Supervisor Eric Mar filed papers with the San Francisco Department of Elections Thursday officially declaring his bid for re-election to the Board of Supervisors. Photos by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
March 23, 2012
San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar filed papers with the Department of Elections Thursday, officially declaring his bid for re-election to the District 1 seat.
Mar, a progressive and an attorney, was elected to the Board in 2008. He previously served on the Board of Education.
Asked if an expected Board vote on whether suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi should be removed from office is “weighing heavily” on his mind, Mar told Fog City, “I really cannot make any comment about my former colleague, Ross Mirkarimi, but I’ll just say that I always will be a fair person that listens to all the evidence and does my best to be fair – and I know that is going to be a difficult decision.”
Mirkarimi was suspended from office Tuesday without pay by Mayor Ed Lee and served with papers Wednesday charging him with official misconduct over his admission of guilt and conviction of one count of false imprisonment stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident involving his wife, Eliana Lopez, on New Year’s Eve.
Because Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, avoiding a costly criminal trial, an account of what actually happened on December 31 remains untold.
As required by the city Charter, the Ethics Commission is now tasked with investigating Lee’s official misconduct charge and making a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors based on its findings. That inquiry is set to begin in April. Nine of eleven supervisors must vote in the affirmative to remove an elected official from public office.
Four supervisors – Mar, David Chiu, David Campos and John Avalos – are each facing re-election campaigns in November. District 5 Supervisor Christina Olague, appointed by Mayor Ed Lee in January following Mirkarimi’s election to Sheriff, is seeking election in her own right. Her appointment was largely seen as reciprocation for her co-chairship of the controversial “Run, Ed, Run” campaign.
Grassroots Campaign
Accompanied by his daughter, Jade, and a dozen supporters including representatives of the United Educators of San Francisco, Mar said his re-election campaign will be focused on “all the diverse communities, small businesses, seniors and families – and just everyone in the District – and have the strongest grassroots campaign we can have to win.”
Mar said his accomplishments since his election to the Board include green jobs creation, supporting a balanced budget that is “not balanced on the backs of working families,” improving schools, parks and services in the District; helping to support small businesses survive in a difficult economy; and creating more affordable housing, particularly for low-income seniors.
“Besides jobs creation, I also want to focus on having housing that people can live in and not be pushed out of the city based on their economic conditions,” he said. “For four years, I have done my best to give a strong voice to our diverse residents in our District and I’ll continue to do that.”
Asked what are the greatest challenges in his District and what he hopes to accomplish in the next four years, Mar said he will continue to help “revitalize” the small business corridors between Geary and Clement streets, “so that we can have a thriving small business sector that’s really the backbone of our economy.”
He has been early-endorsed by United Educators of San Francisco.
“The UESF has made an early endorsement of Eric Mar because we know him so well both from the School Board and from his work on the Board of Supervisors,” said United Educators of San Francisco President Dennis Kelly, adding Mar “is a man of integrity.”
“He’s the kind of person we want in politics because he not only listens to his own counsel when he votes, but he is a man who has very sincere compassion for those around him, including people of the city,” Kelly added.
“We’re thrilled to be here and it was a very easy endorsement,” added UESF political director Ken Tray.
An official campaign kickoff event has been set for Saturday, April 21 at noon in Rossi Playground, said Mar campaign manager Nicole Derse.
More Photos
Mar and his supporters posed for a photo prior to filing required paperwork.
With his daughter Jade by his side, Mar signs on the dotted line.
Michael Mar, Mar’s Family Association; Charles Chow, President of Six Companies; Ken Tray, UESF political director; Hene Kelley, Richmond District Democratic Club and Dennis Kelly, UESF president.
Mar takes questions from reporters.
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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March 27, 2012 at 1:48 pm
Thank you, EvilFrank, whoever you are, for calling an insult an insult. But, I’m wondering if there’s something wrong with me in that I’m willing to put my own name to whatever I say here. Can someone tell me whose police are watching, and what danger they pose?
I’ve heard it suggested that most of the commenters raging at Ross in the corporate news comment sections are from the POA and the Sheriff’s Deputies Association who are still angry that San Francisco elected another outsider like Mike Hennessey, who ran for Sheriff in 1979 after serving as Richard Hongisto’s legal counsel. That suggestion could be easily dismissed if commenters would simply identify themselves, and I’d just as soon know who I’m talking to on FCJ as well.
March 27, 2012 at 8:51 am
Frank you are a clueless, sexist, jerk. You justify your uncalled for insult towards Ann- that she’s in love with Ross and it’s clouding her judgement- by saying it’s based on EVIDENCE! Then you demand decorum for a “go frank yourself” pun. Nice tea party tactics, go back to sfgate.com.
