Reelect Jane Morrison

BILL BARNES, an aide to Sup. Chris Daly, has dropped out of the running for chair of the Democratic County Central Committee, a powerful post that oversees the local party's policy making and controls the expenditure of party money. Fortunately, the current chair, Jane Morrison, who was ready to step down, has agreed to seek another term. She's been an aggressive, fair leader for the party and should be reelected by acclamation.

Morrison's challenger is Leslie Katz, a former supervisor who was aligned with the Brown machine and downtown interests. As we pointed out several weeks ago (see Editorial, 3/17/04), electing her would be a big step back for the party. There's a lot at stake: the DCCC decides the party's endorsement in nonpartisan supervisorial races and could be key in a number of contested districts. Putting Katz in charge would be a big mistake.