public comments on Wiener’s proposed ban on public nudity, except for specific events. It was bound to be entertaining.
Wiener set the stage by explaining that, “Freedom, expression and acceptance don’t mean we don’t have any standards of behavior whatsoever. This means people can’t do whatever pops into their head no matter the impact on others and the neighborhood.”
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It is amazing what a single vote can do.
Once not even worthy of a second- or third-choice endorsement by progressive leaders, Supervisor Christina Olague is now lapping up her reward for voting to reinstate Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi.
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FX Crowley, a candidate for supervisor in District 7, has mailed out his pro-woman flier, “Equal Pay for Equal Work,” in which he lists his fancy endorsements from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, state Attorney General Kamala Harris and Assemblywoman Fiona Ma.
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On Oct. 16, we learned that our fair city is a finalist to host the 2016 Super Bowl. The other finalist is Miami, and our campaign to win is in full swing. While the headline at sfsuperbowl.com says, “Bring the Bowl to the Bay” it’s abundantly clear that “the Bay” means “San Francisco.” Although the stadium for the 49ers is being built in Santa Clara, that city’s mayor, Jamie Matthews, has been rather subdued compared to our jubilant Mayor Ed Lee.
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URL: http://www.sfexaminer.com/archive/17516/17516?page=4
