Category Archives: Democratic Party Chatter

Suggestions Regarding the June Primary in California and San Francisco For Your Review

People keep asking me “hey, who are you voting for in the June 3rd Primary” almost every day, it seems. Well maybe not, but when there’s an election without a lot on the line (unless you live in AD 17 where the Chiu/Campos slugfest is clogging your mailbox with BS), I do hear this more often than not.
So without any further ado, here are my humble opinions on the ballot we’re stuck with for June 3rd. Remember – for partisan offices, we now send the 2 candidates who receive the most votes in the primary – regardless of party.
This means that in places like San Francisco, which have an overwhelming number of voters registered Democratic and Decline to State, you could wind up with two Democrats vying for a job in Sacramento and no other parties represented. The same goes for heavily Republican areas that may wind up with two GOP candidates on the ballot, slugging it out.
Is this a smart idea or not? Personally I’m not sure, but if nothing else it ensures that political consultants who operate in areas dominated by one party have a job, no matter what, after June 2nd, so if nothing else this creates jobs, so, awesome.
Statewide Offices:
Governor: Jerry Brown. It’s the first time in ages we’ve had an adult in charge of California. That is all.
Lt. Governor: @darth on Twitter. The current LG has made no secret he hates his do-nothing job, he never shows up to work, and spends most of his time mouthing off at the Adult in Charge (Gov. Brown). At least @darth could tell better jokes on the gov’t dime, and he’d get a nice pension out of it.
Secretary of State: This is an “open” seat, as the incumbent is termed out. You can vote for Uncle Leland if you wanted (even though he’s been busted by the feds). This is a tough call: I ended up voting for Alex Padilla, but I also like David Cressman because he’s a reform minded guy. Either one would be fine.
Controller: This office does a lot of Important Things, but the one that most people care about the most is the Office of Unclaimed Property. The current officeholder is termed out, so basically the question is: who will ensure that money you’re owed goes to you quickly, easily and legally.
Despite my years in the political business, etc, I honestly didn’t know who to vote for. The only candidates I’d really heard of were Betty Yee (Current Board of Equalization member) and John Perez (former Speaker of the Assembly for a few years). I think I flipped a coin between the two.
Treasurer: This is a no brainer – John Chiang (the former Controller). Why? Because he did a really good job streamlining the aforementioned Office of Unclaimed Property. Having had significant dealings with this office, I can say the guy made it a lot easier and quicker to get back the money the gov’t has that’s legally yours. So yeah, move this guy over to the Treasurer’s office, and let’s see what he fixes there.
Attorney General: It sometimes feels like the other parties are phoning it in, because when a major party has as one of its potential nominees Orly Taitz, a wackadoodle from the Internet, you have to wonder. I voted for incumbent Kamala Harris because she’s going to win anyways, so why fight it?
Insurance Commissioner: This is one of the few times where you can vote for someone and actually feel good about it. Incumbent Dave Jones has been one of the few people who got elected to a statewide office because they wanted the job AND wanted to do some good.
Board of Equalization, District 2: I like Fiona Ma, but it seems like all she’s done for the last 12 years is run for one office after another, always looking to the next Government Gig while in office. I left this one blank. Shoulda written in someone.
Statewide Ballot Measures:
Proposition 41: This is a bond measure (aka borrowed money) for a measure to help with housing and homeless services for veterans. While I’m not a fan of voting for every single bond ever (since this bites us all in the ass when the massive interest is paid back), are you REALLY going to vote no on something for veterans? I voted Yes.
Proposition 42: I’m not sure why we have to vote on something this arcane as the enforcement of rules regarding public meetings etc., but when I read who is for it (State Sen. Mark Leno, among others) and read who was against it (one of these conspiracy nuts who things that a bus line is a tool of Satan), well it’s clear that one should vote YES.
State Assembly – San Francisco Districts

