I tell you the shit I hate to see. One, I hate to see the Bay Guardian endorse the moderate candidate because they think the progressive can't win. The Guardian used to pick the candidate that was most supportive of progressive and Guardian positions.
Two, the real shit is that the Guardian has chosen to subtitute its judgement for that of the LGBT community in picking its progressive and community candidate. Migden has been endorsed by both LGBTs paper and by the only LGBT progressive democratic club, the Harvey Milk Club, but I guess daddy Tim and daddy Bruce know what's best for us.

The BG has the right to choose whichever candidate it so desires. They made up their mind, as has the vast majority of San Franciscans, gay AND straight. We all have the right to our own decisions. We are not all tied to the decisions made in an overcrowded gymnasium.

The BG made a decision, laid out their reasons for it, and you can accept it or not. But I thought we could leave deception and fine print to Karl Rove. I guess it's back in style here in SF.

Bravo.

I don't think Jeff Sheehy should be lecturing progressives about not "endorsing moderates." Elected in 2002 to the DCCC on a progressive slate, Jeff then used his position to endorse Gavin Newsom. He then worked in the Mayor's Office.

Get real. Enough of the sectarian purity tests (which none of us could pass), and respect the fact that the Guardian came up with a different opinion as you did. I don't always agree with the Guardian's endorsements, but I don't moan about it.

I love my progressive friends, but sometimes we don't agree on every candidate. It's okay. We can act like adults, rather than resort to deceptive mailers that mirror the exact same Willie Brown tactics that we all used to deplore.

Supervisor, there are a couple of differences between your appearance on a slate card with Leno and the Guardian's logo on a slate card with Migden. First, the Guardian isn't a candidate. They don't appear on the slate cards for their own good, but rather only as a designation of their endorsement. When people get a slate card with the Guardian's logo, they assume it is the Guardian's endorsements, partially because the standard Guardian slate card always did. Thus, you trafficked on the reputation of the Guardian slate cards of the past.

Also, you put the logo right above the return address. Many recipients of the card would look at the card and think it came from the Guardian. The disclaimer above that logo is clearly not 13 point font.

Frankly Chris, this hardly looks like change, but more of the same Willie-esque tactics.

I am proud of the CHANGE Slate and our program to elect progressive candidates and measures on Tuesday.

We all know how important this election is with the fate of rent control, development in the Bayview Hunters Point, and the Democratic Party in the balance. That is why I am appalled that Tim Redmond would take precious attention away from the issues that matter.

It is outright slanderous for Tim Redmond to call the CHANGE Slate card "fraudulent" in his headline. If you read Tim's post, even he admits that the card does not boast a Guardian endorsement of Migden, although he claims that you have to read "the fine print." What Tim doesn't tell you is that "the fine print" is in 13 point font -- much larger than the 8 point font required by ethics laws.

You can check out the card here...

http://www.chrisdaly.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/change-mail-front-new.pdf

Meanwhile, looking at the Guardian slate card, you could assume that I endorsed Mark Leno, as we both appear prominently on it. However, if you read the disclaimer you would find that appearance "does not necessarily imply endorsement of others" on the card. This is the way it's done, and you don't see me complaining about it.

On to what matters... This weekend through Election Day, progressives' strongest coalition of tenant activists, affordable housing organizers, environmentalists, teachers, and City workers are being joined by the campaigns of progressive candidates including Carole Migden to turn out the vote to change San Francisco. Volunteer mobilizations with lots of shoe leather is how progressives win elections.

Unfortunately, the SF Bay Guardian slate does not represent this progressive coalition, because Mark Leno has sold out to Lennar and is recommending a Yes vote on Lennar's Proposition G and a No on the community plan for affordable housing, Proposition F. It would be unfair to ask activists who have been working for months to qualify and pass Prop F to carry literature for Mark Leno. It is a mystery to me why the Guardian doesn't get this.

Progressives need some big wins in the next two elections, in order to stay in play in local politics. These times call for greater levels of activism and discipline in the progressive community, including from our newspaper the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

I hope folks can get out to participate in our GOTV efforts in the next 4 days.

Uh, Supervisor?

The Guardian logo is the biggest thing on the card. And it's repeated right on top of the return address.

This is a deceptive card.

Big ass pictures of the real, mailed card here:

http://abledartsbathroomwall.yuku.com/topic/2190/master/1/?page=1

Though I think that Chris helped produce the card with the best of intentions and with a clean conscience, it does seem misleading and I would have opted to 1.) Leave Carole's name off the card altogether and keep the SFBG logo and endorsement on it or 2.) Keep Carole's name on the card and leave the SFBG logo and endorsement off it. I suppose a more obvious disclaimer might cut it but just seems counterproductive and confusing. Keep in mind that I'm a hardcore supporter of Carole Migden and I am telling everyone I know (and don't know) to vote for her.

