Demolition of Alice Griffith Homes Dominates Newsom ForumPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Feb. 12‚ 2007As he continues to defy the voter-approved “Question Time” at the Board of Supervisors, Mayor Gavin Newsom held a second Town Hall on February 10th at the Whitney Young Child Development Center in Bayview. In stark contrast to his first meeting in the Richmond, the audience did not let the Mayor run a scripted, staged event where he is in complete control. The largely low-income African-American residents of Bayview were upset about the past, frustrated about the present, and anxious about the future – including the City’s plan to demolish the Alice Griffith Housing Project. While the Forum did not stick with Newsom’s program to keep it scripted and focused, it was far more entertaining and insightful than his last Town Hall – as residents effectively pushed to hold the Mayor’s feet to the fire. |