Alioto backs Newsom (Dem) -- Gonzalez (Green) camp cries foul [View All]

[aeon flux]

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With two weeks left until election day and a new poll showing Matt Gonzalez gaining ground, Gavin Newsom took a risk Monday when he accepted the strings-attached endorsement of longtime antagonist Angela Alioto.

Alioto, an attorney and former supervisor with roots in the city's progressive movement who placed a losing third in the Nov. 4 general election, can give Newsom a boost with voters to his left in the Dec. 9 runoff.

But the move also gave his opponent Gonzalez a chance to ask whether he cut an unethical deal to win her backing.

And some observers said it suggests Newsom's campaign is in trouble.

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The survey of 400 likely voters conducted over the weekend by David Binder for city business and trade organizations allied with Newsom showed their candidate with a 47-to-39 percent lead over Gonzalez, down from 49 to 35 percent in a poll taken 10 days ago.

Another poll released Nov. 14 by CBS-5 TV put the two candidates in a virtual dead heat.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/11/25/MNGCM3A5C71.DTL