Monthly Archives: December 2010

Reading the assorted coverage in the press about the so-called “selection process” that the Board of Supervisors has chosen to engage in to choose a successor to “Mayor” Newsom is proof of a few things. First, that so-called “progressives” are simply not qualified to be in charge of things at City Hall, and second, that frankly, NO ONE in the political class is qualified to be in charge of things at City Hall.
At the center of all of this is Board President David Chiu. Now, bear in mind that he’s not qualified for his current job – he is Board President only because of the progressive-on-progressive antagonism that denied it to Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi. Instead, they picked Chiu, who never served on the Board, to run it.
Now he wants to be Mayor, so he’s hoping to delay things by creating a patently bullshit bunch of “rules” that have no basis in reality or the law, to delay things and ensure that he gets the top job once Newsom leaves office.
Think about it: A guy whose big experience was pimping the Christian Right online, among other things, who has never served, and has presided over one of the most unproductive Boards in recent history, content to tilt at windmills while Muni fails, and the City’s finances burn.
Now he wants to be Mayor?
Give me a f*cking break. This long list of bullshit rules he’s invented have no basis in reality – you simply need to have 6 votes to be the Interim Mayor – this nonsense about no texting, being in the room or not, etc. is all a pile of crap, and “Supervisor” Chiu should be embarrassed at these kind of time and tax wasting games.
This, however, has been the hallmark of the So-Called Progressives – they’re all out only for their own personal ambitions, and don’t give a damn about real problems, or even their own gang in politics. Instead they engage in foolish things, or write bad laws that are good for nothing but headline grabbing, and don’t help anyone. The Class of 2008 that got elected largely because it was a big presidential year and many first time voters just voted “Democrat” no matter what, has brought us some of the worst legislation we’ve seen in a while.
Outgoing Sup. Daly might be a pain in the ass, but he did understand his role and how to move legislation, and he’s been calling BS on all of this. These new kids are children who think they’re in pre-school at recess, and not in charge of a city people have to pay taxes and live in.
And now, where I piss off Everyone Else in SF Politics….
That all said, it’s time to face facts: we wouldn’t be in this position if “Mayor” Newsom gave a damn about finishing the job he was hired by the voters to do in the first place. Because he too placed personal ambition above the good of the City, we’re in a situation where no matter what happens, working on SF’s many real problems is going to be tossed by the wayside in favor of bullshit politics. Worse, it’s not like he’s advancing to a real office – he’s going to be Lite Governor – a job with no practical use aside from sitting around waiting for the Governor to die or quit.
We were sold on Gavin Newsom in 2003 as the guy who was going to get things done and be some sort of guy focused on “policy.” Instead we got a rich pretty-boy who was great at press conferences, empty promises, and endless Big Talk, but who as Mayor always catered to public employee unions, enhanced the financial destruction of the Muni system with his dishonest budgeting, and who clearly never really cared much for San Francisco or the people who work hard and pay the taxes that made his stupid gas guzzling SUV possible.
I place the blame for this guy squarely on the people and special interests who backed him, screaming and yelling how if we’d elected that Communist Matt Gonzalez the sky would fall. Well, we didn’t, and guess what? We still had a wasteful Room 200 that was devoted to political games, not getting anything done.
What does this all mean? Well, regardless of what the fools at City Hall do now, or in January, you have a say in who will be in charge in 2011. There are many people already running for office. Here’s a helpful hint: don’t vote based on some bullshit you read in a piece of junk mail, or something the chatterers in the press or online say in the echo chamber of buzzwords.
Scrutinize the Hell out of these people who claim they want to be in charge. Demand they speak up and say what they plan on doing to make things different. Don’t fall for a pretty face or a cute slogan or someone who’s name you’ve heard.
Instead, be very skeptical, and make them earn your vote. The kind of San Francisco you’ll be living in for the next few decades depends on it.