Elections Commission under fire City hall insiders say there's more to recent complaints against the newly formed Elections Commission than possible violations of San Francisco's sunshine law.

The real issue: the Elections Commission is threatening to fire Tammy Haygood, the head of the San Francisco Elections Department and an ally of Mayor Willie Brown – and Brown is pulling out the stops to try to save her. The sunshine complaint (which amounts to minor technicalities) is just an effort to discredit the panel, insiders say.

"It's incredibly loaded politically between Haygood and the new independent Elections Commission," Sup. Chris Daly told the Bay Guardian.

The group of people that filed the complaint with the Sunshine Task Force includes former supervisor Willie Kennedy and environmental commissioner Shelley Bell, both of whom are tight with the mayor. The complaint alleges that four of the seven commission members met privately in a downtown law office Jan. 16 for what the participants described as a "getting-to-know-you session." Since none of the members were sworn in yet, that meeting wasn't illegal. Another complaint says that the group failed to post notice of its Feb. 1 meeting 72 hours before convening. Commission president Tom Schulz explained at the Feb. 12 meeting of the Sunshine Task Force's complaint committee that he'd asked the city's Web staff to post the notice, but it didn't happen in time. A third complaint alleges that the commission failed to post notice of a meeting of a committee charged with reviewing résumés of potential members of the redistricting task force. According to Schulz, no such meeting took place.

Though Bell and the others said at the sunshine meeting that they cared only about upholding the sunshine law, Bell has also appeared in front of the elections panel – to support Haygood.

The complaint will come before the task force for a hearing date Feb. 26. (Savannah Blackwell)

PG&E's political editor Solem and Associates lobbyist Frank Gallagher, who served as the main spokesperson for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. in its campaign against public power last November, was circulating the corridors of City Hall on Feb. 11 to announce his new job: political editor for the San Francisco Examiner. (Blackwell)

Issues, real issues The battle between Sup. Mark Leno and former supervisor Harry Britt over the 13th District assembly seat has gotten nitpicky and ugly. What with all the sparring over exactly what Britt said when he shied away from a kiss from Leno, it seems that hard issues have gone missing.

It's good to hear, then, that the Britt camp was planning to unroll a meaty platform on Feb. 19 on the steps of City Hall. Among the items on Britt's agenda:

• Increase teachers' salaries.

• Change Proposition 13 so that corporations and the state's wealthiest individuals can no longer avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

• End deregulation and move to public power throughout the state.

• Pass a state living-wage law.

• Decriminalize marijuana.