In politics

San Francisco Elections

Posted by: on Nov 4, 2003 | 3 Comments

Here’s the returns [sfgate.com]. About 10% reporting.
Natch, Newsom is out in front. I personally find him and his plastic wife unpalatable, but whatever, there will most likely be a run-off between the ultra-coifed Gavin and “Angry Angela.” She’ll loose, but were this Fight Club my money’d be on her.
All the propositions are passing, with the exception of the bizarre Taxi permit “protection” for the disabled — which was nothing more than a thinly disguised extortion racket by the permit holders.
Gavin’s dimwitted Prop M — the “Aggressive Solicitation Ban” — is good example of what’s wrong with this boy. It’s a popularity ploy touted to get those 2-toothed homeless begging for quarters outta your face, but it can do real damage to organizations such as The Salvation Army and The Girl Scouts. Yes, that cute little 8-year old is “aggressively soliciting” Thin Mints to you in front of Mollie Stone’s — lock that bitch up!
I found Angela’s Prop J, which promised to provide shelter for the city’s homeless youth, seniors, and disabled to be just soooo San Francisco. The entire legal text of the proposition was no more than 3 paragraphs and offered absolutely zero implementation details. In other words, it was nothing more than sympathy vote and guilt-removal for all us who step over and ignore these people every day.
UPDATE 10:43pm: Thankfully, Matt Gonzalez will be Newsom’s opponent in the December runoff. Good for Matt.

3 Comments

  1. Matt
    November 4, 2003

    Wow, I can’t believe it’s going to be Matt Gonzalez. I didn’t think he had the clout. Today on the bus ride home, a MG supporter with a big sign waved to the bus and yelled “Can I get a thumbs-up for Matt?” and NOBODY RESPONDED. Then again, nobody responded when the guy with tourettes started hollering obscenities. Not that they’re at all similar.
    I’m with you on Prop M…it would make the city so much prettier if we could sweep those homeless people under the rug, but then we’d just have a lumpy stinky rug. The solution’s worse than the problem. What to do, what to do.

  2. schmeeve
    November 5, 2003

    Hey, my tourette’s is completely involuntary thank-you-very-much!
    Only in this city would Matt get as far as he did, and I hope he makes it all the way. His heart’s in the right place and he’s just so — honest. Smart too! Hard to argue with that.
    And maybe it’s just me, but Gavin looks like an old money power grab to me.
    Maybe people are voting based on handsomeness? Best hair? Spouse with the most difficult to pronounce hyphenated last name? Most likely to smell like lilacs? *shrug*

  3. Matt
    November 6, 2003

    So true about the hair! If that’s all this race was about, Matt would SO be the winner. Lord. No contest. What’s Newsom’s stylist thinking?
    Yeah, there’s just something about Gavin that seems…unpalatable. My gut feeling is that he’s too much like the smarmy, unctuous kids who I hated in high school. And Matt’s like the smart-ass punk kid who had the nerve to take on the system. Somehow in my mind this race has become a John Hughes movie.