San Francisco Mayoral race just got ugly...

[Hell Hath No Fury]

Once again, from today's Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/11/26/MNG0J3AKES26.DTL

Mayor Brown tells ministers Gonzalez opposes blacks
Attack on candidate, who makes gains on Newsom in new polls

John Wildermuth, Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Political Writers Wednesday, November 26, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown on Tuesday called mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez a chauvinist and said he was driven to keep blacks from serving at City Hall.

"He's got some kind of defect in his head that makes him believe African Americans aren't qualified," the mayor told about a dozen black ministers gathered for a prayer breakfast in the Western Addition.

Gonzalez refused to respond to what he called Brown's attempt to use race and gender issues as a political weapon for Gavin Newsom, the other candidate in the Dec. 9 runoff for mayor.

"I don't want to start a war over issues like this,'' Gonzalez said.

Newsom joined Brown at the prayer breakfast. The mayor's charges echoed an attack Newsom made on Gonzalez at a debate last Sunday when he asked his opponent why "people you oppose for city commissions disproportionately come from the minority community?"

...snip...

A SurveyUSA poll released Tuesday night by CBS 5-TV gives Gonzalez a 52 percent to 45 percent lead among those voters judged certain to go to the polls on Election Day. While a Monday poll done for a group of San Francisco business and trade groups showed Newsom with a 47 percent to 39 percent lead, it also showed the more progressive Gonzalez picking up strength.

...snip...

The Western Addition, which is in Gonzalez's supervisorial district, was one of the few parts of the city where he beat Newsom in November. But Newsom and his allies have targeted the city's black voters, including those in that neighborhood, in an effort to derail Gonzalez's campaign.

Brown urged the ministers to let their congregations know how important it is to the city's black community to beat Gonzalez.

"We cannot afford to let this man's candidacy succeed in San Francisco,'' the mayor said.

**************************************************************

I cannot tell you how deeply offended I am by Willie Brown and Gavin Newsom!! What a pair of (insert obscenity here). I knew Newsom was a piece of (insert obscenity here), but this just takes the darn cake.

To throw labels of racism at Matt Gonzalez is a show of how desperate Newsom and his Sugar (insert vulgarism for "breast" here) Brown are. I also find it deeply ironic that these charges come from a man who went to the single most white (and racist) school in the City and is supervisor to the single most white neighborhood in the City!

The reason Gonzales voted against most of Brown's appointees -- including the African-American ones -- is because they were (insert obscenity here) CORRUPT.

For those of you here who are supporting Gavin, take a good look at how low your boy will go to win an election.

And (insert euphemism for grabbing with teeth here) me while you're at it.


Ops, for got to add these:

:mad: :nuke: :mad: :nuke: :mad: :nuke: :mad: :nuke: :mad: :nuke:

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

1. Gavin Nuisance = San Francisco's Arnold Swartzenegger

He's contributed to the Republicans right before Bush's selection, and has the backing of prominent Repukes ... if we let them sneak a trojan horse Republican into the mayor's office in our most liberal city, it's all over.

Gavin Newsom == SF's version of Arnold Swartzenegger

[David__77]

2. I support Gonzalez.

I would proudly vote for him were I in SF. The Brown machine is bad news for SF and for progressive politics. We can do much better. This is not a case where Democrats should fear Green influence. If they can succeed on certain levels like this, it will effectively push the political spectrum leftward. That's a good thing. Who knows, maybe Barbara Lee will be a "moderate" someday.

[Terwilliger]

3. I liked your first post better

;-)

I gave $25 to Gonzalez' campaign and I might help out this weekend. It seems a LOT of folks are seeing through Newsom, and that will only hurt him.

He is, after all, being groomed to be the next Dianne Feinstein :wtf: We don't need more.

[jeter]

4. Willie Brown is out of line here

[Some Moran]

5. Now for some good news...

If Louisiana taught us anything, it's that Blacks are too smart to listen to their community's leaders if it's not in their best interests.

Jindal :puke: learned that the hard way.

[monobrau]

6. The scary part

After working at the polls, I get the distinct impression that there are many elderly african-americans who will vote the way Willie Brown and their pastor tells them.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

16. I fear you may be right...

Willie's use of the African-American vote here in San Francisco has been so sad. They backed him overwhelmingly for his first run after he made promises about how their lives would change with him in office. And after four years they were still wondering when those changes were going to happen.

Comes his second election, folks were disillusioned but were still proud to have a black man in the Mayor's office and still voted for him hoping things would change.

Well, they are, sort of.

The new 3rd Street light rail line is being constructed along the main drag of one of the remaining black neighborhoods in the City. This was hailed as a good thing for Bayview/Hunter's Point because it would bring people and jobs into the neighborhood. But we now see that it is bringing an increase in rents to local businesses (most of the black-owned businesses are renters), bringing a creep of high-priced, luxury lofts from downtown, and bringing the type of industries/jobs that don't hire a whole heck of a lot of people who look like the residents of Bayview/H.P. (The construction crew I see everyday working the job has one black person on it -- a woman flagger -- they killed two birds with one stone with her.)

Bayview was sold out by a Mayor who didn't set in place any protections for the folks who lived and did business there. I'm betting that neighborhood will cease to exist as we know (in a bad way) within ten years.

But they still may listen to the bastard on Newsom.

[Demobrat]

7. What exactly has Willie Brown done for African Americans

or any other poor or minority group in this city? I seem to recall a ground breaking for a swimming pool in Hunters Point that subsequently never got built, but that's where my mind goes blank. I hope the African Americans here have better memories than I do.

[Book Lover]

9. You said it before I could

I lived here for more than 5 years before I saw Third Avenue... they hide that part of town away quite nicely, and Willie has done zero to change it.

[Demobrat]

13. Less than zero.

In his first term it came out that poor African Americans were being used as fronts for white owned firms so that they could get construction projects earmarked for minorities. Of course nothing was ever done and the whole thing just sort of faded from the news. Kind of like W's lies.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. Kick...

eom

[Iverson]

10. and kick again

eom

[Hell Hath No Fury]

11. Hey all you Newsom supporters!

I'm calling you out -- where are you? Now I know that you are still here.

Please tell us why this is an okay way to run a campaign.

[Sequoia]

12. I've been watching

this race altough I couldn't vote since I'm not in Marin County. I didn't and don't know much about these guys but when I saw Newsom on TV there was something about him I found troubling but couldn't put my finger on it. What bothers me is Willie Brown telling church how to vote. Makes me suspicious. Just remember voters, Willie Brown helped Jim Jones and he's on Arnie's team. That should tell you something. I don't trust Newsome, he's too slick.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

15. Slick as owl shit...

as the saying goes.

He made an appearance at my neighborhood community center where I got to see him speak.

I sat watching him and couldn't help but notice this guy was ambitious as hell -- for himself, not for our city -- and that he was a true politician, in the worst sense of the word.

It is clear that he is grooming himself for the big time -- I can only hope we stop him right here before he goes any further.

[Some Moran]

14. If we can't keep the Repukes out of San Francisco's Democrats...

Doom!