The Mayor’s Race: Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

by Paul Hogarth, 2007-08-20

The Chronicle – and the rest of the media – had a field day mocking the minor candidates for Mayor as they gathered at an August 17th forum sans Gavin Newsom. And who can blame them? With candidates like Grasshopper Alec Kaplan, nudist George Davis, and Wilma Pang (who used her allotted time to sing “Blowin’ in the Wind” with the wrong lyrics), it’s easy to dismiss the Mayor’s opponents as a bunch of cranks. But for the San Franciscan who wishes to cast a meaningful protest vote in November, Friday’s forum was a chance to assess which minor candidates have a compelling message that could gather support. And three candidates – Tony Hall, Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai, and Quintin Mecke – are talking about serious issues in their campaign that could enhance the public dialogue this fall. None of them have a legitimate chance of winning, but it would be good for the City to have their voices heard.

As the only challenger with electoral experience, former Supervisor Tony Hall enters the Mayor’s race with a clear track record on the issues. “The Mayor does not represent the people,” said Hall. “The City is being sold to the highest bidder piece-by-piece. What I will do as Mayor is bring honesty, integrity and loyalty to the people.”

When asked what really happened at Treasure Island when he served as Executive Director (after leaving the Board of Supervisors), Hall replied that it was all a “set-up.” The Newsom Administration had planned a huge give-away to developers, he said, and “behind them was an outfit called Lennar. I was not willing to sign an exclusive right for them to negotiate, so they got rid of me.”

But with most dissatisfaction of Newsom coming from the Left, Hall’s conservative platform is not likely to get much appeal beyond his call for honest government. When asked if he strongly supported rent control and opposed the Ellis Act, Hall spoke in favor of his failed HOPE initiative – a 2002 ballot measure that would have created more condo conversions. “I want to provide an avenue to escape from being a renter,” he said.

Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai, an emergency physician, is a clear left-wing candidate for Mayor. “We need to focus more on disaster preparedness,” said Sumchai, as she rattled off her prior service on various City Commissions and advisory boards that she said make her a qualified candidate.

Sumchai also spoke about fixing Muni, and improving homeless shelters. But her main focus is on environmental justice in Bayview-Hunters Point. “We have to stop Lennar’s grading of the Hunters Point Shipyard,” she said, “and it will stop when I am Mayor.”

In a way, Sumchai is the Dennis Kucinich of the San Francisco Mayor’s race. She has an issue-based message and left-wing rhetoric, coupled with a small dose of New Age spin. “We need positive modeling,” she said. “What I will do most is care for people.”


Candidate Quintin Mecke addresses the crowd.

A last-minute entry in the Mayor’s race, Quintin Mecke is Program Director of the Safety Network - a City-funded agency that works with community organizations on public safety. Mecke is a familiar face with local progressive activists, as he cut his teeth in city planning fights, campaigned for Chris Daly and Matt Gonzalez, and in 2001 served on the Re-Districting Commission that drew the boundaries of supervisorial districts.

“In 2004,” said Mecke, “50% of our homicide victims were African-American – but they are 7% of the City’s population. If this happened to any other population, it would be a crisis.” Mecke also spoke about his experience as a homeless shelter monitor, and how we have to go beyond the P.R. of Project Homeless Connect to solve homelessness.

“It’s the issues,” said Mecke, “not the personalities that should drive this race.” Mecke spoke about how he entered the race because democracy relies on active participation, and how he wasn’t going to let Newsom get re-elected without giving voters a choice. But he did deviate from the other candidates by suggesting that he could win.

As I’ve argued before, progressives lose to Gavin Newsom when the focus is on personalities – but they win when they talk about the issues. The super-popular Teflon Mayor has proven to have few coat-tails, as San Francisco voters routinely reject his agenda when issues like paid sick leave, tenants’ rights and “workforce housing” are put on the ballot.

The Chronicle is eager to frame this year’s Mayors race as a wild circus show – with the composed and proper Gavin Newsom facing an ecletic mix of nutty personalities. But while most of the candidates fall right into this trap, three challengers are running serious, issue-based campaigns that could bring substantive dialogue to a soporific election cycle.

Voters wishing to cast a protest vote in November are advised to separate the wheat from the chaff, and evaluate which of the 12 candidates running against Newsom are talking about issues that have broad appeal. From my personal observation of last Friday’s forum, Tony Hall, Dr. Ahimsa Sumchai and Quintin Mecke stand above the rest of the pack.

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