Stay Tuned: Chiu Mean It?

Board of Supervisors President David Chiu
Photos by Luke Thomas

By Hope Johnson

April 8, 2009

Board of Supes President David Chiu received loud applause, mine included, for his public comment at yesterday’s Municipal Transportation Agency’s (MTA) hearing on its $129 million budget deficit.

Chiu balanced respectful and humble with a no-nonsense confidence to discuss controversial work orders, all while looking a little like young Elvis in King Creole.

“I’m here to express my concerns that MTA is being asked to pay for tens of millions of dollars of services that are not directly related to transit,” Chiu said.

Work orders are an important local trend to track. Why?

Turns out, “work order” is government-speak for “payment due.” City departments, including the police and the 311 call center (also strapped for cash), bill the MTA for services like security and tech help.

Those bills are eating up the $28 million voters intended to go toward improved Muni bus service performance when they passed Prop A in 2007.

Chiu was straight up with the MTA board: “If Muni is spending money on anything other than transit, there needs to be an excellent reason. I understand that you have to consider fare increases, but if your final budget includes millions of dollars in work orders to other departments, along with service cuts and other fare increases – I think that is going to be a bitter pill for the board to swallow.”

The Politics of Praying

You never know what you’ll see while waiting for the 5 Fulton in the Tenderloin.

Monday evening a group of pre-teen volunteers stopped to offer local political analyst h. Brown a salami sandwich. He accepted and the kids asked if he’d like to pray with them.

“Sure,” Brown responded. My ears perked up.

“What do you want to pray for?” asked one youngster, eager to help.

Brown’s response?

“Let’s pray for House Bill 676, kids, and national health care for all Americans.”

As McAllister Street echoed with the open mouthed, dumbfounded silence of the kids and their adult chaperones, Brown urged happily, “C’mon, let’s pray for HR 676!”

Priceless.

h. Brown

Are Electricians Tech Savvy?

A minor dust up ensued last week between Alix Rosenthal and a few conservative moderates.

The question is whether or not a fantasy account of district supervisor actions during a disaster is humorous, as intended, or bigoted. Very San Francisco.

District 10 Supe Sophie Maxwell is described as a “luddite.” Borrowing a thought from President Obama that a portrayal painted casually can become insidious, it’s worth pointing out Maxwell is an trained electrician.

“I was an electrician before I got involved. I maintained and repaired the electrical systems on trains,” Maxwell said during a California Women Lead seminar in February. “I also had my own general contractor license and I wired houses from the ground up.”

District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell

During the next disaster, it’ll be good to know an electrician.

She, with the power to turn on the juice, decides who gets their electricity back first.

Stay tuned.

Fun Fact

Willie Brown issued an apology last Sunday for hypocritically spending his party money in Paris while urging us to spend ours here, previously addressed by FCJ. And, Willie, we’re not at all distracted by your game of diverting attention via dispensing party tips.

Hope Johnson

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