Former District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall at his campaign headquarters in West Portal. Photos by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
February 24, 2011
Touting a five-point plan, former District 7 Supervisor Tony Hall formerly announced today he is running for Mayor of San Francisco.
“I am running for mayor to return local government to the people,” Hall, an independent with no party affiliation, said during an open house event that drew as many as 70 supporters to his campaign headquarters in West Portal. “My platform has five points on it and I have solutions for each one of those five points.”
Hall’s five-point platform includes job creation, budgetary responsibility, administrative accountability, public safety and sanitation – as well as providing San Franciscans “with a local government that is honest, open, transparent, and respectful in serving your needs first.”
To help spur local job creation, Hall said if elected he would eliminate fees on small businesses, implement tax incentives to promote local hiring and reduce bureaucratic delays in obtaining permits “for all new start up businesses and projects.”
“I will audit the entire spectrum of municipal services being provided today with the goal of eliminating waste, duplicity, inefficiency, and indifference,” he said.
It will be the first time Instant Runoff Voting will be used in a San Francisco race for mayor. As demonstrated in last year’s Oakland race for mayor, candidates who form and promote ranked choice coalitions increase their probability of defeating a popular frontrunner.
“I don’t think ranked choice voting hurts my chances at all,” Hall said. “The more people that get in the race, the better off I am,” adding, “We have a strategy for that. Obviously if the vote is split in certain areas, it helps me out.”
Asked what his message is to voters with regard to his independent candidacy and the Willie Brown machine that has reigned over Room 200 since Brown was first elected to the mayoralty in 1995 and continued through the Gavin Newsom administration to the current administration of Interim Mayor Ed Lee, Hall said, “My message is, it’s still there. It’s running this city. You know it as well as I know it. I’m not a status quo candidate. I am the only candidate in this race that is not. The rest of them are a part of what you’re talking about, or have been part of it. I’m not.”
Hall was referring to the mayoral candidatures of former Supervisor Bevan Dufty, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Senator Leland Yee, Assessor Phil Ting and former Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier. Board of Supervisors President David Chiu is also considering a run for mayor.
“My message for the machine is, ‘Hey, you’ve banged me down. You’ve fought me before and I’ll fight you and I’ll stand up and fight again,” Hall, a former pugilist, singer and father of seven, defiantly added.
Tony Hall with Sister Mary Ignatius.
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.
Follow Me:
The Hunger Site
No Comments
Comments for Tony Hall Running for Mayor
“to Return Local Government to the People” are now closed.