Location: San Francisco, Noord-Kalifornië, Noord-Amerika
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 11:38 pm Post subject: San Francisco's 2007 mayoral election
The upcoming mayoral election in San Francisco is pretty amusing. The incumbent Mayor Gavin Newsom’s ratings in the polls were high enough that the big-name progressives apparently decided there was no chance of beating him, so they didn’t run. Some of Newsom’s opponents in the race, although they’re not well-known in the political arena, actually have some very good (IMO) qualities. But some of them are just plain funny, like George Davis:
Quote:
George Davis, 61, also has had his run-ins with police, mainly because he likes to campaign in the nude. Davis, who has written a book on naked yoga, is running a single-issue campaign calling for Golden Gate Park to become a clothing-optional zone, “like the great urban parks of Europe.” He wears a campaign button with a picture of himself standing naked in front of the mayor's City Hall office.
Read the whole article about the mayoral race, with descriptions of all the candidates, at
In this year's election, we can put down 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices (it has to be someone different for each), so I voted for 3 non-Newsoms.
This statement from the article —
Quote:
Newsom, who would be considered a raging liberal in almost any place other than San Francisco, has moved far enough toward the progressive left on cultural issues like same-sex marriage and workers' rights to ease the worries of many of his foes on that end of the political spectrum, said Rich DeLeon, a retired San Francisco State University political science professor who has written about city politics for years.
— makes me worry about the rest of the country, if it’s true. He may have moved toward the left on cultural issues, but his land use policies are strictly pro-big business, not exactly making him a raging liberal.
If I were able to vote in the San Francisco mayoral election, I think I'd vote for the following:
1. Ahimsa Sumchai
2. Josh Wolf
3. Wilma Pang
It says on Ahimsa Sumchai's website that she has the endorsement of the Green Party — does this mean that she's actually the official Green candidate and is thus a Green politician, or just that the Greens have officially decided to support her?
Location: San Francisco, Noord-Kalifornië, Noord-Amerika
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:11 am Post subject:
Benjamin wrote:
If I were able to vote in the San Francisco mayoral election, I think I'd vote for the following:
1. Ahimsa Sumchai
2. Josh Wolf
3. Wilma Pang
I voted for the first two, but Quintin Mecke was my third choice, simply because several organizations I respect endorsed him.
Quote:
It says on Ahimsa Sumchai's website that she has the endorsement of the Green Party — does this mean that she's actually the official Green candidate and is thus a Green politician, or just that the Greens have officially decided to support her?
I believe it's just an endorsement and she is the Peace and Freedom Party's candidate.
Location: San Francisco, Noord-Kalifornië, Noord-Amerika
Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:10 am Post subject:
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
So who won?
The clothing-optional advocate, of course! No, alas, it was Newsom
A day or two before the election, I took the Muni underground to get home (the Muni underground is the part of the public transit sytem where the streetcars -- trams -- go underground so they don't have to compete with traffic on busy Market Street). The train was already in the station as I entered, so I ran down the stairs and was just about the enter the door of the train when I realized that the guy just exiting the train was none other than Matt Gonzalez, the Green Party candidate in the 2003 mayoral race in San Francisco. (In the run-off election in 2003, he got 47% of the vote, to Gavin Newsom's 53%; he had 1/10th of the funding Newsom had; and he entered the campaign only four months before the vote.)
I was a bit starstruck (especially since I hadn't realized that he's really attractive in person -- not to mention taller than I expected ) and instead of going through the door, I turned around and said, "I really wish you had won." He smiled and put his hand on my arm and said, "Thank you, that's really nice of you." Then I turned back to the train, only to see the door close in my face. He said, "Oh, no -- you missed the train just for that?"
If you read the Wikipedia article I linked to, you''ll see that he prefers taking public transportation to driving -- what a great guy!
If you read the Wikipedia article I linked to, you''ll see that he prefers taking public transportation to driving -- what a great guy!
Well, he is a Green afterall!
I was at the Scottish Green Party Autumn Conference this weekend, and Shiona Baird (former Green MSP and former Green co-convener) talked about how she'd gone on a trip with a group of MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) to Dublin to visit a group of members of the Irish Parliament. The other MSPs, who were from other parties, all flew there, but she travelled by bus, train and ferry — and only arrived three hours later than the rest of them. Then at the end of the evening, when the others all got into cars to take them back to their hotel, the then parliamentary leader of the Irish Green Party put on his cycling vest and rode there on his bike.
On a sort of related note, I met Menzies Campbell, the former (until a few weeks ago) leader of the Liberal Democrats the other day. He's actually the MP where I live now, and is also Chancellor of the university I'm at, and he came to give a Saturday evening talk on foreign policy and then took questions afterwards. He ended by responding to my question on climate change by advocating various individual, national and international measures which should be taken (though didn't really answer my question) — but then straight after that, he got into his car and drove an extremely short distance to the restaurant just round the corner.
Incidentally, I'm secretly hoping to run against him at the next UK general election, if only for comic effect. Should make for some humorous media coverage anyway.
Location: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 1:54 am Post subject:
Saw Mayor Newsom on the news the other day, talking about the tragic incident that happened at the zoo this past week. My he's handsome! I've seen him in pictures before, but those pictures did not do him justice.
Our mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, hasn't been fairing too well in the press since revelations of his extramarital affair with a Spanish-language news broadcaster came out this past summer. The poor girl was put on suspension, then quit when told that she was being transferred to Riverside of all places! Then Señor Alcalde dumped her ass.
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) and instead of going through the door, I turned around and said, "I really wish you had won." He smiled and put his hand on my arm and said, "Thank you, that's really nice of you." Then I turned back to the train, only to see the door close in my face. He said, "Oh, no -- you missed the train just for that?"
