Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, Venture Capitalist Joanna Rees, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, former Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Michela Alioto-Pier, and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, each attended a mayoral candidates debate held last eve at the Marines Memorial Club. The debate was moderated by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier and co-sponsored by the San Francisco Police Officers Association and Firefighters Local 798. Photos by Luke Thomas.
By Luke Thomas
August 5, 2011
Six candidates vying for the open mayoral seat in San Francisco weighed in last eve on interim Mayor Ed Lee’s possible entry into the race during a candidates debate.
Though Lee has not officially declared his candidacy, expectations are that he will announce his intentions by the close of business on Monday.
The Board of Supervisors appointed Lee to the post of interim mayor in January to complete Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom’s term as mayor on the condition and explicit understanding that an appointed “caretaker” mayor would not use the position to run for a full-term. Lee acquiesced to the Board’s proviso, publicly and privately, before being sworn into office.
Shortly after Lee was sworn into office, a campaign financed by a handful of individuals with close ties to former Mayor Willie Brown and Chinatown powerbroker Rose Pak, spawned a “Run, Ed, Run” campaign to persuade Lee to break his promise and run. The Ethics Commission, the District Attorney and the US Attorney are currently considering the committee behind the campaign, Progress for All, for investigation of possible campaign violations.
Lee remained true to his word until recently, changing his position of not running to “I haven’t made up my mind yet.” He has also reportedly held talks with Averell “Ace” Smith, a campaign consultant, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, Venture Capitalist Joanna Rees, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, former Supervisors Bevan Dufty and Michela Alioto-Pier, and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, each attended the debate moderated by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier and co-sponsored by the San Francisco Police Officers Association and Firefighters Local 798.
Senator Leland Yee and Supervisor John Avalos were both invited but did not attend. Yee, according to SFPOA President Gary Delagnes, was unable to attend due to a fundraising event in Los Angeles.
Former Supervisor Tony Hall was excluded from participating in the debate, “For a variety of reasons,” Delagnes said. “He’s not very happy about it. I could publish my text messages; it might take him right out of the race.”
Hall maintains he was excluded from the debate because of his position on the need for “stronger pension reform.”
“And we also invited Ed Lee who, apparently, whatever decision is going to be made there, is not ready to be made quite yet,” Delagnes added. “We told Mayor Lee, with all due respect, that we needed to move forward. We didn’t want to wait any longer for our debate and we weren’t going to rearrange the debate for anybody so we moved forward with the current candidates.”
SFPOA President Gary Delagnes.
The following is a transcript of the exchanges between Matier and the candidates following Matier’s question: “It’s the elephant in the room, okay – Ed Lee was elected by the Board of Supervisors to be interim mayor to fill out his (Gavin Newsom’s) term on, in part, a promise or an implication, a wink, a nod, a statement in interviews – though nothing writing – that he wasn’t going to run for a full-term and now, it is a little more than apparent, that he is. He’s probably going to be announcing next week. So, my question, one, your reaction, and two, I’m going to be sitting down with him in front of a television camera tomorrow and if you’ve got a question you’d like me to ask him, what would it be.”
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Phil Matier.
Chiu: “Mayor Lee did make commitments to many of us here that he was not going to run for office in November.”
Matier: “Should he be doing it or not?”
Chiu: “I do think that things will change at City Hall if he does and that would be a concern that I would have.”
Matier: “How will they change?”
Chiu: “I think that we have all worked very well together to move forward things in the City based on trust that we’ve had based on being able to understand where others are coming from, and I do worry about what might happen if that changes.”
Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and former Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier.
Alioto-Pier: “Bevan, myself and David, who all voted to put him there, and the truth of the matter is is that there were some very strong commitments for him to be a caretaker and the real reason for that, not to make any bones about it, because we have a pension reform thing coming up. We knew that we were going to have to fight (Public Defender) Jeff Adachi, and we knew that whatever pension reform measure came to go up against Jeff’s, we’d need to be able to use every resource that we had to fight, and so one of the main reasons we wanted a caretaker is because we wanted a mayor who could come in and work with Supervisor (Sean) Elsbernd who has been doing this stuff for years, and not be deterred from that, and be very focused on that.”
Matier: “So should he be in or not?”
Alioto-Pier: “And so my concern, my concern, real one, is that if Jeff’s (pension reform measure) passes, it’s up for a real legal fight and most likely could very much be overturned. If Ed Lee and the consensus package is the one to pass with more votes, then the city will save a lot of money and so this is a very, very big risk and what we’re hearing now already is, because Ed (Lee) is so tied to the consensus package, that it is becoming more political – and that is not what’s best for the city and that was one of the main reasons why we wanted a caretaker.”
Matier: “So should he run or not?”
Alioto-Pier: “It’s a free country and it’s a democratic process. If he wants to get into the race, in all seriousness, I welcome the opportunity to debate him. But I think that it’s important that there’s an understanding of why we got to where we’ve got, or why we’re here, but, you know, truthfully, it would be very interesting and would probably be pretty fun.”
