It looks like tomorrow will be the unofficial beginning of campaign season in San Francisco with Gavin Newsom the odds-on favorite for mayor and Kamala Harris likely to be reelected to the District Attorney office. Each will be holding their kick-off rallies tomorrow.
Newsom:
Join the Mayor on June 2nd!
For a volunteer mobilization this Saturday at our campaign headquarters (1320 Sutter St. at Van Ness) at 12:30 PM to kick off our summer signature drive. RSVP by clicking here or calling (415) 351-0359.
And Harris:
Campaign Kick-Off
Date: Saturday, June 2nd
Time: 10:30 - Noon
Place: Women's Building
3543 18th Street...
In the meantime, progressives, led by Supervisor Chris Daley will be holding a convention in the Tenderloin. However, according to Dkos regular Paul Hogarth on his site Beyond Chron, they will not annoint a candidate.
As currently scheduled, the Convention will have two hours of Workshops in the morning, a lunch with cultural performances, and a very long list of speakers. It will probably be the largest gathering of progressive elected officials in San Francisco history, with over 15 speakers confirmed to address the crowd.
But there will be no formal process for delegates to nominate a candidate for Mayor, followed by an actual endorsement from the convention. It’s more about "setting the stage" for a progressive campaign this year, he explained. At the same time, Daly has insisted that the Left must have a candidate – which will be him if nobody else declares at the Convention. Meanwhile, State Senator Carole Migden will be there to shore up progressive credentials for her re-election campaign while her opponent, Mark Leno, is tied up in Sacramento working on the state budget.
This reluctance to nominate could be due to a potential second run by former Supervisor and 2003 candidate Matt Gonzales, as reported by the San Francisco Sentinel.
Former Supervisor Matt Gonzalez travled to the East Coast recently asking Washington DC political consultant Roger Lee to help shape a Gonzalez campaign for mayor against Gavin Newsom, the Sentinel learned today.
The consultant, who is considering the request, contacted a San Francisco political insider for background on current San Francisco politics, the pol told the Sentinel.
San Francisco is a small town politically, and when you keep your ears open, there are a lot of rumors. Alex Tourk, who you might remember resigned from City Hall after Newsom admitted an affair with his wife, was recently spotted having dinner with Willie Brown as talk surfaced of a comeback attempt. And, in the event Supervisor Ed Jew leaves after reports of bribery, State Senator Leland Yee is pushing to have progressive Jaynry Mak appointed to the seat until a successor is elected.
I suspect that the election is already over. Despite his personal troubles, a (national) rise in violent crime and unfinished business, Newsom enjoys huge favorable ratings, especially from the LBGT community that would normally be a part of the progressive movement (or is the community more diverse than we give credit for). He seems to have found a way to cover his left and right flanks, but therein lies a vulnerability. San Francisco is a difficult place to govern full of conflicting and overalpping interest groups that range from developers to Burners Without Borders. However, there is still a large "middle" in the city full of people who are neither rich nor poor. They don't align themselves with any the before-mentioned groups and are uneasy about what they see as a mayor preoccupied with making everyone happy. A moderate, well-financed opponent COULD eat into his support by playing a "competance card" and argue that he/she, not Newsom, can get things done. Other than Willie Brown, I do not know who that would be.
Harris will be reelected hands-down and represents the future of the San Francisco Democratic Party. She came out early in support of Barack Obama and holds ambitions of higher office (in which offices I do not know) and is someone to watch out for in the future.
There is never a dull moment in San Francisco.