Why Chris Daly or any other so-called progressive would endorse a politician who illegally spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds on personal use is beyond me! If Democractic Party hack Migden was not a state legislator, she would stand in the dock accused of a white collar crime. Plus, she is very ill with leukemia and clearly not capable of governing, as recent events clearly demonstrate. Check out Migden's financial disclosure forms. There is NOTHING on them. She either failed to disclose her personal assets, or she moved them imto someone else's name to escape scrutiny. Leno is obviously on the wrong side on the BVHP issue, but there is a chance he will listen to reason. Migden has long been contemptuous of and unresponsive to the self-empowerment struggles of the African-American community in San Francisco. And Nation, of course, is a veritable necon.

By the way, Ichabod, Leno and Dufty are making their rounds in the Castro right now to get people to support Prop G and oppose Prop F. Tim, I thought that you said that part of the reason that you would support Leno was because he wasn't aggressively pushing for this kind of sleaze.

http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=13434

I will bet a million bucks right now that if Ross gets elected mayor and the Board of Supervisors stays progressive, Leno, like the repugnant chameleon he is, will say that he was always on their side. Only then will he become a "true" progressive. And I'll bet another million bucks that The Guardian will accept this change in disposition as being genuine. You guys really need to do some soul searching.

I'm lucky enough to be agnostic on the Leno Migden race--both candidates are roughly equivalent, the voter's responsibility is to opt for the poison of their choice--but it seems that Chris walked right up to the line and put his toe up to the midpoint of the line, but didn't cross over the line. If you want to make this illegal, you're going to have to move the line.

One might be tempted to call Chris' action Suttonesque, but Sutton walks over the line all the time and gets away with it because Ethics is rigged. Didn't it take the FPPC acting to get Ethics to pursue Sutton on Prop F in 2002? When progressives make technical errors, of course, Ethics is vigilant and press releases go out.

Also, progressives are not used to someone playing to win, playing for keeps, especially when organized labor, transportation activists and local housing activists have all but folded like chairs, gone down like $3 whores, given the city up to being profitably over-developed into an auto-centric "experience sector" driven theme park for hipster trustafarians and itinerant overpaid tech workers.

-marc

I think the definition of Change has been changed. Progressives have had a majority on the Board of Supervisors for 8 years and I see little change.

Also where is the leadership? Ross, Aaron, Tom and Jake’s silence on F speaks volumes. If they support G they are too scared to go up against Chris Daly, if they support F they are too scared to been seen supporting something that may fail. The supervisors were voted for their leadership, this is a shameful silence.

It's always good to see San Francisco's right trolling on progressive blogs -- welcome Michael!

I think it is important to keep in mind that the CHANGE Slate was set long before the Guardian's endorsements were made. The Guardian endorsed 24 out of 25 of our positions on the east-side (and was identical on the west). Pretty good.

Clearly the Guardian's endorsement of Leno (after we were already working with Migden) made things more complicated. The best answer that we came up with was to produce a Guardian program (with Leno) and our own program (with Migden) - giving folks on both sides of Leno/Migden the opportunity to deliver a strong No on 98 and Yes on F message. Yes, it's messier than we'd like -- thanks to Leno and the Guardian.

The issue of placement of the Guardian logo near the return address on the mailer one that I didn't even notice until it was brought up today. I put the logo and disclaimer where it best fit.

Ross did the same thing. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, and it's fair game. When Ross first ran for the Board, as a proud Green, he sent out a mailor that closely mirrored the SF Demo Party slate card, same font and colors. In fact, there was a photo of Ross and Bill Clinton! Is that voter deception? Nope, he's just trying to get votes. No one, not the BG or any progressive, or Green had a problem with Ross' actions. People, get over yourselves and dial down the "hollier than thou" nonsense.

Tim,
Seriously, you blew it with the Leno endorsement--- huge knife in Midgen's back. You suck!

Chris, keep up the good work.

Ella Laurence

Tim,

What about your endorsed candidate for DCCC in the 13th AD, David Chiu? All his mail says "Re-Elect." No one has ever elected him to anything, he was appointed. David was appointed with Sue passed away. Is he not decieving the voters by implying he's an elected incumbant? Why, yes he is! He's a lawyer, after all, so that make's it extra worse, right? How about it, Tim? Get on your high horse.