State Assembly, District 17: I don’t have a dog in this fight because I don’t live in the district. Two SF Supervisors who ran for re-election in 2012, but somehow didn’t like their jobs enough to serve out a full term are running: David Campos and David Chiu. This could result in a classic Democrat-on-Democrat fistfight in the fall if they both prevail. Either way if one of these people gets elected, Mayor Lee will appoint their replacement, so keep that in mind, regardless of your political leanings.
If I lived in this district I’d write in myself or something, because neither one really should be getting a promotion since they more or less lied when they ran for re-election. If you really want to take this seriously, why not vote for Chiu – at least he can work with an all-Southern California based leadership in the Legislature. Campos is running primarily to increase his pay or something, and will just be a grandstander like he did here in SF.
State Assembly, District 19: Vote for me. Yes, me. Write my name in. That is all.
Look I like Phil Ting and he’s a nice enough person, but his advocacy to rename the Bay Bridge after Willie Freakin’ Brown means I can’t vote for him this time around. He’s going to win anyways, so a few write in votes for me won’t hurt. Plus in some weird twist of fate I’d win, let’s just say I’d take the term “disrupt” to a whole new level in Sacramento.
US House – San Francisco
US House, District 12: Due to redistricting, all of San Francisco is now in one district, currently represented by Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Now, I like Mrs. Pelosi, and she’s had a long career in the House, but the sad truth is the likelihood of her EVER becoming Speaker again is slim to none. There’s plenty of reasons for this, some in her control, and some not. I raise this only because if things continue with the wackadoodles running the House as is, this isn’t going to end well for anyone and someone(s) need to be held accountable for this constant Democrat Fail we have on the House side of things.
I ended up voting for Pelosi only because there’s no one else with a real campaign to challenge her, but I did so knowing what’s going to happen in November. If you’re really upset about things like drones or whatever, then vote for Barry Hermanson. He is a nice guy and presses all the right lefty buttons, but he is also a perennial candidate, so don’t expect an October Surprise if he makes it to the finals in November.
San Francisco Ballot Measures
Proposition A: I voted “No” because it’s not clear from the Voter Guide how much the cost of this bond (aka borrowed money) would be passed on to renters. I’m sure it’s a good thing, and like, every person at City Hall endorsed it, but that also makes me a bit suspicious.
Proposition B: If the Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions, then San Francisco is covered in cement and said Good Intentions. This is one of those well-meaning ballot measures (hey! let voters vote on every single thing ever near the water!) that has a lot of Unintended Consequences. Plus, the people behind it aren’t being truthful about their intentions. So, vote NO.
Put it another way: would you want that howler monkey colony known as the SFGate comments section micromanaging development in San Francisco? HELL NO, VOTE NO.
On an unrelated note, I wanted to also make a pitch for a friend of mine in Washington State who is running for their state House of Representatives in a suburban district south of Seattle. His name is Mike Sando, and he’s running for an open seat in the 33rd District up there. He’s a parent, a teacher & coach, a labor leader, and serves on the Enumclaw City Council, and worked in the Legislature for many years, so he knows how to actually Get Things Done in Olympia, and won’t need training wheels his first year in office.
I’ve known him for 20 years and know him to be a good guy, and that’s rare in politics these days.. You can read more about him at his Facebook page and if you are so inclined, send him a few dollars. House races in Washington state don’t cost a lot so even a donation of $20-$100 helps out a lot.

If Anything Interesting Happens at the California Democratic Convention in LA, I’ll Let You Know…

I’m attending the California Democratic Convention in Los Angeles this weekend. It’s unclear how much actually “news” or Democrat-on-Democrat political fighting will occur, but if anything fun happens I’ll let you know.
You can follow me on Twitter at my main account, @njudah where I’ll hashtag the relevant entries with #cadem2014. If anything warrants a longer form post, I’ll post here from some hotel computer. It should provide for at least some entertainment, if nothing else.
I’ve been going to most of these things since 2003, depending on where they’re located, and often I find just talking to the various people working behind the scenes, I learn a bit more than just what makes the daily news. Thus, I’ll pass along any interesting details, should they pop up!

