By Luke Thomas
June 23, 2010
The 800-member strong SF Young Democrats (SFYD) has scheduled to hold a restricted District 6 candidates debate this evening at the South Beach Yacht Club.
The winner of the debate will garner SFYD’s coveted endorsement.
Candidates Mathew Drake, Glendon “Anna Conda” Hyde, James Keys, Jane Kim, Jim Meko, Theresa Sparks and Debra Walker will face off at 6:30 pm “for an in depth discussion on the city budget, key district issues and the future of our city,” according to SFYD President Maxwell Szabo.
The seven candidates were selected based on responses to a questionnaire, according to Szabo.
“We have an Issues and Action Committee that sent out a questionnaire to the candidates,” Szabo said, responding to FCJ inquiry. “They reviewed the answers from the 16 that responded, and voted on which of those to recommend we invite. The board voted on those recommendations and the seven you see are those the board voted to invite to participate.”
D6 candidate Elaine Zamora, who has qualified for public financing, has chosen not to participate in the debate.
“I understood that they had already chosen their candidate,” Zamora told FCJ. “I don’t ordinarily act on rumor or innuendo. However, in this case it seemed plausible.”
Though Zamora declined to comment on which candidate she believes has been pre-selected to win SFYD’s endorsement, insiders believe Theresa Sparks will be crowned.
SF Examiner columnista Melissa Griffin will moderate the debate. SFGate culture blogista Beth Spotswood will provide live, streaming commentary.
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
June 23, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Not that excluding candidates is a good thing, but it is clear that Villa Lobos has fallen below the threshold of viabilty:
http://cybre.net/pub/villa_lobos
-marc
June 23, 2010 at 3:22 pm
From D6 candidate David J.Villa-Lobos:
Democracy? I Think Not!
A majority of the district six supervisor candidates have been excluded from this candidates forum. This is how in a duplicitous-fascist fashion front runners are made. And what’s equally as troubling is that these young democrats are to be our nation’s future, – Perhaps it’s time to switch parties; and to start a D-6 party change movement.
I suggest that the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC ) censure or de-charter these folks, they’ve done it to other clubs for far less.
David J.Villa-Lobos
June 23, 2010 at 11:14 am
“coveted endorsement”?
This is just another Mod front group. They went for Scott Weiner for DCCC en totale. Zamora showed good sense in not lending to the legitimacy of this co-opted Alex Tourk sham. If Meko, Walker and Kim don’t demand that all candidates be admitted and heard this evening it will mean that all of the leading Progressive candidates oppose genuine democracy.
a sad state,
h.