March 26, 2012 at 7:18 pm
@ Ann, I said that because all the evidence seems to suggest that you are. I am basing this on your replies to this story and other stories that involve Mirkarimi. I would hope that you are a bit more mature than to tell someone to go ‘frank’ themselves. I for one think that you are not doing yourself any favors by using such a crass innuendo.
March 26, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Because you described me as “completely obsessed and perhaps even besotted with Mirkarimi.”
Why would you say something like that to me?
March 26, 2012 at 6:39 am
@ Ann, why would you say something like that to me?
March 25, 2012 at 3:53 pm
P.S., Frank: I read the first section of this and neglected to click on “Continue reading,” thinking that the lead, re how Eric Mar will vote on Mirkarimi. . . dunno, dunno. . . was it. Now go Frank yourself.
March 25, 2012 at 3:48 pm
@Frank:
Go Frank yourself. You say I am “completely obsessed and perhaps even besotted with Mirkarimi?” If you’d been following this discussion, you’d know this is the third time I’ve acknowledged that I gave him only my second ranked choice vote last November because I was was still so aggravated by his vote on a matter so irrelevant to the Board’s business that it was barely a blip on the SFGov screen.
I’ve regretted that since all this came down, and since I finally went back and studied Miyamoto’s campaign page . . . I had imagined that if Matt Gonzalez was endorsing Miyamoto, he must be at least sorta kinda OK. But, “completely obsessed and besotted with Mirkarimi” I’m not.
March 25, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Correction the article by Marlier and Ross on what happened between Mirkarimi and his is in today’s Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/24/BA8S1NP2F2.DTL
March 25, 2012 at 11:43 am
In support of Ann she is correcting the overkill that has occurred on the Mirkarimi soap opera. Interesting article out today Sfgate ://mobile.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_41685/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=ag8rwyJh if only part of this article is true, wow !
There is a ground swell happening, more and more people (progs included) are becoming vocal in support of Mirkarimi, even Ex sup Michela Alioto has come out in support of our SHerriff see today’s city Insider.
March 25, 2012 at 9:48 am
@ Ann, I have to call you on this, you are completely obsessed and perhaps even besotted with Mirkarimi, I suspect that you read the first part of the article and jumped straight on your ‘’high horse”. The issues that you are trying to bring people’s attention to are addresses later in the article.
I get the impression you are an intelligent lady, however, you are not acting rationally here when you fly off the handle with the merest mention of Mirkarimi’s name.
March 24, 2012 at 8:15 am
I recently had an exchange with a journalist who told me a fellow local male journalist said he’d like to support Ross, but isn’t sure how to do that without seeming anti-woman, what with all these anti-domestic violence groups so loud and vocal for Ross’ removal.
Here’s how you do it, in my humble opinion:
These “anti”-domestic violence groups really should *stand* for nonviolence and compassion. You see my point? They are so “anti” that they lose sight of the fact that what they really should be about is standing for nonviolence and compassion–and nonviolence extends to not hating your perceived adversary…and showing them some dignity and respect. That is harder to do than to bash/punish someone.
And, I might add, that is what former Sheriff Hennessey stood for in the first place. Am I right?
March 23, 2012 at 9:34 pm
As a progressive feminist, I, and others will support Mar, and our other supervisors who do the right thing.
I know this fact is largely ignored by the Commission on the Status of Women (all women except one apparently!), the domestic violence professionals, and the lamestream media, that Eliana, is herself, a woman, who in the name of “protecting her and her son,” has indeed been traumatized and abused by those claiming to have her best interest at heart.
She has not benefitted from their efforts, on the contrary, their family is very vulnerable right now!
March 23, 2012 at 2:16 pm
Thank you Supervisor Mar for representing working families in district 1 and giving a voice to those who need it most!
March 23, 2012 at 12:56 pm
Give Christina Olague a chance for Christ’ sakes. She just started out! Ross is now a convicted domestic violence suspect. Why would you hold that against a woman supervisor?
March 23, 2012 at 12:52 pm
hey there, richmond man~how are you? if you’re going to make statements such as these, why not give them some heft and say why? why is always good.
March 23, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Aaron Peskin, Melissa Griffin, C.W. Nevius and now Eric Mar have all said it, but I don’t see why voting to remove Mirkarimi from office could possibly be a political liability for a progressive. After all women are an important part of their political base.
The reality is it will take a lot more political courage by progressives to acquit Mirkarimi than it will to remove him from office.
March 23, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Actually I see a few . . . housing, small business. . . somehow got the impression this story ended on the Mirkarimi note.
March 23, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Any issues in District #1?
March 23, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Mar is a fool, a joke, and an embarrassment to the Richmond District. He was the same as a member of the BOE. Anyone but Mar for District 1 Supervisor.