COURT JESTERINGS

With h. brown

h. "Court Jester" brown with his BFF Angela "Queen Bee" Alioto.
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

Court Jester falls in love

By h. brown

February 8, 2008

“h., my son is in the car”
(pausing for reflection)

Awkard moment: h. expresses his amorous affection
for Angela Alioto while son Joe cringes.

I love Angela Alioto and I don’t care who knows it. In fact, I made a confession yesterday to my priest and it went like this:

Me: “Father, I have impure thoughts about Angela Alioto.”

Priest: “Me too!”

Still crazy after all these years? Naw, never was, never will be, just common sense. Angela’s the hottest woman I ever saw and my friends are the smartest people I’ve ever known. On Super Tuesday, I was able to combine the two.

The ‘Queen Bee’ was nice enough to drive me and Fog City Publisher, Luke Thomas and Adriel Hampton to Bobby McCarthy and Angelo Quaranta’s election bash and boy did I have fun, and boy, did Luke get around 60 shots of the movers and shakers of this political community...

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”
Senator Barack Obama

Capturing the imagination of a nation seeking change, Senator Barack Obama.

How’s Obama-mania treating you? I expected to win California. I keep looking at numbers and don’t really believe them. That’s kind of my shtick though. Not believing anyone.

I think Obama is going to have to beat Clinton 2-1 the rest of the way to win this thing and I think he can. Eugene McCarthy with money.

Speaking of McCarthy, y’all know Robert McCarthy? Hell of a lawyer. Downtown representative. He and Arthur Bruzzone had a couple of the original Access TV shows back almost 30 years ago. I watched an archival specimen with McCarthy interviewing Sue Hestor and Hestor is a slim little fox not weighing in at any more than 110lbs. The two of them have been going at it in court and before the Planning Commission and the Board of Supes for all of these years. Robert’s shaved the leprechaun style beard he wore for most of those decades and it makes him look younger.

Luke and I reserved good friend, ‘Queen Bee’, Angela Alioto and her son, Joe Veronese for election day lunch at the California Culinary Academy on Polk. McCarthy and co-host Angelo Quaranta (an Alioto ally since pre-historic times) … have been doing these election day shindigs and let me tell you, everyone who is anyone politically in this town shows up.

Angelo Quaranta gets a sneak peek at a plaque made in his honor.

The ever-affable Willie Brown with Robert McCarthy (left) and Angelo Quaranta.

Willie Brown was the star

Give the devil his due, Willie’s pretty impressive. He was on stage signing copies of his new book (P.J. Corkerey helped) and I leaned in to greet Gerald Green who was Willie’s Planning Director and has dropped a good 20 or 30 pounds. How the hell do these people look better and better as the years go by?

Willie Brown, h. brown, and Gerald Green.

Luke got a great shot of McCarthy with Alicia Beccerrill that proves that very point. There’s another top shot of Beleaguered Board President, Aaron Peskin with Angelo and one of Angela with Willie getting a book autographed and Republican biggie, Mike DeNunzio with Angela and Ross Mirkarimi and Mark Leno flanking the elder statesman.

Political consultant Bob McCarthy with Alicia Becceril and Angela Alioto.

Angelo Quaranta with Board Prez Aaron Peskin.

Angela Alioto and Willie Brown.

Smiles on both sides of the political aisle: Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi,
WIllie Brown and Assemblymember Mark Leno.

I challenged Leno (as always) for the legislation he promised me giving San Francisco County the option of getting the hookers off the streets and into Amsterdam-style legal surroundings.

Sophie Maxwell beamed next to the former Mayor as did Michela Alioto-Pier who posed with me and listened to my ‘don’t take it personal when I blast you politically’ rap. Luke got the Alioto clan gathered and captured Angela with son Joe Alioto-Veronese and cousins Alioto-Pier and her brother Joe Alioto Jr. who is running in supe district 3 this year and has the family good looks. I asked around and was informed that Michela’s brother makes her look like a flaming Progressive. Hmmmm. That will be a pretty good brawl over there with Peskin termed out.