Matier: “Interesting and fun. Bevan Dufty, 30 seconds.”
Dufty: “Ed told me in September he wasn’t interested in being the interim mayor and, honestly, I moved on and advocated for Sheriff Hennessey and then, on the day that we had the vote on the old Board that voted, Mayor Lee said he changed his mind and I thought he was the best person for the job and he has not disappointed me and I think he has done an excellent job this year. I’ve changed my mind on issues and I think he has the right to change his mind.”
Matier: “And what would you like me to ask him tomorrow?”
Dufty: “If I could be his number two?”
Former Supervisor Bevan Dufty.
Matier (to Herrera): “So you voiced concerns. You wrote a letter to the Ethics Commission about this ‘Run, Ed, Run’ movement. How do you feel?”
Herrera: “I didn’t have to cast a ballot but I welcome him into the race should he choose to come in. It’s a free country. People come and run. But what I welcome then, is to understand a couple of things. Number one – I want to make sure, to see if Mayor Lee’s his own man and I look forward to having a debate with him about what his personal vision is about the future of San Francisco, which we have yet to here. What I am more concerned about, quite frankly, is the organization, Progress for All, and what influence it has had in this process. From my perspective, everybody up here has played by the rules. There’s been transparency, and when you have an organization that has not adhered to the directions of the Ethics Commission, it leads to a sense of skepticism and cynicism about government, which unfortunately is all too broad these days. And there has been a call for a District Attorney investigation, and a US attorney investigation, and I think the public has a right to know where the money came from, who was involved, and what conversations occurred. I think that that’s perfectly appropriate; I’m supportive of it but should he decide to get into the race, I will look forward to having a serious debate with him on what his vision is for the future of San Francisco.”
City Attorney Dennis Herrera.
Matier: “Joanna?”
Rees: “If Ed Lee wants to go back on his word and join the race, I welcome him and, for me, instead of running against eight City Hall insiders, it just makes it nine.”
Venture Capitalist Joanna Rees.
Matier: “Assessor-Recorder?”
Ting: “I’ve run a campaign on bringing more voices into City Hall. We’ve talked to over one hundred thousand people in the last three months. I think if the mayor wants to be part of that discussion, I think it’s great. I think it’s important; I’d love to hear what he has to say as well. I think it is important for all of us to engage him and to talk about the very important issues in terms of public safety, housing, education, the environment, and really understand what lays ahead for him and the city.”
Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting.
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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August 10, 2011 at 8:53 am
The following comment was received by Former Supervisor Tony Hall:
“I have been informed that Gary Delagnes made a remark about some fictitious text messages that he said I sent him while introducing the candidates at the POA forum last week that I was excluded from participating in because of my proposal regarding pension reform.
“I am really surprised at Gary for being so untruthful. I always considered him friend after so many years of supporting him and the POA. The fact is I do not text, nor have I ever texted.
“Politics indeed does strange things to people, but I thought that Gary had a little more integrity than that. I suppose I should have known better because he did not even bother to read my plan regarding pension reform in which I clearly state that all employees of the City who are vested in the Retirement System, especially police and fire, would not be affected by what I have proposed.
“Thankfully, most of the rank and file cops and firemen that I know are smart enough to know that unless we embark on a plan of action like I have proposed for pension reform, there will not be enough money left in the system to pay their pensions, so they are supporting me.
“Gary was a good cop, maybe he should return to that role rather than being manipulated as a union hack.”
August 6, 2011 at 2:23 pm
@Ricksf1, yes, I was hired to take photos for the “Run, Ed, Run” campaign. I have also been hired by Google, Motorola, Palm, McKesson and other corporate clients, not to mention many ballot and candidate campaigns that I may or may not personally agree with.
I have also taken photos of just about every political figure in San Francisco (including Ed Lee) – of kings, princes, popes and presidents in far away lands as well.
I also shoot weddings, christenings, births, funerals, family portraits, fashion shows etc, and am now branching into architectural and aerial photography.
I am a professional photographer (in case you haven’t noticed). This is how I make my living.
August 5, 2011 at 8:26 pm
This is too weird. You took photos for his fake candidacy and now you report this? good grief…..
August 5, 2011 at 3:00 pm
No, it isn’t. The “vision” referred to by Herrera is essentially the same for all these candidates. No serioius differences, which means that the city will continue all the present wasteful projects, like the Central Subway, the Taj Majal Terminal, Parkmerced, Treasure Island, and of course the anti-car traffic policies.
Ed Lee will add nothing to the race, except his cheesy smile and his bland justifications of those unjustifiable policies.
August 5, 2011 at 10:53 am
Sensational coverage, Luke,
See you at Daly’s Dive in 20 minutes and all the rest of you too. This race is getting interesting. Finally.
h.