Ohhh this is hilarious. The Guardian gets all pissy because for once they're on the receiving end of Chris Daly's duplicitous political machinations and Daly tells them to, well, screw off. Now that the shoe is on the other foot it's not so nice to be in league with Lil' Chrissy Daly, is it? Welcome to the real world - where Daly does what he wants, whenever and how he wants no matter the consequences to everyone else.

It is deceiptful. It is self-rightous to claim that because you believe a candidate is better then another you can highjack a slate card. I got this mailer and was incredibly confused. I don't really know who to vote for but neither candidate has shown to be ethical.

That would be new to San Francisco, an ethical candidate. We make fun of all these small towns in middle America but I think we could learn a thing or two about values. Honesty for one. Do the ends justify the means? Aparrently the Supervisor thinks so as do others here. Sad.

Would that you all showed the same outrage at the ethics of a political culture centered around the looting of the public trough as you do at the slate sleight of hand.

-marc

Ditto what marc said about having the same outrage about looting the public trough!

"The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house."-Audre Lorde

Bull-dozing tactics from the left are as bad as from the right. You assume I am not outraged by the high-jacking of our country by corporations but to be on the right side of things means a just process as well. The Irish Republican Army was "right" in their quest for self-determination but that did not justify the use of bombing civilians. San Franciscans don't deserve this deception and it makes me question all of those individuals on the slate. Did they see it before it went out? I would like to know this. Whoever sent this out didn't just step on a line. They crossed it.

"The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house."-Audre Lorde

Bull-dozing tactics from the left are as bad as from the right. You assume I am not outraged by the high-jacking of our country by corporations but to be on the right side of things means a just process as well. The Irish Republican Army was "right" in their quest for self-determination but that did not justify the use of bombing civilians. San Franciscans don't deserve this deception and it makes me question all of those individuals on the slate. Did they see it before it went out? I would like to know this. Whoever sent this out didn't just step on a line. They crossed it.

I think that the most unfortunate thing about the progressives that support Mark Leno (who is very popular) is that he will almost certainly be endorsing the conservative Newsom candidates for Supervisor in November while Carole would have used her bully pulpit, energy, resources and political pull as an elected official to get the progressive candidates elected. This is perhaps the single most important reason to support Migden.

And the progressives need all the help they can get, as Newsom will try to use the Constitutional Amendment proposition that would outlaw gay marriage as a rallying cry for his loyal gay supporters who will be voting in droves to ensure its defeat.

Try to imagine what San Francisco would be like with a 6 - 5 or even 7 - 4 majority of conservative candidates on the Board of Supervisors with Newsom leading the pack. Try to imagine what the SF Budget would look like for the next four (and very possibly eight!) years. Try to imagine how much faster gentrification would accelerate. Try to imagine the bad old days where the only way progressives could get anything done politically is by ballot box propositions. Try to imagine a popular, conservative Board of Hacks riding the coatails of an uncontained, conservative Newsom, who will most certainly put a measure on the ballot repealing district elections, thus ensuring that candidates like Chris Daly, Matt Gonzalez and Ross Mirkarimi never see the political light of day.

Yes, progressives need all the help they can get in November and, unfortunately, Mark Leno won't be there for us while Carole Migden will be put out to pasture.

Again, given the relative offense between toeing the legal line on a door hanger and giving away the public largesse to contributors, I'll take the door hanger. When you're arguing about the other person's piece of literature on the cusp of the election, then you've already capitulated.

Remember how the Democrats howled when Ross' Clinton piece was released? Clearly Team Leno sees Joe Nation in their rear view mirror and is blaming Carole MIgden for that, just as Robert Haaland saw Ross in his rear view mirror and Leslie Katz ended up talking about Ross Mirkarimi rather than Robert Haaland to all who would listen the weekend before the election.

Electoral politics are the masters tool, and we are using them with increasing efficiency to dismantle the master's house. I don't see Newsom and Leno teaming up to play well outside D8 which is not up this year.

Progressives, if we do the work required, are poised to trade up at the Board of Supervisors this year irrespective of Leno and Newsom because even though Leno is personable, Newsom is not delivering services to the neighborhoods, has not presented a generally appealing profile to voters over the past 18 months, is overplaying his uncontested victory, and can't tell that he is weak where he thinks he is strong.

Voters tire of the press release form of government and seeing their taxes enrich Newsom's posse rather than deliver city services.

-marc

Marc,

Newsom and Mark Leno are very popular no matter what and it can't be spun any other way just to console ourselves. The sooner progressives realize, accept and prepare for this fact, the better they will do in November.

