Trail Mix

Some might call it karma Any candidate running against District Three supervisor Aaron Peskin, who's perhaps the most widely respected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, would face an uphill battle. But builder Brian Murphy O'Flynn isn't likely to get a boost from the candidate statement he drew up for the city's voter information pamphlet.

O'Flynn's entrance into the race traces back to his public tangle with Peskin over a triangle of land at 701 Lombard St. The supe wanted the city to it take over and turn it into a park. But O'Flynn owned the land and had other plans – namely, a condo development. Still bitter over the fight, which he lost, O'Flynn decided to challenge Peskin this November.

Like most candidates, O'Flynn later filed a candidate statement with the Department of Elections. It says he has "proven experience getting things done fairly and effectively, bringing vision not division" and outlines his platform. Then, at the bottom of the page, it lists his single, albeit prominent, endorser: California secretary of state Kevin Shelley.

Shelley, who's in charge of all elections in the state, is now embroiled in a sticky campaign finance scandal involving local realtor Julie Lee and the possible misuse of public money intended for a community center.

The San Francisco Chronicle ran the first of many stories about the questionable Shelley donations Aug. 8. The deadline for filing candidate statements was noon the previous day.

When we called O'Flynn, he didn't want to talk about the endorsement, saying he was too busy setting up chairs for a campaign event. All Peskin campaign manager Jim Stearns had to say was "That's probably not an endorsement that Brian O'Flynn is going to be very proud of at this point."

Peskin, who has a wide array of endorsers, including fellow supes Matt Gonzalez and Michaela Alioto-Pier, Public Defender Jeff Adachi, and District Attorney Kamala Harris, kicks off his campaign Sept. 8. (Tali Woodward)

Ranking choices and avoiding a rank choice Critics of the ranked-choice voting method that will debut in San Francisco this coming Election Day have long complained that voters would be confused by the new system. The notion that people can't grasp the concept of first, second, and third choice has always seemed silly to us, but there are some fine resources out there to help the preference-challenged, including the Elections Department's Web site (www.sfgov.org/site/election_page.asp?id=25992) and some good links at the Usual Suspects (www.sfusualsuspects.com/RCV.htm).

Or if you want it explained in person, Spanish speakers can stop by City Hall's Room 416 for a primer Aug. 4 at 10 a.m., English speakers can hit the same room Aug. 6 at 1 p.m., and Cantonese speakers can come to Room 408 at 10 a.m. Aug. 11.

While ranked-choice voting may not be terribly confusing, it has spawned some candidate endorsements that aren't terribly instructive. Some groups around town, including the local Sierra Club chapter and San Francisco Tomorrow, have taken to endorsing three candidates in many supervisorial races without ranking those choices, thus sparking a flood of press releases from candidates all claiming the groups' endorsement.

Other groups, like the Democratic County Central Committee, rank their endorsements of up to three candidates. Yet even so, Sup. Gerardo Sandoval – who doesn't always play well with others – was the only incumbent supervisor running for reelection to be denied endorsement when the DCCC met Aug. 24. The body voted for "no endorsement" in that race. In District Five, where incumbent supervisor Matt Gonzalez is stepping down, the DCCC chose, in order of ranking, Robert Haaland, then Dan Kalb and Bill Barnes. (Steven T. Jones)