By Luke Thomas
March 30, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied the Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s application for an emergency order that would have immediately halted the employer-spending requirement of the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance, a key element of the City’s “Healthy San Francisco” program.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who reviews and considers emergency writs, denied the motion.
“The application for a stay pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari in the above-entitled case has been presented to Justice Kennedy, who on March 30, 2009 denied the application,” wrote Clerk of the Court William K. Suter.
San Francisco Public Health Director Mitch Katz said he was “pleased” with Kennedy’s decision.
“I continue to feel that it’s so wrong for the restaurant association to be trying to take away benefits from working people,” Katz told FCJ, adding that the GGRA is alone in its opposition to the City’s mandate to provide working people with universal health care coverage.
Today’s ruling means the GGRA, which agrees in principle with San Francisco’s universal health care program, but not in the way that it is funded, has exhausted its options to be granted an emergency stay. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected a similar procedural motion by the group.
GGRA Executive Director Kevin Westlye said he was disappointed with today’s decision.
“Especially given the current economic downturn in San Francisco, we’re disappointed in Justice Kennedy’s decision,” Westlye told FCJ, “although we do understand that stay orders are very rarely granted by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Westlye said the group plans to file a second writ of certiorari in June to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to make a final ruling.
Though the restaurant association may submit its appeal for a final ruling, “the odds are very slim” that the high court will take up the case, said city attorney spokesperson Matt Dorsey.
Dorsey said that out of approximately 8,000 appeal cases submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court for review each year, “they only accept about eighty cases,” adding that it is “very unlikely” that the court would review an appeal that has already been ruled on.
San Francisco’s universal health care program was initiated in 2004 by then Supervisor Tom Ammiano, and later supported by Mayor Gavin Newsom.
As many as 36,000 San Francisco residents have so far enrolled in Healthy San Francisco since the program’s roll out in 2007.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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The Hunger Site
March 31, 2009 at 11:12 am
“I continue to feel that it’s so wrong for the restaurant association to be trying to take away benefits from working people,†Katz told FCJ, adding that the GGRA is alone in its opposition to the City’s mandate to provide working people with universal health care coverage.
As Mayor hair and the supes go begging to the federal government they hate for more money from the fed to insure people… as the city sues over the vote on prop eight… The above complains about the GGRA Sueing the city and trots out the buzz words of working people.
High comedy.