That said, let's put things in perspective:

Mark Leno is endorsed by The SF Chronicle, The Examiner, Lynn Woolsey, Fabian Nunez, Art Agnos, Mabel Teng, Gavin Newsom, Bevan Dufty, Nancy Pelosi, Fiona Ma, Sophie Maxwell, Theresa Sparks, Cecilia Chung, Joe Alioto-Veronese, Mark Sanchez, Kim-Shree Maufas, Hydra Mendoza, Norman Yee, Lawrence Wong, Natalie Berg, Anita Grier, Milton Marks, Johnnie Carter, James Fang, Scott Wiener, David Chiu, Tom Radulovich, Melanie Nutter, David Wong, Laura Spanjian, Tom Hsieh, Malik Looper, Trevor McNeil, Matt Tuchow, Dan Dunnigan, California Teacher's Association, Delores Huerta, SF Bike Coalition, Alice B. Tolkas Club, San Francisco Young Democrats, Norman Solomon, Jackie Speier, Judy Chu, SF Bay Guardian.

Meanwhile, Carol Migden is supported by Havey Milk LGBT Club, Barbara Boxer, California League of Conservation Voters, National Organization of Women (NOW) California Chapter, Aaron Peskin, Chris Daly, Jake McGoldrick, Lynn Woolsey, California Nurses Association, California School Employees Association, Gerardo Sandoval, Robert Haaland, Eric Mar, Jane Kim, Julio Ramos, Harry Britt, Affordable Housing Alliance, SF League of Young Voters, United Farm Workers and, unfortunately, Dianne Feinstein

What I'd like to know is how many of Mark's supporters are honest and self-aware enough to know that they would switch sides if Carole was the frontrunner and Mark was the "spoiler"?

Correction: The Examiner is going with Joe Nation.

The Harvey Milk Club progressive? A bunch of political wannabees in the act of mutual masturbation? Not to mention it's got as many Black folks as a GOP convention.

The Harvey Milk Club progressive? A bunch of political wannabees in the act of mutual masturbation? Not to mention it's got as many Black folks as a GOP convention.

Mark and Carole are roughly equivalent candidates, Democrats who I respect are on both sides of this one...reasonable minds can differ.

But I think that Carole's user interface problems left her exposed and vulnerable.

If either Carol or Mark came out on Monday and pledged to take on the POA for funding Nation, they would probably garner sufficient support to take the nomination.

-marc

On another note, when I was outside distributing campaign literature today -- including the "Change" slate card -- several people looked at the "Change" slate card and referred to it as the Guardian slate card. I corrected them, but was a little uncomfortable thinking about the number of people who didn't say anything who may have assumed that the card that they were getting was a Guardian card.

Sue, that's precisely why people who agree with everything on the "change" slate card should not be distributing it. It's dishonest. It's misleading. It's wrong.

People can disagree all they want with the Guardian's endorsement of Mark Leno, but don't use the Guardian's good name to promote other candidates.

Just food for thought for the last 48 hours. I wish everyone luck, and know that we will come together after the Election to put aside our differences. There is so much more that brings us together.

All-- It is with great interest I read this e-thread.

1) Mark Leno is the one responsible for this debacle. Perhaps Nation was polling for Senate 3, but he didn't enter the race until after Leno Declared and saw the political calculus that might skew in his favor. If nation wins, his algebra was correct.

2) Had it been Migden-Nation, Leno could have marshalled his forces to rally for Migden (unsavory as that might have been for Mark), assuring his coronation in in four years. I would have had no problem with that.

3) I fault Willie. We probably wouldn't have term limits otherwise. The underlying cause of our conundrum

Rick

Rick is right. Nation is taking advantage of a fight that shouldn't have been picked.

But now that the fight is on, the Guardian endorsement analysis reads like an endorsement of Migden that went awry because the Guardian didn't think she had a chance to win. That's too bad.

The rest is rationalizations once they took the dive. A dive that doesn't make sense when I watch the tv commercials that Leno has done for Lennar, or the mailers I am getting from Newsom saying how Leno is his partner in Sacramento. I can only infer that that is why Leno never criticized the Mayor like Redmond challenged him to do.

When all is said and done, the Guardian let the left down. Daly gave the Guardian an out for their failure by doing this. Now they can claim the moral high ground in their own minds again. At least for the moment.

Then again, the Democrat party labels itself as the Democratic Party even though what it lacks in fighting for a democratic culture it makes up in its internal party structure as current infighting demonstrates.

Is that political sleight of hand misleading?