A Beatles reunion: Angela Alioto, Michela Alioto-Pier, Joe Alioto-Veronese
and Joseph Michael Alioto.

Best ever SFist headline by Rita Hao: "Joe Joe Alioto Alioto District District 3 3"

No permanent enemies: Michela Alioto-Pier with h. brown.

Bobby Coleman from Gonzo’s inner circle is running as is Republican-like operative David Chiu who somehow came away with endorsements from Ammiano and Peskin. Wilma Pang has already qualified for public financing and so has Claudine Cheng whom, I am told, once had a scene with Willie. Ahhh, don’t you love all this dramz?

The aforementioned Mike DeNunzio has announced and he’s quite a speaker. In last congressional cycle, he ran against Pelosi and that dancer from the Mission and Phil Berg, the Libertarian.

Michael DeNunzio dreaming of state-sponsored polygamy.

And, I’m running in 3 too. Hopefully we’ll be able to get Grasshopper and the clown just to keep the energy level up there. I plan to toss around some really big money a’ la Mitt Romney down in those corridors. I’m assuming that Warren Hellman and Walter Shorenstein will get behind my effort.

“Take off your dress. You can wear it when you die”
(Joe Cocker)

I listen to lots and lots of music. My buddy, Jens Nielsen knows more about rock n’ roll than anyone I know and I’ve been a student of his for 30 years. Hope you don’t mind my tossing in a favorite line every now and then.

“Time might change me but I can’t change time”
(David Bowie)

My Little Dell

I live in front of my televisions screen. Like most Americans. But wait, I don’t live in front of my television screen, I live in front of my computer screen.

Since cable took over the boob tube, I only watch my Little Dell. Sometimes, Little Dell doesn’t do justice to people and I want to say that two of those people were at the Quaranta/McCarthy election day blast.

Barbara Kaufman is a cute little lady who dresses to perfection and I was very disappointed to see that. Well, not disappointed, actually. I’m always glad to see a pretty woman. It just surprised me that the former Board of Supervisors’ President whom I raked over coals for years not only didn’t have 2 heads with snakes growing out of them but was … you know, looking good.

Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, Senator Carole Migden
and former San Francisco Supervisor Barbara Kaufman.

Same with Nate Nayman but that didn’t surprise me. I’ve been around him in social settings (as opposed to political) and Nate looks 10 years younger in a sweatshirt and jeans. Hey, I don’t know the guy and we’re kind of opposites doing the same job for polar enemies but I’ve always respected his ability to turn a phrase (remember Frank Gallagher?, he’s a good buddy of mine despite all our political differences – he’s a stay-at home father in the woods of Maine now?). Whatever, I always hate to see another writer end up jobless if they’ve done a good job and Nayman has always represented his side well. Someone write and tell me what happened there.

Representing his side well: Nathan Nayman with Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier,
legislative aide Colleen Crowley and Supervisor Carmen Chu.

Public comment impresario Walter Paulson

Da demon of da Dome, Walter Paulson lives down the hall from me and he had cataract surgery the other day. It took me a couple of years to realize that he can barely see or hear.

You know Walter. He’s they guy who sings to the Board. Things like: ‘Hey big spender, spend a little dime with me’ – to the Budget Committee. His mom was a gardener at the Zoo for 20 years but the Society forced her out and she closed out her career as a meter maid. Walter collects autographs. And pictures. And, he goes to Reno once a week with his auntie to gamble just a little bit.

Walter Paulson with his latest find, a Mayor Gavin Newsom bobblehead doll.

That’s enuff.

Rules is on.

The Mayor has bunch of items on Solar Energy.

I better watch for you so you’ll know who’s screwing you and how.

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h. brown is a 62 year-old keeper of sfbulldog.com, an eclectic site featuring a half dozen City Hall denizens. h is a former sailor, firefighter, teacher, nightclub owner, and a hard-living satirical muckraker. Email h at h@ludd.net.

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