The Disinfo Rehab Guide To the Worst Primary Election Ever

mckay1970s.jpgThis Democratic Primary hast to be the worst yet, because we have a lot of no-names running for office, super low turnout projected, some truly goofy candidates, and a lot of other things to vote on because people with a lot of money put ’em on the ballot. Meanwhile our state is literally falling apart. THIS is the best we can do?
It’s all a big mess, so I’ve put together a list of things I voted for which you can use or not use, your choice. In many cases I’m leaving my ballot blank or writing in candidates. This is especially true for “unopposed” candidates – hey, unopposed incumbents, you’re all wonderful people, but what’s the point of voting in a race with only one candidate?
So, here goes:

Governor: If AG Brown’s challenger had started up their efforts last year, instead of last month, this might have been an interesting race, especially after Gavin Newsom went down in flames like the Hindenburg on crack. But he didn’t, so former Governor, Mayor, Secretary of State, Community College Trustee and Attorney General Jerry Brown gets the vote. Still, it would have been nice to have a real race, to help strengthen the eventual nominee.
Lt. Governor: F*ck this Peter Principle crap. “Mayor” Gavin Newsom has been about as useful as a football bat and as honest as a BP oil executive. The last thing we need is to give him a promotion so he can act like more of an insufferable bigshot. Vote for Janice Hahn – she seems like a nice person (So nice she hasn’t really used the treasure trove of info against Newsom that much) and her dad was a cool Mayor in the 60s. More importantly, in a general election, you can bet the Republicans will use his record to engage in a political beating that in all likelihood will result in violations of the Geneva Convention. No one wins with that.
Attorney General: This has to be one of the worst primaries I’ve ever seen. You’d think that the California Democratic Party would have some top notch people running for this. Instead we have a DA that has an aversion to prosecuting crime (Kamala Harris), an Internet executive who’s well meaning, but never served in law enforcement (Chris Kelly), and a trio of term limited legislators (Nava, Torrico, and Lieu who I am sure are all good people). I don’t know that any of them are qualified in an era of high tech crime, violent crime, and so on to be our top cop in California. Given that only Harris and Kelly even have a shot, I’m voting for Kelly and hoping to GOD that if he wins, he hires some good people to ensure that the problems of crime are taken seriously in the next 4 years. Besides if Harris wins, her record is a killer outside the boundaries of Liberal San Francisco.
Insurance Commissioner: Having once worked for an Insurance Commissioner (in Washington State) I can safely say that this job seems like a yawner, but it can be often the most important job in the state. A good Insurance Commissioner can make sure that insurance companies are held accountable and fight them when they try to pull shenanigans like Prop. 17. The fact that our current one is a joke doesn’t negate that. Vote for Dave Jones, as he’s endorsed by all the Good People.
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tom Torlakson’s record on education in the Legislature was actually pretty good, and he used to be a science teacher so there’s that. I’ve met him a few times and he was always willing to listen to people worried about education, when others wouldn’t so I voted for him. Also, the ruler in my desk drawer somehow has his campaign logo on it – I think I got it at a convention or something, and it’s a good ruler.

All of the rest of the state offices are uncontested, so I’m not bothering with them. Congrats in advance, people.
There’s more, click on through for the rest!

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One of the Weirdest Political Ads Yet – Nava for Attorney General