-marc

This is no more a debacle than Gonzalez challenging Ammiano was a debacle. Elections are contestable, that's part of the deal. The major stakes here bear on kinship networks rather than progressive policy because the Democrat caucus in Sacramento is structurally constrained.

The take away lesson here is that all aspiring politicos need to take heed of Carole Migden's demise, along with that of Kevin Shelley, so that they might not make the same mistakes of treating their perceived underlings like crap and leave themselves open to successful challenge by moderates and conservatives.

-marc

I've realized that even though I have a big problem with Leno (and, if the polls are any indication, I fully expect him to win by a comfortable margin tomorrow), I'm still more than happy to work with his supporters on our shared goals (of which there are many) and to accept them with open arms and malice towards none.

Don't get me wrong: this doesn't mean I will be docile and won't challenge Leno when he needs to be challenged (especially when he campaigns for the conservative candidates for Supervisor in districts 1, 4, 8, 11 and for mayor). To be compliant and grateful merely due to the things he is doing in Sacramento would be foolish. Leno's current supporters should also challenge him when necessary. Anyway, when Gavin is governor and given their good relationship, Leno might be able to leverage his state-wide progressive stances to push Gavin to the left on some things.

I also hope that other Migden supporters (ESPECIALLY Chris) do the same. I think that it would be a nice gesture if Migden and Chris took the lead by establishing a public and healthy relationship with Leno. You don't have to like someone to work with them. Their supporters look to them to know how to behave. There is too much at stake here.

JUST ONE QUESTION - HOW - JUST HOW IS THE INCUMBENT THE SPOILER????????????????????

Good point, Expatriate. By Wednesday, we ought to start to heal this rift and not hold grudges because well-meaning people with similar values can still disagree. But I must admit that I've lost a bit of respect for Chris. Aggressive advocacy is great, deception and misrepresentation are something else. I expect it from the Sutton crowd, but not from those who claim to hold progressive values. We've defended Chris many times when he's pushed the line, even sometimes when we've cringed at his antics, but I think we'll now be less likely to do so in the future given his repeated tendency to let his ego-driven belief that only he possesses the answers get in the way of dealing honestly and respectfully with his progressive allies. And that makes me unhappy because on his best days, Chris can be the city's most powerful advocate for issues I support.

Poor judgment was exercised in the case of the Change slate card, and I don't think Mark Leno is responsible for that. When I was distributing literature, including the Change card, and when I realized people thought the Change slate card was the Guardian card, I felt I had compromised myself and also all the issues and candidates behind which most of us in this thread are unified.

Hey Steve, if we all were able to "heal" the rift after the Guardian endorsed Angela Alioto in 2003 in a way that gave Newsom hostile ammo written by the Guardian to use against Gonzalez, I don't see where you all have much space to complain.

More importantly, when will San Francisco progressives get to the point where opposing someone politically does not mean that they hate their political opponents personally?

-marc

A oupla points here (and thanks, everone, for the always enlightening debate):

1. Leno's fault? This is a one-party town, and in a one-party town, the only way you get accountability is if incumbents face the possibility of a primary challenger. Whatever you think of Carole Migden (and I like her), Migden was never around town, never at events, hard to reach ... until this challenge, which brought her back to the community. If Migden Migden wins tomorrow, she will be a better state senator for having gone through this.

And frankly, Leno has the right to challenge an incumbent. Just as Matt Gonzalez had the right to challenge Tom Ammiano, the presumptive left candidate for mayor. That's how democracy works.

2. I think there's no doubt that this was misleading and many voters found it misleading. I don't know if that was the intent; Sup Daly insisted that it wasn't when I called him, but then, we didn't exactly have a calm and civil conversation. But anyone with any sense would know that would be the result. ANd in fact, I've received a lot of calls from people who thought we had changed our endorsement.

It wasn't Daly's greatest moment: he embarassed many of the people on the slate, who called me to say they were sorry it happened. Daly doesn't have all that many friends left in town; the Guardian was one of his most loyal supporters. I stuck up for him over and over again when he was in trouble, and now that he's mad about one endorsement, he's done something that he ought to have known would piss us off.

3. You can disagree with our endorsement of Leno or list a million reasons you like Migden better. That's fine. But we made this decision, and we took it seriously, and we still think it was the right choice -- and people who use our logo ought to have enough respect to accept what our real endorsements are.

4. Marc, I'm all for playing to win. But I'm not for doing sleazy shit along the way.

Bottom line: Guardian got this endorsement totally wrong. I won't remember a funky slate card, but I will always remember that a so-called progressive newspaper supported tossing out a longtime leader of the LGBT community, one of our last remaining elected lesbians, and someone who has done nothing to deserve being tossed out of office.

