Downtown Doggie Pile

Supervisor Chris Daly and son, Jack.
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

By Chris Daly

September 26, 2006

The who's who of downtown special interests continued its barrage of mailers and soft money in the District 6 Supervisor race Friday with a slick mailer from the GGRA (Golden Gate Restaurant Association). The GGRA joins BOMA (the Building Owners and Managers Association) as official entries in the D6 soft money race -- each dropping about $18,000 so far.

The GGRA and BOMA have been on the wrong side of almost every important local issue whether it's universal health coverage, increases to the minimum wage, affordable housing requirements, or progressive taxation.

In fairness to these two groups, they exist to advocate a strictly business agenda. The GGRA's express goal is to "create a positive business environment" for their members. BOMA, the trade association of downtown's largest commercial property owners, even includes in their mission, "Support business-friendly candidates for San Francisco's Board of Supervisors."

It's no surprise that downtown special interests are weighing in against me and in favor of one of my opponents who's consistently sided with downtown over the interests of the rest of us. However, "Support the downtown stooge for Supervisor," would be a pretty lousy message for a political mailer, as District 6 voters trend quite progressive.

That's probably why the language written in BOMA's glossy mailer felt all wrong:

Like Daly, Rob is a progressive. He'll fight to preserve rent control, build more affordable housing and keep our district economically diverse.

The irony of BOMA writing this is almost too difficult to process. First of all, BOMA does not support progressives for elective office. Second, BOMA's guy is clearly no friend of renters - driving the landlord agenda while chief legislative aide for one of the most anti-tenant Supervisors. BOMA calling this candidate a progressive would be like Halliburton calling Dick Cheney a peacenik. Okay, so maybe Halliburton never bothered, but it's at least vaguely reminiscent of George Bush calling Dick Cheney a really good guy.

Those with eyes and ears trained on the District 6 race point out that the reported soft money from BOMA and GGRA is only a drop in the bucket. Three mailers (1, 2, 3) from the stealth group "Concerned Residents of District 6" hit earlier this summer and are believed by many to be the work of Republican front group SFSOS. SFSOS, who started to advertise their efforts to knock me out as early as November 2005, is behind the "Dump Daly" website and the 22-page screed, "The Case Against Chris Daly."

SFSOS advertises their independent expenditure against me as their main issue focus for 2006.

Defeat Chris Daly in November, [sic] 2006 District 6 Supervisor Election
SOS members need no explanation as to why Sup. Chris Daly deserves opposition. Directly as a result of his increasingly outrageous conduct and policies, SOS opened an Independent Expenditure Committee to raise small contributions from our grassroots network of Democrats, Independents and Republicans. As the most stridently anti-common sense Supervisor, Daly reminds us weekly why regular citizens must be involved in the political process.

While SFSOS has posted existence of their independent expenditure on their website, they've "forgotten" to report it with the Ethics Commission. For a year SFSOS has staffed the effort to defeat me. In addition to the website, their 22-page screed (now in its 3rd edition), and the stealth mailers, SFSOS has sent countless emails calling for my ouster, organized several house parties against me, hosted their annual luncheon in honor of one of my opponents, coordinated 2 window sign campaigns, and are now delivering door-hangers in the South of Market.

Conservative estimates place this effort in the 6 digits - clearly more than the $5000 ceiling that triggers Ethics reporting requirements for independent expenditures.

Why would an organization represented by The Sutton Law Firm - run by a lawyer that some believe to be the most accomplished at helping Republican clients skirt campaign laws - forget to file some pretty simple Ethics forms? Maybe the answer lies in the $83,000 spending cap in the race.

If a committee chooses to not file their independent expenditures, it makes it that much more difficult for the Ethics Commission to raise the cap and a lot more difficult for this pol to respond. If they get their way, the bad guys will steal the election and then, after the ballots are locked away, take their little slap on the wrist.

But if people who care about the soul of our City petition Ethics to take action, I believe they will find SFSOS, Sutton, and their secretive cronies to be guilty of disguising the true source of campaign funds, violating San Francisco's ethics laws, and trying to sneak a District 2 stalking horse into the people's chambers.

The choice is ours. Do we settle for a minor slap on the wrist after the election dust has settled, or do we ask the Ethics Commission to deliver a major kick in the ass right now.

I think of Pat Murphy, over at the San Francisco Sentinel, as the Ken Garcia of the internet. Over the past couple of years, he's been one of my most vicious critics -- featuring anti-Daly paraphernalia and never missing an opportunity to take a cheap shot.

Over a year ago, I blogged about the Sentinel's relationship to the most brazen of downtown special interests -- in particular the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and the Committee on Jobs. Murphy appeared bought.

That's why I was quite floored when Murphy called the District 6 race for me last week.

Clearly the departure of Fog City's Luke Thomas made an initial impact. But don't worry, any fear that the financial relationship between downtown and Murphy is on the rocks should be well quelled. Murphy's right back on the program.

Meanwhile, enjoy the content on Fog City Journal, especially the brilliant photography of Luke Thomas.

This is how we roll!

Chris Daly is a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He represents District 6, encompassing the Civic Center, South of Market district and the northern half of the Mission District (known as Inner Mission). He was elected to the Board in 2000 and re-elected in 2002 and is currently running for re-election in November.

Email Chris at superdaly@yahoo.com.

Editor's Note: Views expressed by columnists published on FogCityJournal.com are not necessarily the views or beliefs of Fog City Journal. Fog City Journal supports free speech in all its varied forms and provides a forum for a complete spectrum of viewpoints.

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