pedronavaad.jpgThis year’s primary is one of the worst ever. There is very little interest in the election, a lot of boring candidates, and none of them have much money (well aside from Him, Her, and that Other Guy). This inevitably leads to some crazy-ass stuff put out there in an effort to be “daring” but usually ends up being “lame.”
Case study: Pedro Nava for Attorney General. Now, I’m sure he’s a good guy, and he served 3 terms in the Assembly and passed some bills. Yay. How that qualifies him to to be Attorney General? I have no idea. I actually met him once ages ago at a fundraiser for John Kerry that I attended in Montecito, CA and he seemed like a nice enough guy, but this video just has all kinds of WTF all over it
I mean, what’s up with the weird cartoony background? The dogs? The dog with bunny ears? The dog with glasses flying a plane? And he’s not even looking at the camera? And the clapping dog? OMG.
Ok I thought the clapping dog was kinda funny. But you know what? I really don’t give a sh!t about his record on “animal rights” if he’s running for ATTORNEY GENERAL. I’d be much more interested in seeing something about crime and that kind of thing.
Plus, it’s been my experience, having worked with candidates in the past who’ve been Big Friends of the animal rights movement that it’s a kiss of death for a campaign. In 1994 I worked for a Senate candidate that made as big a deal about his record as Pedro does, and he got his ass kicked. Every time someone starts touting such a record, they very rarely win in a competitive election.
I’m scanning in mail pieces. There’s just so much weird out there this year. Oh and those ads for Prop. 17 are easily the most full of sh!t ads I’ve ever seen. Mercury Insurance Sucks!

Why I Like Watching “Treme” But It Also Scares the Hell Out of Me

treme.pngIf you’ve not had a chance to see HBO’s latest show, “Treme”, by author/ex-journalist/blogger hater David Simon (he of “The Wire” fame), I strongly urge you to do so, by any means necessary. If you have HBO and OnDemand, it should be there, if not, well wait for the DVDs or explore (ahem) alternate means of content delivery or whatever, but you really need to see this.
The Short Recap: it’s a story about people from various parts of New Orleans in the immediate aftermath of Hurrcaine Katrina in 2005-2006. We all know what a supreme f*ck up FEMA and the feds were after this disaster, and we’ve all seen the pictures on TV. What Treme manages to do is to personalize those stories and do that expertly woven tapestry of lives and events that Simon pioneered in The Wire.
It’s both fascinating, and horrifying to see what can happen to an American city in the 21st century, and how “shock doctrine” ideologues, good old fashioned corruption and racism, and the economic realities of a debt-ridden nation of do-nothings can collide and create the mess that we still have to this day.
Now, while I enjoy the drama and a well written TV series, and so on, Treme still scares the Hell out of me every week I watch the show. That’s because I truly fear what is going to happen to San Francisco when the inevitable Big F*cking Earthquake hits us.
We are not prepared for what people will do to our city after the quake, and after years of rule by Prince Gavin Newsom and the Board of Supervisors, I genuinely believe that the only line of defense we have against a horrifying immediate aftermath is going to be the citizens of SF, and them alone, helping each other out. What’s scarier though, is how this corrupt city will no doubt use the disaster as a way to destroy neighborhoods and create “Suburbia By the Sea,” and historical anything be damned.

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What Is A DCCC? Why Are You Voting For it in the June Primary? And Why Am I Writing In Myself?

sampleballotwritein.jpgIf you are registered to vote in the Democratic Primary, by now you may have received your ballot, and after voting for things like nominees for Governor, Equalization Board, and State Senate, you find now you’ve got a section for “Democratic County Central Committee” with about 453,213 candidates listed. And, you have likely received more political junk mail for this office than you have in the past. All the while you wonder “why am I voting for this?”
Quick Review: the DCCC is the Democratic Party’s official party organization in this county*. As a registered Democratic voter, you can pick who serves on this committee, which decides local endorsements that will bear the “official” Democratic Party seal of approval on them. In addition to the people you vote for, Democratic members of the state legislature, the US House, and so on also have a vote (usually represented by proxy from someone in their office).
Big yawn, right? However, in San Francisco, it’s not a big yawn because whomever controls said DCCC becomes the one that’s in charge of the endorsements for local office. Since so many people simply read the Official Endorsements of the Democratic Party slate card (and any junk mail said organization issues) and votes that way, no matter what, you can see why this then becomes a Very Big Deal to political types who care about such things.
If you run for DCCC, you’re running for a thankless job. No pay, endless hours spent at meetings, meetings which are held in a concrete bunker downtown (really), and all sorts of political acrimony. Running also means trying to contact voters in 1/2 of the City, usually with little or no money. Having helped out on one of these ages ago, I can tell you it’s very very difficult for the average citizen to run for these things and be able to get anyone to know their name, much less win, because the cost is so high, especially if you use dead tree mail. So why do people run for this thing again?

