San Francisco Voting Results
America may have ended Nancy Pelosi's short-yet-eventful Speakership, but San Francisco returned her to office with the usual 80% of the vote. Republican John Dennis received a little less than 15% despite his having policy positions (anti-war, anti-Fed) that many on the Left profess to hold. Of course, there was a Libertarian candidate who siphoned off enough votes to deny Dennis the chance to pass the crucial 17% threshold.
The City-wide propositions/measures came out surprisingly well.
1. voters rejected the hotel tax
2. voters passed Measure G, which eliminated the provision in the City Charter guaranteeing the bus drivers the second highest pay scale in the country.
3. passed a measure banning the homeless from sitting and lying on the sidewalk anywhere they damned well please. We'll see how strictly this gets enforced.
The only disappointment was the voters' rejection of Measure B, which would have required City workers to make larger contributions to their pension and health care plans. The "No on B" side was the most visible and organized one in this election, so the result shouldn't surprise, I guess. Hope people enjoy paying increased taxes to support the City bureaucracy.
Gavin Newsom won the Lieutenant Governor's race, which means he won't be serving out the last year of his term. Since he spent the last two years running for statewide office, it will be a real change to have the mayor in town, even if he/she is an "interim" mayor. Tuck in those shirts!
(For those of you handicapping the next mayoral race, Supervisor Sean Ebersald backed the successful Measure G, while Public Defender Jeff Adachi backed the unsuccessful Measure B.)
Also, the City's Board of Supervisors banned Happy Meals. For the Children, of course. Why taking away some fun from a little kid's day can be "pro-child" is beyond me. Supervisor Eric Mar gained instant nationwide notoriety when he said this
"We're part of a movement that is moving forward an agenda of food justice," said Supervisor Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure. "From San Francisco to New York City, the epidemic of childhood obesity in this country is making our kids sick, particularly kids from low-income neighborhoods, at an alarming rate. It's a survival issue and a day-to-day issue."
Mar is, among other things, "my" Supervisor. Such fun. We live in a family-oriented district similiar to Boston's Allston and Brighton neighborhoods: plenty of trees and houses, but not as many liberals as you might think. And we end up with a "food justice" guy. To paraphrase Steven A Smith: no one ever came around the Outer Richmond saying anything about food justice. Also, he's part of a "movement." Guess all the potholes in District 1 have been filled.
Voter turn-out in SF, btw, was an anemic 38%. But, smug locals all over the City no doubt woke up Wednesday morning stroking themselves over San Franciscans' engagement and seriousness. Yawn.
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