Campaign Watch

Newsom's flip Although a poll conducted July 10 through July 13 and commissioned by the pro-big business group SFSOS (mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle's July 21 Matier and Ross column) says mayoral front-runner Sup. Gavin Newsom is still holding steady at 38 percent, other data suggest the downtown's darling may actually be losing support.

Lake Snell Perry and Associates, a Washington, D.C., outfit with offices in Oakland, polled 550 voters (a considerably larger sample than the 401 voters contacted for SFSOS) living in various parts of the city June 26 through July 1 and found Newsom with only 27 percent of the vote. Conducted on behalf of treasurer and mayoral candidate Susan Leal, the survey put Sup. Tom Ammiano at 21 percent, former supervisor Angela Alioto at 19 percent, and Leal at 14 percent.

Newsom seems to put more faith in SFSOS's poll, which also found that voters appear likely to pass Sup. Matt Gonzalez's initiative that would raise the minimum wage in San Francisco to $8.50 an hour. Hmmm. Maybe that's why Newsom voiced support for the progressive measure at a neighborhood forum for mayoral candidates held July 16 in the Sunset District. "It's a step in the right direction," he said at the meeting. That's a turnaround for the Marina-based restaurateur, having told M&R in April that he was not inclined to support the proposal.

Newsom campaign spokesperson John Shanley told us the candidate's new position was not the result of checking out the recent polling data. Rather, he said, Newsom had been concerned that the initiative might result in the loss of jobs to other Bay Area cities (unless the minimum wage is raised in counties neighboring San Francisco). "He struggled with that," Shanley said. "But after weighing the pros and cons, he's decided to support it." (Savannah Blackwell)

Team building District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who's facing a grueling reelection race, made a move last week that's sure to pack more punch into the old boxer's bid. He's brought on board Bob Henderson, the low-key consultant who spearheaded the brutal and phenomenally successful battle to oust Kimiko Burton (daughter of state senator John Burton) from the Public Defender's Office in favor of Jeff Adachi in the March 2002 election.

Henderson, who had been advising Ammiano in his race for the mayor's post, will manage the new and improved Hallinan team. And he's brought Sueanne McNeil, a fellow veteran from the Adachi war, with him to handle day-to-day operations. Consultant Marc O'Hara is staying on to deal with the media, political mail, and polling efforts. With challengers Bill Fazio and Kamala Harris raising some big dollars, Hallinan needs all the help he can get. (Blackwell)