Tim, what I'm seeing here is a lack of a sense of perspective. The SFBG sleazed Gonzalez and gave ammo to Newsom in the process. We were able to make amends with the SFBG and we've sang kumbiya many times together since as we will in the future. In this case, Daly did not give any ammunition to our common opponents. He did walk right up to the line and step on it.

I'd give the SFBG a 7 or so on a scale of 1 to 10 for its Alioto endorsement slam on Gonzalez and Daly a 4 or so for his slate sleight.

Just like we got over it in 2003, you all will get over it next week and we'll all work together this November to trade up on the Board of Supervisors, replace Mark and Eric on the Board of Ed, pass the Affordable Housing Charter Amendment and whatever other progressive measures and pledge to not make this a replay of the progressive LGBT totem fights from the Robert Barnes era, okay?

-marc

Marc, you're trying to change the subject here. Chris Daly authorized a dishonest slate mailer using the Bay Guardian's logo to give the impression that the mailer, which included an endorsement for Carole Migden, actually came from the Bay Guardian. In doing this, Chris has violated two basic values of the progressive movement: honesty and accountability.

When I first saw the mailer, I knew it was misrepresenting the Guardian's position and was very concerned that DCCC candidates that I know and respect may have been a party to the deception. As it turned out, all the DCCC candidates I have spoken to so far have denounced the mailer, telling me they didn't know about the mis-use of the Guardian logo and would not have approved it if they had. Chris has not only tried to deceive the public, he's also deceived the very candidates he is supposed to be supporting. On top of that, Chris appears to take no responsibility for this deception and thus is not willing to be accountable for his actions.

It seems to me that Tim has been very restrained in his response to Chris. Regardless of how you feel about the history of Bay Guardian endorsements over the years, can't you at least concede that the Guardian has a right to not have it's logo used in such a deceptive way? In fact, if there's a crime here I would think it would have to do with trade-mark infringement rather than campaign finance law.

In any case, I believe Chris owes an apology both to the Guardian and all those candidates whom he duped into paying money for this deceptive mailer.

Marc, we will all get over it and move forward, as we always do. But I think this was a sorry episode and I hope it never happens again.

The people who dislike me probably always will, while many who who like me continue to get pushed out of the City.

Lennar has spent $4 million dollars to buy southeast San Francisco, and we have the opportunity to stop them -- pulling off a very major upset. I will make the operational decisions that I need to in order to give us a fighting chance. I'm not sure what ego has to do with it.

By the way, I don't have the luxury to turn to firms like BMW to make the operational decisions for me. I own all of my shit.

I'm very disappointed in Supervisor Daly and the folks trying to rationalize this misleading door hanger. We don't tolerate this sorta thing in San Francisco - at least, I didn't think so.

Chris did not try to hide anything. What he did was legal. When there are many races that attract support from different quarters, you're going to see different groups supporting different intersecting slates. Daly's slate was clearly marked as the HOPE Slate and the Guardian brand was limited to the measures.

Every single day Gavin Newsom produces fraudulent press releases that mislead San Franciscans.

I'm not sure that it was worth it to put Migden front and center, not unless she paid for the doorhangers that featured Prop F and G in which case if things work out well tomorrow it was worth bruising the Guardian's ego for a few days to prevent a disastrous land grab and maybe, just maybe, push Lennar into bankruptcy.

-marc

Marc,

What you call "the Guardian brand" was placed in the address portion of the mailer. Tiny words were placed above the Guardian logo that amounted to a disclaimer: "all CHANGE initiatives and dccc candidates endorsed by." Maybe those words made the mailer legal, but they certainly didn't make it honest.

Your rationalizations not withstanding, this decision Chris made has alienated some of the very candidates he seeks to support. What's more, it was totally unnecessary and had nothing to do support for Proposition F, but instead had to do with support of Carole Migden.

Chris Daly can say he doesn't care that the Guardian is displeased with his actions...he's made similar statements to others in the past. It's not enough just to push a progressive agenda, it matters how we treat people in this word. I think that's a message Carole herself will soon appreciate.

Hi! I'm a San Francisco voter uninvolved in local politics and have no strong opinion on Migden vs Leno.

That card was indeed a fraud.

I spotted it as the most duplicitous one -- obviously designed to confuse -- but only after spending several hours going through the issues in detail. Had I been more careless, or not had the Guardian's endorsements in hand, I would have thought the Guardian endorsed Migden.