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Let’s Do Write Ins For The Non-Challenged Incumbents in June!

Oh, June Democratic Primary Ballot. You are, in fact, the worst primary ballot yet, and I’ve been voting in these things for far too long. At the top of the ticket is a yawn-fest (if some crackpot no name actually beats Gov. Brown in the primary, I’ll buy everyone that reads this column a beer), in the middle an “evil of two lessers” choice (nominees for Attorney General), and at the bottom, a confusing battle locally for people who actually want to serve on the San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee (a job that pays nothing, sucks up your time, and drives you mad).
What to do, what to do?
Here’s what I’m doing – my time-honored tradition of using my mail ballot as a taxpayer funded coloring book. Now, far be it from me to trivialize voting in the World’s Greatest Democracy, but when so many of these things have been pre-ordained, I think it’s time for some Write In Candidate Fun.
This is nothing new – when San Francisco instituted its IRV/RCV/WTF/OMG/FML voting system, it was reduced to a joke since so often, incumbents were unopposed for re-election. Despite the fact we were promised it’d make it easier for no-names to beat the Big Kids, nothing changed, so I took the liberty of making those poll workers work, by counting my write in ballots, more than once.
This time, I propose something different. Many, many incumbent legislators are on the ballot in the primary who have no opposition, so there’s no risk if you decide to say “Frak It” and write in the name of someone else. It’s not like we dislike people like Fiona Ma, Tom Ammiano, or Leland Yee, but they’re going to win with 99.99% of the vote in the primary, AND win re-election in the fall. So why not write in someone for those spots, and have some fun with it?
I have no delusions that out of such an exercise we’re going to read in our Google Readers the day after the election that Fiona Ma has been ousted, via write-in votes by Rory B. Bellows or some other crazy thing. So go for it, and post in the comments who you wrote in for what.
PS: Of course, the idea that taxpayers are paying for an election that is for the nomination of candidates by party is nonsense – there’s no reason at all we need to waste tax dollars on this. Party nominees should be made by members of that party, be it by convention, private vote, or whatever, but this idea that the government has to sponsor such contests is ludicrous.

Let’s Freak Out About Politics As Usual With Chris Kelly And Kamala Harris!

