Local races

Putting these up the day before the election probably won't mean very much, but at least I put them up- maybe someone out there will find them beneficial.

First up, S.F. School Board.

The school board has been very contentious over these past few years, mainly because it has been led by the progressives who show that they are anything but. And I'm not ashamed to admit it, but I'm basically doing a one-issue slate this time. The issues? JROTC. Those opposed to JROTC, which has been led by the progressive majority, have been extremely vocal both in their opposition to it (for very non-JROTC reasons) and have been very vocal in trying to stifle debate on this issue. I'll get more into JROTC when I get around to Proposition V. Let it be said, though, the list below are people who support JROTC in high schools; who support free and open debate; and show they are willing to listen to other people. So, please vote for:

Rachel Norton
Emily Murase
Marigrace Cohen
Jill Wynns

I have not included Norman Yee, because he supported the petition to removed JROTC from the PE requirement. Despite his general position supporting JROTC, I feel that he has not shown leadership on this issue, instead, just following the tide, whichever way it may be. So, if you think my one-issue list is wrong, feel free to read the Chronicle's endorsements, where we disagree on Norman Yee and Marigrace Cohen.

Next up is the Community College Board. I'll admit to having little understanding of what this board does, or even having a real opinion on who should make up the board. However, I do know who I do not support, even though almost all of those up for election are Democrats that I would ordinarily not support, so it was a struggle to find four. So, after a period of whittling down names, here are the four I would suggest:

Steve Ngo
Mary Hernandez

For the final two, I can find no reason to not vote for current board members Natalie Berg and Milton Marks.

For District 5 Board of Supervisors, I'm left with the great distinction of choosing between three candidates, none of whom are likely to give a whit about the Inner Sunset portion of their district. First up, I do not support current Supe Ross Mirkarimi. He does not represent what I believe in, and he supports Proposition H, which deals with a potential city takeover of PG&E. I promise to get a Prop. H post up sometime soon. He is aligned with the Progressives in this city, although he is registered as a Green. And I have no faith in him holding the interests of the Inner Sunset in his mind. The second candidate is Owen O'Donnell, who is a Democrat. I do not agree with him either, most notably on the various social enginnering programs he supports all gussied up under the environment banner. Finally, there's Rob Anderson. On his website, he notes that he's trying to get at the left by moving further to the left of San Francisco progressives. What I find most alarming, at least to me, is how much I agree with him on a number of issues, homelessness and the various bicycle gangs, such as Critical Mass (who is a big supporter of Mirkarimi), that try to run this city. As he notes,

City progressives---that rather elastic term includes Greens and the left wing of the Democratic Party---live inside an ideological box that prevents their seeing homelessness and other issues clearly. Instead of seeing it as an ongoing emergency---with 100-200 homeless people a year dying on our streets---progressives acted as if the homeless were another oppressed minority, like blacks and gays, whose rights and lifestyle had to be defended. As a result, progressives ended up in effect defending a tragic status quo instead of launching serious political initiatives to address homelessness.

Nevertheless, it appears quite clear that the Inner Sunset is an area in District 5 that continues to get the short end of the stick. Inner Sunset is far less "progressive" than nearly all of the rest of District 5, which includes the Haight and the Western Addition. Which leaves me with a decision as to which candidate for District 5 would result in the least amount of problems for the Inner Sunset. I'm also comfortable in the knowledge that what I say probably won't change the fact that Mirkarimi will likely win re-election. So, I'm gonna vote for Rob Anderson, if for no other reason than it will make Board of Supervisors meetings far more interesting for
Melissa.

For the supervisor districts that border the Inner Sunset, re-elect both Sean Elsbernd and Carmen Chu.

Quick fire-

BART Director: I see no reason to not re-elect Tom Radulovich.

District 12 State Assembly: What to do with Fiona Ma. She single-handedly thwarted a very good bill in the legislature on an issue of great importance to me because of her relationship with a certain lobbyist. And she co-authored an editorial supporting Proposition H. So, you would think that that would lead me to cast my lot with the Republican running against her. Again, my vote isn't going to really matter in this district. Nevertheless, while I have substantial concerns about Fiona's stances on energy, she is in the Assembly leadership, and she does appear to be doing a decent job on behalf of those of us living in the her district. She has tackled recycling scavengers, who are stealing money from the garbage companies, and has sought to make Highway 1 much safer. While I disagree with her on energy policy, I see no reason to not re-elect her.

District 12 U.S. Representative: Unlike for the State Assembly, I as of yet do not have a solid opinion on Rep. Jackie Speier. I will preface this by saying the Rep. Speier is a newcomer still getting used to how Washington works, and I am greatly enthused that she is working with Rep. Jeff Flake on how to combat earmarks. Yet, at the same, she introduced a bill to re-establish a federal speed limit. Her opponent, Greg Conlon, has been around a long time, and, like most Bay Area Republicans, appear to be simply taking one for the team. I have no doubt that either one of them would be an adequate representative for this district. And, like in the State Assembly, it doesn't really matter who I recommend, because Jackie Speier will likely be re-elected. I suppose it does concern me that Jackie has been in office since April, but only has 2 pieces of legislation to show for herself, one being the Federal speed limit, the other being a post office naming for her old boss Leo Ryan, who was gunned down at Jonestown (and where a much younger Jackie Speier lay bleeding on the tarmac for several hours until help finally arrived). I will be interested to see how she performs with a full 2 year term.

San Francisco Superior Court: This one is easy. As I wrote earlier this year, current Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval has no business being elected to the S.F. Superior Court. Simply put, the position of judge is not to further certain social policies, create new law, or to use it as simply another city job; rather, the role of a judge is to interpret and enforce the law. I have zero faith that Gerardo Sandoval will be able to adequately or faithfully execute the law as written. Incumbent Judge Thomas Mellon may not be the nicest person on the planet, but he knows what it means to be a judge. Keep Judge Mellon.