I came across this blog only because I wondered who was behind the sleaze. It amazes me that an elected official could be more duplicitous and more shameless than PG&E or Lenar Homes, who were the runners up in my personal prizes for worst election junk mail.

wow. all this time I thought of Chris Daly as just another SF screaming meemie. now he has added Nixonian dirty tricks to his repertoire?

thanks for dragging the rest of us progressives down into the mud, Chris. thanks a lot.

daly's use of Nixonian dirty tricks only serves to drag the rest of us progressives down into the mud.

thanks a lot, chris. you really shot us in the collective foot with this one.

TBrown, the city is being turned into a theme park for hipster trustafarians, empty nesters and itinerant tech workers.

Politics is how we avoid brutal warfare, the kind that hurts and kills people.

I wish it weren't this way, and the long term goal is to change the way politics works, but that is the political hand we're dealt, our opponents are playing for keeps, and we've got to play it to the hilt.

I'm more concerned that the killer instinct seems to have been eliminated from our progressive electeds while our opponents have manicured it to an art form.

In politics as in warfare, especially with the sharpness of the offensive originating from moderates, the rule is kill or be killed.

We're dying out here and I'm glad that someone is taking the challenge seriously.

-marc

Defending Chris Daly as a strong politician is weak. I'm voting NO on G because I agree Gavin is a fat cat out to line his own pockets, just like his mentor Willie Brown was. At least they both show some class, unlike Chris. I'm also voting NO on F because Chris Daly is an immature tantrum-thrower with no sense of balance or finesse and while he picks some fights that I agree with, he picks too many that I don't. To top that, he is now a proven reprobate. Like I said... "weak". You pushed a lot of smart folks towards Leno, Chris.

Defending Chris Daly as a strong politician is weak. I'm voting NO on G because I agree Gavin is a fat cat out to line his own pockets, just like his mentor Willie Brown was. At least they both show some class, unlike Chris. I'm also voting NO on F because Chris Daly is an immature tantrum-thrower with no sense of balance or finesse and while he picks some fights that I agree with, he picks too many that I don't. To top that, he is now a proven reprobate. Like I said... "weak". You pushed a lot of smart folks towards Leno, Chris.

Thank god for that Marc (re:dying out)
I wonder if one needs to own a home outside the mission to be considered a trustafarian?

Marc, I disagree with you in this case. Daly erred, and did so unnecessarily. I've been handing out voter guides for days now -- mostly Pissed Off voter guides, and, for a couple of hours on Sunday, the Change slate card. People are taking the literature willingly -- they want something to inform their voting, and it's disrespectful of us to try to deceive them, and to assume they will not have the intelligence to perceive deceit imbedded in the Change slate card. The ends do not justify the means in this case -- and was absolutely unnecessary, as people are taking the other slate cards. Yesterday and today, I stuck to the Pissed OFF guide.

When I received this mailing I thought it was a Guardian slate card, but then saw Carol's name and was confused for a minute. I remembered that the Guardian cannot afford to mail out these things and was unhappy with the way this was put together.

I like Daly, Leno and even Migden (though I think her recent financial problems were unacceptable).

But Chris, that mailing was not appropriate, and I do not believe that Leno will work to make our board of Sups more conservative.

Marc, I share your concern about the affordable housing crisis in this city and partially agree with you that tough political campaigning is appropriate for advancing the progressive agenda. Here's where I disagree:

1. Chris Daly does not advance the housing cause by putting out a dishonest slate card aimed at giving the Guardian's endorsement to Carole Migen, someone they didn't endorse.

2. In the "big picture" of city politics, it is counter productive for progressives to demonize other progressives by falsely labeling them "moderates" or by accusing local labor leaders of having "sold out" by supporting a development plan with something less than 50% affordable housing.

3. More specifically, it is absurd to label Migden as a "progressive" and dismiss Leno as a "moderate." Consider, for a minute, that Leno publicly supported clean money legislation in California long before Migden did. And for some of us progressives, public campaign financing is the one reform that will make all other reforms in politics possible.

As I mentioned above, honesty and accountability are essential aspects of our shared progressive values.
Daly would do all of us a great service now if he were to acknowledge that he made a mistake in authorizing that mailer.

Tim, if Prop F were losing or even, then it might make sense for labor to negotiate. But when progressives have a winning hand, and that winning hand was generated by other folks, it is inexcusable for a third party to sell out that winning hand.

Gonzalez also might have had that winning hand, and the Guardian editorial sliming him arguably cost him the election because those words were used in a mail piece directed at progressive precincts by Jim Sutton.