scream.pngIn less than two months, voters will be headed to the polls for primary elections for Democrats, Republicans, et al. If you weren’t aware of this, or hadn’t put much thought into it don’t feel bad – most people aren’t doing so either.Turnout is likely to be low, because it’s a battle of no-names for most races, and the top of the ticket has a presumptive Democratic nominee (minus any actual campaign). So, the drama filters downward.
For some reason, many termed out legislators, a rich dude, and the DA from San Francisco have crowded the field for Attorney General – at last count I saw 6 on the Democratic side alone. Many voters are undecided, since no one candidate is particularly well known outside their hometown/district. Harris is the presumptive “front runner,” but most voters are undecided. Ironically, a poll early this year indicated that the top choice for Democratic primary voters was a candidate who wasn’t even running for the job. Ouch.
In a crowded race, it’s expected that candidates are going to pump themselves up as much as possible, and rip on their opponents to win. So it should have been no surprise when Chris Kelly, a wealthy attorney, noob to electoral politics, and former bigwig at Facebook, made the call to unleash the political Krakken, with online advertising and more against presumptive front runner Harris’ record as District Attorney of San Francisco. This is pretty much politics as usual. Nasty, annoying, yes. Unexpected? No! (Remember that ugly race between Westly and Angelides in the 2006 primary? Wait, you forget about trivial, annoying BS? Good for you – you’re saner than I then.)
Apparently no one told Kamala Harris’ campaign that, unlike an uncontested race in Safe San Francisco, an open Democratic primary can quickly become an unruly brawl. Thus, the Harris campaign responded to the online ad buy and the YouTube video by losing their collective sh*t, and using weasel words to attack the concept of online advertising. In particular, you can tell they just loved using the phrase “…in his new video, which the “privacy expert” Kelly has undoubtedly expertly placed on your Facebook homepage, Google searches, email inbox, or all three in recent days…”
In other words, be very very scared of the Big Bad Man Who Bought Google Ads and Snuck Into Your Computer at Night and Placed them. BE SCARED! BE OH SO SCARED OF THE SERIES OF TUBES!!!!
GIve me a fucking break. Either the Harris campaign has no clue how Google ads work (!) or more likely, are just using weasel words to create some weird impression of Kelly – ironically what they accuse Kelly of doing. Oh, by the way, the Harris campaign has placed Google ads too. OH TEH HORRORS!
They follow it up by bragging about how many Facebook Fans they have. Really? I think I read about this in Who Cares Magazine. (I’ve written about why this metric can be total BS, go read it, it’s funnier than this post).
Like it or not politics in 2010 are going to be nasty. Every candidate has a record that will get examined in fine detail by the media and their opponents. Ms. Harris is no exception to the rule and neither are the other 5 candidates. Plus, if she can’t handle a mild attack like this, how in the heck is she going to fare against the Republican onslaught in the fall if she’s nominated, when they will not have any problems calling her Satan’s Choice for DA and throw the kitchen sink (and parts of her record) at her?
Personally, I’ve not heard one candidate actually talk about any issues that would have any bearing on things you or I might actually be concerned about. Instead I’ve received many e-begging emails asking me to find more friends for them on Facebook. Having a candidate act like an emotionally needy teen doesn’t exactly inspire a lot of confidence that they know what they’re doing, which is why I might just leave this part blank when I go “vote” in June.

John Cusack for Governor 2010? Sure, Why Not?

Say+Anything+001+resized.jpgNow, calm down and bear with me here. I’m not entirely kidding. Here’s why.
There’s no denying that after 7 years of mismanagement by Governor Doofinator, the 2/3rds rule and an array of inexperienced or corporatized “Democrats” in Sacramento, combined with endless bullsh*t “ballot measures,” we need a change at the top.
But right now our choices are limited to “eMeg,” another vain billionaire who has no idea how government works, and AG/Former Governor Jerry Brown, who is smart, knowledgeable, but has chosen to run a campaign so low-profile, no one knows he’s running, and is likely to lose, especially with the Democratic base divided over “President” Obama’s performance, and a GOP who’s willing to cater to the batshit insane to reclaim power.
Now, my scenario here was a bit more relevant in January, when I came up with it, but I figured I’d put it out now, on the eve of the California Democratic Convention, since I’m worried we’re going to have a new level of arrogant stupidity invade the Capitol. So for your consideration, I wonder if perhaps Democrats run John Cusack* for Governor in 2010.
I came up with this for several reasons. While Brown was able to dispatch the inept and expensive “Newsom for Governor” campaign in 2009 by raising money and spending little, that approach does not work in early 2010, which is what the campaign chose to do.
Up against a crazy billionaire, though, at this late date, it isn’t working anymore. Now, we have the prospect of a candidate who has no challenge in the primary coasting, but not building a statewide network to fight this craziness. The “kitchen table” approach won’t cut it this time around. Brown has name ID amongst older voters, but he doesn’t necessarily have an image or name ID with many new voters, nor does he have a mechanism to do that. (And sorry, but f*cking Facebook doesn’t count)
More to the point, we can’t afford another vanity governor who will do more damage to the state, and who’s willing to lie to get the job. And while I note the irony of replacing one Hollywood candidate with another, I’ve been reading Cusack’s articles and interviews for some time now, and he’s a very bright, very engaged person, not amongst your typical arrogant Hollywood liberal who drives around in a Prius but does so for just for show. And, his career hasn’t had the post 80s drop off that others of his generation have had – he’s still fairly well known amongst voters of all ages. (and it’s not like similar ideas haven’t popped up before!)
Admittedly this is all a bit wild – but the fact is if either Cusack, or any Democratic candidate could have easily upset Brown if they’d just had the courage to step up for both the Party, and more importantly, the improvement of the State of California. Brown would have been caught flat-footed, and people would have had a chance to make a real choice in June.
Of course, Mr. Cusack has better things to do than waste his time working with an incompetent, lying state government. It’s too bad that more people that know this to be the case never bothered to even try. But cowardice in the Democratic party starts at the top, with a President who is always willing to sell out his own party for the sake of keeping the people who hate him happy, and it continues on down to an array of California politicians who don’t seem to know, or care, how to make this state great again.
Unfortunately, we all lose in the end.
* I also propose Mr. Cusack because he just seems cooler than most “stars” but Hell, it could be anyone (politician, star, or otherwise) with a little cash and some name ID who isn’t a moron (because voters are too stupid to read up on this on their own) to do what Arnold could have done, but failed to do – cut the crap and rally people to a reform agenda. The trick is whoever this magic person is would have to surround themselves with good people – something again in short supply in politics!

