Time to grade the supes in their first year of service. The “new”
and “progressive” board you drafted and sent into the fray last
year.
I’d wait till they’ve actually finished a year, but the holidays are
coming up and I’ll be too bombed & toked out to do much.
Anyway … the good news:
Good news about the new board
All of them are smarter than the president (of the U.S.A.).
None has been convicted of murder.
Not one belongs to the Taliban.
OK, that’s all the good things I can think of that they have in
common. The bad things (I’m feeling Gothic) could fill several phone
books but I’ll try to concentrate on the good. …
Naw. That is soooo out of character for me. I’ll stick to the low
road. Away we go.
From the bottom
Leland Yee has the loyalty of a Taliban warlord without the
macho wardrobe. Any challenge to the mayor or da mayor’s
contributors gets a “nay” from Yee.
Don’t believe me? Watch the board and the committee hearings. The
other day, he tried to sneak some kind of communications license
change through the board’s imperative calendar, which is reserved
for things like: “Can we buy smallpox vaccine since we’re all
dying?”
Second from the bottom is Gavin Newsom. He makes sure the
favored press sees his every public move & I read and look at his
latest pics and …
Newsom is convinced that he’s going to be the next mayor and wants
to keep the powers intact so that he can funnel them to his friends.
Watch the boy at the board. He is unbelievably condescending for
anyone his age.
Forgive the outburst. Gav does that to you. Personally, I think he’s
a shoo-in as the next mayor. As an old trucker friend used to say:
“You get exactly what you deserve.”
Tony Hall. You can have a pet dinosaur but it is still a
dinosaur. The guy thinks sometimes, but basically, he don’t like
poor people and homeless less and hippies less ’n that. I am all of
the above & I note every time his eyes narrow in a vote against me.
And my “folks.”
Aaron Peskin. The sharpest mind on the board. You make a maze
for this gang to stumble through & Peskin is there waiting for the
others with towels, drinks … and contracts that sell the people
short and increase his bargaining power.
He & Newsom are the busiest bees making deals and giving favors.
Building their own machines. I kinda like that. Plus, Peskin is
funny as hell. And he fears nothing.
Mark Leno. I’m starting to like this guy. I don’t know why I
keep him 5th worst. I actually think he’s breaking free of the onus
of having been appointed by da mayor originally.
Tha’ other day, he stood up in board and chastised the likes of
Gonzalez and Daly for refusing to put Department of Building
Inspection under tighter board control.
My gut feeling here though is … in a pinch … Leno votes with Willie
& Willie’s interests. Prove me wrong.
Sophie Maxwell. So much promise. But time it is a-passing and
she’s been in the developers’ column too many times.
I believe her heart is good. The best thing we could do for Sophie
(and most of the supes) is to kick her salary up to $125,000 per
annum and let her spend full time on the job.
Gerardo Sandoval. My happiest surprise. He must have many
opportunities to sell out … but he doesn’t.
He has improved immensely. He’s here for his voting record. He does
NOT vote with any machine. I like the kid.
Chris Daly. He votes the way I like damned near 100% of the
time. That’s all any voter could ask for and I am, after all, just
an obnoxious voter with a keyboard.
Daly has blown me away. I thought he’d have his head turned. Develop
a taste for champagne. It hasn’t happened.
Jake McGoldrick takes more of my bricks than any other supe
because he is a world-class space cadet. He is also an honest
“Mister Smith Goes to Washington” kind of guy. He’ll make a great
point, argue it until everyone grows cobwebs, then forget what he
was talking about. I want him on the board. The runaway egos need
this kind of guy sitting at the end of the bar.
Tommie Ammiano. I love him dearly. However, I would like to
see a mayor not controlled by PG&E & we already lost the city
attorney & treasurer to the big boys.
You go, Tom & you are indeed my hero. But if you don’t beat Newsom,
we get PG&E for another hundred years or something. …
What happens (or doesn’t) next year is Matt Gonzalez.
Gonzalez works 20% harder than any other supe. He goes to 20% more
meetings. He is in control only in Rules Committee (thanks Tom) and
any serious City Hall observer will tell you that “Rules” is the
best free ticket in town.
Ya wanna see Ex-SFUSD Rojas wrestled to the ground? Try Rules
Committee. Ya care to see the housing projects freed of gangster
management? Check out Rules Committee.
If this guy’s not your next mayor, that’s OK too. After all, you get
what you deserve.
Free for all: sobone@juno.com
h. brown
