The mayor's race beginsBy Tim Redmond
So now it’s official: Just when San Francisco political junkies needed something other than the generally dull November election to talk about, Bevan Dufty has done us all a favor and fired the opening gun in the 2011 mayor’s race.
It’s no surprise, really -- everyone knew that Dufty was running. Just as everyone knows that City Attorney Dennis Herrera and state Senator Leland Yee will be in the race, and that Assessor Phil Ting is looking at it, and that Sup. Ross Mirkarimi and Public Defender Jeff Adachi are mulling their prospects.
With public financing in place, and ranked-choice voting, the race will be fascinating. Dufty has never run citywide, but he’s a nice guy who can be funny and charming and he’s built a reputation as a nuts-and-bolts supervisor who takes government seriously. “Ross Magowan [of KTVU] asked me what my biggest single issue was, and I said Muni,” Dufty told me today. “He said that Muni was getting better, but hey -- crime is down 30 percent citywide and still up on Muni.”
Fixing Muni is a Dufty kind of thing -- not a grand civic vision, but a basic public service that people use that has problems. (A classic Dufty story: When the city got rid of the crossing guard at the school my kids go to a couple of years ago, which is in Dufty’s district, the principal called Dufty, and the guard was back the next day. He loves that sort of thing.)
“What I try to be is a collaborator,” he said. “I’ve never had the luxury of knowing I had six votes on the board, so I’ve had to reach out to people.”
He also promised that Mayor Dufty would always show up for question time at the board. He joked that “it’s easy for me to promise that because Chris Daly will be off the board by them” but in the next breath told me how much he likes and respects Daly, who he called “incredibly talented.” (Again, classic Dufty.)
It’s going to be a challenge for him to stand out in this race. He’s not going to get a lot of progressive support; he simply hasn’t been there on a lot of progressive votes and issues. It’s rare to see him defy Mayor Newsom and he’s been on the wrong side of many of the key battles of the past ten years.
He has a lot of support in his district, and among the more centrist parts of the gay community. But he’s not a big downtown guy, not a prodigious fundraiser and won’t be the next Newsom, who ran the first time with the unwavering support of the big-business community and all the money he could ever need.
And Herrera and Yee -- both with a proven track record of raising money, both with citywide name recognition -- will also be sitting in that political center. Neither of them can claim the support of the majority of the progressive supervisors (although Herrera will no doubt have former Board President Aaron Peskin on his team).
If Mirkarimi or Adachi runs, they’ll take the left flank. Yee will be the more conservative candidate, especially when he’s working the west side of town. I don’t see how Dufty finds his niche.
He doesn’t either, right now -- except to say that “I’m not running for anything else. I have no desire to go to Sacramento or Washington. I’m humble and I’m going to run a grassroots campaign.”
What he has, clearly, done is given a kind of shit-or-get-off-the-pot push to the other candidates. The race is a long way away, but with Dufty out there, raising money and seeking endorsements, Mirkarimi is going to have to decide if he’s serious, and if not, the progressives are going to have to decide if Adachi is their man, and the race is going to start firming up. There won’t be a Matt Gonzalez late entry this time around. What you see is what you get, and the late-comers will be at a disadvantage.
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Comments (9)
UPDATE: I just ran into a certain former mayor up on Potrero Hill, and he reminded me that there's another potential candidate in the race.
"Mark Leno doesn't know it yet, but he'll be running," this longtime observer of local politics told me. "There'll be too much pressure on him, and he'll get in the race."
I don't know about that -- but if he did enter, Leno would instantly become the front-runner.
Posted by tim redmond | September 24, 2009 01:15 PM
You may think Bevan is a "nice guy" because he's affable, but tell that to the renters who've lost their jobs in this recession and are hit with rent increase. I guess Bevan's especially nice if you're a landlord looking to raise rents.
Posted by Chris Daly | September 24, 2009 10:28 PM
Bevan serves his district well, he takes into consideration all parties. Rents have also been decreasing of late, Daly would know this if he was focused on San Francisco and not the real estate market of what ever suburb he is moving to.
San Francisco is not only populated with poor renters (to serve these people rent subsidies are required not burdening landlords some of whom have suffered in this recession too). San Francisco has a large population of rich renters who could be taxed to help provide these rent subsidies.
Daly’s comments show the same lack of class that has been present throughout his tenure; San Francisco will miss the spoilt child act.
Posted by Chris Pratt | September 25, 2009 07:16 AM
I'm not defending Dufty's votes -- I think I made it clear that he votes the wrong way on many key issues, including tenant issues. I'm simply trying to describe how he will play in the mayor's race.
Chris, you refused to support Ross Mirkarimi for board president, thus undercutting one potential progressive candidate for mayor. Who do you think is out there from the left who you would support and who can put together a competitive race?
Posted by tim redmond | September 25, 2009 12:11 PM
Adachi.
-marc
Posted by marcos | September 25, 2009 06:38 PM
Ditto Marcos.
RUN JEFF RUN.
PS.
Grudging thanks to the Fisher's for finally, and under duress, doing the right thing and returning their spoils to the public trust from whence they ill gottenly gained them. The hubris and vanity of people like these is unconscionable, particularly in a supposedly somewhat 'enlightened' city.
Posted by Patrick Monk | September 25, 2009 07:01 PM
You may think Chris Daly is a "nice guy" because he's always concerned about renters in San Francisco, but tell that to the Fairfield homeowners who've lost their houses in this recession which Chris Daly then turned around and purchased after they were foreclosed on.
I guess being Chris Daly is especially nice if you're a landlord (like him) looking to raise rents as high as you can in a San Francisco suburb which doesn't have rent control. Because being Chris Daly means getting to set the rules for everyone else while knowing you'll never have to live by them.
Posted by Lucretia Snapples | September 25, 2009 10:36 PM
"...and he’s been on the wrong side of many of the key battles of the past ten years." I guess this all depends on who you ask...
As long as this city elects our legislature with district elections (11 of them!) instead of city-wide elections or some kind of hybrid system, we will continue to have junior varsity politicians making serious decisions on behalf of the entire city. Having a moderate mayor will help maintain some semblance of "checks & balances" in this city that would otherwise be run into the ground by the progressive movement.
Posted by HelpSFO | September 30, 2009 01:11 PM
Hey don't be fooled by Dufty's "nice guy" facade. Dufty *acts* like a nice guy - but when it comes right down to it he just does what's best for DUFTY. My personal experience is he's a two face and is more than willing to sell out his vote and pander to Newsom and his cronies. Not only would it be awful if Newsom became governor (the thought makes me sick), but I would hate to see Dufty become mayor. Message to LENO: SF needs you!
Posted by SF native | October 16, 2009 01:36 AM