I'm not going to get into the substance of the Leno/Migden debacle as for once I am neutral. Suffice it to say that the will to win that Daly is showing is refreshing, and he did it in a way that adequately distinguished his slate from the Guardians.

Ross has taken up the progressive banner with a longer term, deliberative approach. Chris is very good at rapid response to challenge. Prop F was sheer political brilliance that was put together in short order and seems poised to win tonight.

We each come into politics with similar values and goals, but being united by bonds other than the ability to squeeze money out of government and into our pockets, bonds much weaker than our opponents, we are often fractured and at odds.

Chris has been honest and accountable, admitting everything, denying nothing and responding to your lamentations with an "?y que?"

What we need to do now is to call for a kumbiya session sometime soon, maybe this weekend, where everyone who wants to support a progressive supervisorial candidate or a progressive measure gets together for some beers to smoothe over the Leno/Migden controversy and set the stage for the kind of cooperation we'll need as we move towards November.

If we don't do that, then odds are that the Migden/Leno acrimony will pour over into some of the more contested supervisorial races on the progressive east side.

We need to learn to fight hard, fight on the issues and the record and to fight with respect. Part of that might involve locking ourselves in a beer garden for an afternoon to force us to focus on those things which unite us so that when we focus on the differences, we don't do more harm than good.

How a post-Migden/Leno get progressive together at Zeitgeist on Sunday afternoon?

-marc

Uh, Steve, look around you, look at the way that our opponents are whipsawing us and how that is bringing consequences to bear on the viability of the progressive project in San Francisco.

It is disturbing to see allies like the Guardian focusing on manners rather than policy consequences. Yeah, manners are important, but historically table manners have been used as an arbitrary class tool for the exclusion of the riff raff from the table.

What I'm seeing, and its most disturbing, is that being steeped in the nonprofit culture, many progressives are more concerned about not ruffling feathers to the extent that they self censor and don't push progressive policies. In both bicycle and housing policy this has trend has arisen and is a problem.

If others understood progressive politics and acted on it the way Chris has been of recent, then we'd be in a very different situation now than we are.

-marc

Is Marc S Robin Hood or Che Guevara?

I'm surprised the turnout is so revoltingly low. I'm quite terrified at this point. The Leno/Migden/Nation brouhaha is small potatoes compared to Prop. 98, Prop. F and the composition of the DCCC. Is there any way to get a final burst of progressive turnout over the next 3 hours?

That said, I think the best we can do (supposing Leno wins) is to make a hard push and convincing case to aggressively oppose the conservative candidates for Supervisor (which is going to be like moving mountains, unfortunately). But we need to try.

I have to say, the more I hear Chris' opinions on this thread, the more disenchanted I feel with him. He can't listen to reason. But I think that his design of the slate card was probably passive-aggressive and not actively malicious and dishonest. He needs to learn to not see things in black and white and to be able to step outside of himself.

I'm surprised the turnout is so revoltingly low. I'm quite terrified at this point. The Leno/Migden/Nation brouhaha is small potatoes compared to Prop. 98, Prop. F and the composition of the DCCC. Is there any way to get a final burst of progressive turnout over the next 3 hours?

That said, I think the best we can do (supposing Leno wins) is to make a hard push and convincing case to aggressively oppose the conservative candidates for Supervisor (which is going to be like moving mountains, unfortunately). But we need to try.

I have to say, the more I hear Chris' opinions on this thread, the more disenchanted I feel with him. He can't listen to reason. But I think that his design of the slate card was probably passive-aggressive and not actively malicious and dishonest. He needs to learn to not see things in black and white and to be able to step outside of himself.

frankly, as a "progressive" voter, i am less willing to make alliances with those who argue that this sort of behavior is ok and that voters like myself need to be lied to every now and then (for our own good of course).

Chris, my "ego" comment references your tendency to try to lead the progressive movement without first consulting your allies, and it's why you have ended up lashing out at us, labor, some affordable housing activists, and just about every other progressive supervisor at various times. You call the play and expect us all to just fall in behind you, even if we don't agree with you and might have been able to help craft a better play if we had been consulted. In the process, you often alienate the moderates that we sometimes need to reach a majority. Your passion is great, but it's insulting when you act like you're the only one in town who understands progressive politics. The Guardian was here before you, fighting the good fights, and we'll still be here when you're gone.

personally, this "progressive" voter feels less inclined to ally himself with those that think that i need to be deliberately misled every once in a while (even if it's for my own good as marc and chris kindly point out).

The irony: