My fascination with watching politics is a constant source of amusement for my family and friends. They don’t see what is so interesting about televised sausage-making, but I think there are gems in every Board of Supervisors agenda. For example, here are some items that are going before the board today.
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To be fair, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was having a bad day. At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor’s meeting, Mirkarimi’s plastic bag legislation was continued to Feb. 7, 2012. Mirkarimi will be sworn in as sheriff in January 2012 so the continuance means he won’t be on the board to participate in the last battle in his war on plastic bags.
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It appears to be a leaderless organization with multiple representatives and no discernible agenda. No, I’m not talking about Occupy SF; I’m referring to The City’s leadership in dealing with Occupy SF.
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On Wednesday, the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors will take up a bill that would give a payroll tax credit to local employers who hire ex-felons. I imagine this new law, if enacted, would lead to lots of employment rejection letters for nonfelonious citizens. Letters like this:
Click on the photo at right to see a chart of current hiring-based payroll tax breaks available to businesses.
Dear Mr. Morgan,
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The Thanksgiving holiday is here. It has been a tough year for most everyone I know. Luckily, San Francisco politics never cease to entertain even in the worst of times. Let’s consider what some of our local politicos are probably thankful for this year:Ed Lee: Having endured numerous public lashings by his opponents during the mayor’s race, Lee is thankful that he can stop smiling like a chump and start exacting revenge on his “people I secretly hate” list. State Sen. Leland Yee had better hope it is alphabetical by last name.
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The votes are in and political partisans are either celebrating or mourning the election results.
The only item that hangs in the balance is one of the more controversial measures: Proposition H, a policy statement asking the school board to give all students the right to go to neighborhood schools (as opposed to a lottery in which geography is just one of several factors).
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One of the fascinating aspects of ranked choice voting is that one can learn which candidates have a similar voting base. I certainly wanted to know where the votes went after each candidate was eliminated. Below are charts that follow the flow of votes from round to round to show you how we got to the final tally and declaration of a winner.
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‘Ranked-choice voting is a failed experiment,” according to Supervisor Mark Farrell. Today, Farrell and Supervisor Sean Elsbernd will propose a charter amendment to end ranked-choice voting in San Francisco. It will need a majority of votes from the Board of Supervisors to get on the ballot in June, but I can’t imagine any supervisor will be able to vote against it after the spectacle we are about to witness as we calculate the votes in this mayoral race.
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‘Passage of this measure will lead to costly litigation that the voters will ultimately pay for,” read part of an argument opposing Proposition M in the November 2008 election. The measure passed, and today the Board of Supervisors will vote to pay $122,500 for the legal fees of plaintiffs who just won a case invalidating Prop M.
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Like my mother yelling and ringing a cowbell at my basketball games, supporters of Ed Lee may have gone a bit overboard.
Reports have surfaced that folks who want to see Lee elected mayor in November set up tables in Chinatown where they marked — or instructed people on how to mark — mail-in ballots for Lee.
Lee’s official campaign has distanced itself from the actions of these self-proclaimed “Ed Heads,” calling for a stop to “any activity that undermines confidence in the election or the voting process.” Which is a hilariously tall order, if you think about it.
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Columnists have different approaches to the Comments Section. Personally, I like to read them and take the thoughtful messages seriously. And that’s why I’m dedicating this blog entry to a commenter on my article yesterday about the campaign to defeat Proposition D and its unfounded accusation that the two main backers of D are “tea party billionaires.”
In response to my article, someone (I don’t know his or her identity) wrote:
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In the commercial, an ominous, floating picture of Sarah Palin fills the screen while a woman’s voice urgently says, “The same tea party billionaires who funded [attacks on public unions in Ohio and Wisconsin] are funding Prop. D in San Francisco.” Wait, what?
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‘You would think people who are trained in the legal profession would understand the implications and the importance of a decision from the United States Supreme Court,” Supervisor Malia Cohen said at last Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
Shortly thereafter, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which includes seven law school graduates, rejected a bill that would have brought The City’s public financing laws for local candidates into compliance with a recent United States Supreme Court decision.
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For those of you keeping score at home, there are now three proposals to amend The City’s Health Care Security Ordinance — one by Supervisor David Campos, one by Supervisor David Chiu and one by Mayor Ed Lee.
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A Beanie Baby on top of a pile of manure greeted visitors to the Stow Lake boathouse Sept. 15.
“I think it was a red dog,” said my friend, who asked to remain anonymous, “but it was on top of a pile of s---, so I didn’t really get a good look at it.”
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