Moderates mobilize for November battle
By: Joshua Sabatini
Examiner Staff Writer
September 16, 2008
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| Alex Tourk was former deputy chief of staff and former campaign manager for Mayor Gavin Newsom. (Examiner File Photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — Laces are tightening on the political boxing gloves with one pro-moderate group issuing a battle cry to take on the progressives this November, and enlisting the support of a well-known corner coach.
In 2007, pro-business San Francisco Coalition for Responsible Growth launched as an organization with a focus of shifting The City’s politics from progressive to moderate by influencing the outcome of November’s election, when seven seats on the Board of Supervisors are up for grabs.
“CRG are preparing for an all-out attack with other like minded groups and now is our time to be counted,” the chairman of the organization, John Keogan, said to group members in a letter obtained by The Examiner. Keogan asks members for their support in “taking S.F. on a sharp turn to the right.”
The group is also using the political wisdom of Alex Tourk, former deputy chief of staff and former campaign manager for Mayor Gavin Newsom. Tourk has launched the so-called “10K Strong campaign,” an effort to “identify 10,000 voters in San Francisco and turn them out to vote for real change.”
Past president and current board member Luke O’Brien said, “We’re really just about trying to make San Francisco a better city to do business in no matter what business that might be.”
O’Brien said the group’s membership is private — numbering in the hundreds — and includes those in the construction and real estate field. He also said the group’s war chest is “healthy.” Members’ concerns include how long it takes to obtain project approval and also development-impact fees for proposed new zoning controls in eastern neighborhoods.
One of the most public displays of progressive strategy to win in November was the progressives’ successful effort to gain control of the Democratic Central Committee, influential for its endorsements.
Change in leadership
Of the seven Board of Supervisors seats up for grabs this November, four have no incumbent. Some candidates are:
District 1
Eric Mar
Sue Lee
Alicia Wang
District 3
Joseph Alioto Jr.
Claudine Cheng
David Chiu
Mike DeNunzio
Tony Gantner
Lynn Jefferson
Denise McCarthy
District 9
David Campos
Eric Quezada
Eva Royale
Mark Sanchez
Eric Storey
District 11
John Avalos
Randall Knox
Myrna Lim
Julio Ramos
Ahsha Safai
Note: Does not include complete list of candidates running
Source: Department of Elections
