Public power rolls

Prop. D wins a string of key endorsements

By Savannah Blackwell

Proposition D, the public power measure on the November ballot, has picked up several key endorsements, with the Democratic Party, the San Francisco Labor Council, and the Harvey Milk Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Democratic Club backing the measure. The Democratic County Central Committee, which decides the local party's positions on issues, voted 23-6 Aug. 21 to endorse Prop. D. The move is a big boost for public power because it allows a Yes on D position to appear on the official Democratic Party slate card, one of the most influential political mailers in the city.

The overwhelming pro-public power vote is also a sign of the increasing anger toward Pacific Gas and Electric Co. – and of the changes in the county committee over the past four years. Until recently the DCCC was considered an arm of the Brown-Burton machine. But in 2000 its membership changed dramatically from a host of machine lackeys to progressives and reformers intent on changing the club into an organization that better reflects the concerns of the community. The March 2002 election carried forward that trend, and the committee's members have made major inroads against machine control. "There's a growing consensus both among progressive and moderate [members] that some of these measures are extreme and need to be defeated," member Bill Barnes told us. "The vote against Care Not Cash was a landslide, as was the vote for Prop. D and the real estate tax increase. People are voting the right way."

If passed, Prop. D would allow the city to close the polluting Hunters Point power plant, owned by PG&E, and to prevent the Mirant Corp.-owned power plant in Potrero Hill from expanding. It would encourage alternative energy use and allow the city to issue revenue bonds to buy out PG&E's local grid if such a move wouldn't increase electric rates above what PG&E would charge.

Voting against the public power measure were members Dan Dunnigan, Tom A. Hsieh, Frank Jordan Jr., Meagan Levitan, and the proxies for Sup. Leland Yee – the Democratic nominee for state assembly representing the 12th District – and Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Members Andrew Clark and Mary Jung voted not to take a position on the measure.

Prop. D opponents were elated after the Labor Council endorsed the measure at its Aug. 26 meeting. Advocates had worked hard to get the organization's support. It is especially important because the union representing PG&E's workers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is opposing the initiative and is sending its Bay Area representatives to club meetings to argue against it.

Meanwhile, the Milk club, which also publishes an influential slate card, overwhelmingly voted 108-13 Aug. 20 to back Prop. D.

In addition, the Service Employees International Union voted to endorse Prop. D at its Aug. 21 meeting. The Sierra Club has already weighed in with its support for the measure, and the League of Conservation Voters threw its backing to the initiative as well. On Aug. 25 the political action committee of the Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic Club, which went against last year's initiative to form a municipal utility district, voted for Prop. D as well. That's somewhat surprising, but the word is that Sup. Mark Leno encouraged the club to support this year's measure. "I insisted on it," the supervisor told us.

"These endorsements are critical to victory," Ross Mirkarimi, Prop. D's campaign manager, said.

Meanwhile, to the surprise of few, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce voted to oppose Prop. D – despite the fact that PG&E's high rates have hurt local business and damaged the local economy (see "Power Politics," 8/14/02).

And the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), which bills itself as a moderate policy group but is in fact funded in large part by big downtown interests, including PG&E, went against Prop. D.

SPUR's move was particularly disappointing considering that Sup. Tom Ammiano, one of the authors of Prop. D, made a point of bringing SPUR members into the early discussions when the bill was drafted. "The city's energy plan is something all sides can agree on. It talks about moving toward small, decentralized sources of power," SPUR staffer Gabriel Metcalf told us. "Unfortunately, Prop. D got some older ideas that aren't necessary to implementing the energy plan injected into it. There's a lot of good things in the measure, and we're hoping that next year we can come up with a more carefully targeted proposal that both [public power advocates] and SPUR would like."

It is SPUR's policy not to disclose breakdowns of votes or whether individual members voted yes or no, Metcalf added. Still the Bay Guardian has been wondering how Samson Wong, a SPUR member and a political columnist for the Fang family's Independent and Asian Week, would vote. Wong did not return calls.

The Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods this year took the same position as the downtown groups on Prop. D and several other measures – a sign that the organization is continuing its shift away from its more progressive leanings of a few years ago.

At its Aug. 20 meeting the organization gave the thumbs-down to most of the propositions on the ballot – including all of the bond measures. Indeed, the only initiatives it is supporting are Sup. Gavin Newsom's homeless proposal, Proposition H (the measure dealing with retirement benefits for cops and firefighters), and Proposition K, which would put out to bid the city's contract for posting its legal notices in a local newspaper. Currently, the Independent has the deal.

P.S.: A community teach-in on how San Francisco can develop cleaner and cheaper sources of power will be held Wed/28, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Centro del Pueblo auditorium, 474 Valencia., S.F. The event features Sup. Sophie Maxwell, who coauthored Prop. D and represents District 10, where both of the city's aging and polluting power plants are located. For more information call (415) 820-1418 or go to www.powertothepeople.org. E-mail Savannah Blackwell at savannah@sfbg.com.