The most obvious interpretation of the San Francisco Chronicle's endorsement of David Chiu is that the Chron thinks Chiu has completely left the progressive camp and is now aligned with the political wing the daily paper calls "moderates:"Read more »

David Chiu has snagged the mayoral endorsement of the San Francisco Chronicle, beefing up his fairly paltry list of endorsers and giving his campaign something to trumpet with its hefty cash reserves in the final weeks. Most importantly, the endorsement opens up the race and probably hurts perceived frontrunner Ed Lee.Read more »

Interim Mayor Ed Lee released a 17-point jobs plan last week as part of his bid for mayor, prompting City Attorney Dennis Herrera to accuse the interim mayor of “plagiarism” since Herrera, also a contender for mayor, issued a 17-point jobs plan himself earlier this year. Read more »

Wow, the Chron found a way to take a swipe at Dennis Herrera for getting involved in politics -- and guess who the expert source is? Former City Attorney Louise Renne -- who politicized her office so dramatically that the voters approved a measure barring city attorneys from endorsing candidates.Read more »

The break on the big campaign news of the week goes to the Bay Citizen's Gerry Shih, who tracked down a couple of employees of GO Lorrie's and got them to admit that they had no idea who Ed Lee was and had given him $500 because their boss had agreed to reimburse them in cash. Read more »

Bevan Dufty's been running for mayor for about two years now. He's often the star of the debates -- if only because he has an engaging personality and is willing to laugh at himself, a rare trait in a politicians. And although he way typcially aligned with the fiscal conservatives on the Board of Supervisors, he has the support of the progressive SEIU Local 1021 -- in large part because he's talking about working with city employees instead of demonizing them. He also told us that the next mayor of San Franciisco needs to have a black agenda -- to address the alarming outmigration of African Americans and the economic damage that's been done to that community. You can listen to the full interview and watch video after the jump. Read more »

Former Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier is barely registering in the mayoral polls and at this point has about zero chance of getting elected. So she's thrown out a desperation pitch, trying to get votes from people who think kids should all go to neighborhood schools.

A mailer that I got yesterday shows two sad looking children in front of a Muni bus with the line: "Our ride to school is longer than our parents' ride to work. Who will stand up and fight for us?"Read more »

Terry Joan Baum is the Green Party candidate for mayor. She told us she got in the race to get progressive issues out and on the agenda; she was a candidate before Sup. John Avalos announced, and she says she'd be supporting him if she weren't a candidate. She told us she's the only candidate calling for criminal charges against PG&E in the San Bruno explosion. "I understand that I'm a longshot," she said, "but I've already influenced the debates." Listen to the interview and watch the video after the jump. Read more »