OUCH! Former Newsom Campaign Manager Garry South Issues Scathing E-Blast On…Gavin Newsom?

frustratednewsombayview.jpgOuch.
That’s all I could think of when I was sent this email from Garry South, the chief strategist of the Hahn for Lt. Governor campaign, who also happens to be a former advisor to the now defunct Newsom for Governor campaign. Newsom, as you may know, might actually run for LG after all, and the fact one of his former advisors is working for another candidate? Well one had to wonder if that was going to end in tears or not.
Today, the following communique was issued by Mr. South. Upon reading it, all I could think of was just how much of a knockdown dragout fight this race could be. Read on:

STATEMENT BY GARRY SOUTH
CHIEF STRATEGIST, JANICE HAHN FOR LT. GOVERNOR
FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR, GAVIN NEWSOM FOR GOVERNOR
I am surprised and perplexed that my friend and former client Mayor Gavin Newsom apparently has decided to jump into the lieutenant governor’s race at the last minute – especially against an already-announced candidate who would be the first woman lieutenant governor in California history.
In every one of several conversations we had about the job while he was running for governor, the Mayor expressed nothing but disinterest in and disdain for the office of lieutenant governor. In fact, he was derisively dismissive of Gray Davis’s decision to run for and serve as lieutenant governor prior to running for governor (“I’m not a Gray Davis,” he said). On a couple of occasions, he directed me to repudiate publicly in the strongest terms that he had any interest in ever running for lieutenant governor.
The Mayor himself told the Chronicle in October that rumors he may run for lieutenant governor were “absurd” and “a complete lie,” and angrily accused Jerry Brown of personally spreading false information to that effect. As recently as December, he himself said flatly “no” when asked directly on a San Francisco radio show whether he intended to run for lieutenant governor.
In addition, when he precipitously pulled out of the governor’s race in late October – against my advice – he said he couldn’t continue as a statewide candidate because he was a husband, a new father and the mayor of San Francisco. So far as I know, he’s still a husband, a new father and the mayor of San Francisco. So it’s pretty hard to see what’s changed over the last four months that would now allow him to run for another statewide office.
If the Mayor does run, it is his responsibility to explain why he now claims to want an elected office he summarily dismissed publicly numerous times over the last several months, and which just earlier this year he called “a largely ceremonial post” … “with no real authority and no real portfolio.”

I’ve got to wonder why Mayor Newsom would want to subject himself to a statewide race against some of his own people, who seem quite willing to take out the blowtorch and pliers and go to work on the Mayor over here. I sure as Hell wouldn’t want to go through that, and I can’t imagine why Newsom would either. Even if he won the primary, he’d come out of it with enough damage that it might make the LG in reach for the Republicans in November since everything’s kind of up in the air now.
Bring on the pain, Democrats!