Paper Trails

Police Chief Anthony Ribera is "getting more police than he needs -- he's admitted that to us," says one high-level police union source.

There's no telling at this time whether a contract will be signed before the election, but as one source says, "We know it's going to look good. It's going to be like last time." In 1992, the pay and benefit package totaled 35 percent over the past three years.

When the gun goes off on the police contract, it will be a two-barrel blast. City tradition simply awards firefighters the same pay and benefits as police officers, so the firefighters union merely walks in to demand a "me, too" clause after the POA concludes negotiations.

The firefighters have been among the most loyal Jordan supporters -- they were the first major union to endorse him in 1991, fielding several hundred firefighters to walk precincts in Jordan's first campaign. Now things don't seem so certain for Jordan.

Meanwhile, Jordan is going to even greater lengths to camouflage his intentions from the public, telling voters he's getting tough on city workers while privately assuring union leaders that his stance is mere political posturing.

On June 29, Jordan unveiled a new city law he is placing on the November ballot, which appears to challenge city worker unions by forcing more city jobs into the hands of private-sector contractors.

"It is my hope that the members of the Board of Supervisors and the rest of the community will recognize that we can no longer continue to operate the city's business as usual," Jordan stated in a press release.

But the day before, Jordan Chief of Staff Jim Wunderman had placed a goodwill call to union attorney Vincent J. Courtney Jr. In turn, Courtney wrote a memo to key city union leaders informing them of Wunderman's message.

"He said he was calling to advise the POA that Mayor Jordan will soon be making a campaign splash with a proposal relating to contracting out city services," wrote Courtney. "He wanted to assure the POA that police officers would not be impacted by the measure."

Nor, apparently, will anybody else be impacted by the measure, as Wunderman explained it to Courtney.

"He made clear the proposal was a campaign matter with no significant impact to it," noted Courtney. "He said though some unions wouldn't like the positions the Mayor was taking, he didn't want the Mayor's relationship with the POA to suffer as a result."

Lose Your Home, Lose Your Job
BART board member and former Jordan International Trade Director James Fang was fined $22,000 in June for violations of the state Political Reform Act.

The fine must have emptied his pockets: According to filings at the Recorder's Office, Fang is $15,768.20 in arrears for the mortgage on his 647-649 Fifth Ave home. The bank holding the mortgage is none too pleased, and filed foreclosure on June 27.

Fang stands to lose more than just his home. Under the law, BART board members must live in the district they represent. If Fang loses his home and an address in the district, his BART seat will be declared vacant and a new election held.

They Have Answers,
We Have Questions
Mayor Jordan is practicing niche politics these days, appealing to certain voting segments with calculated actions generally kept well out of public sight. First Jordan refused to sign a Board of Supervisors resolution authored by Supervisor Mabel Teng opposing Gov. Pete Wilson's executive order eliminating some affirmative action programs. "The issues surrounding affirmative action require dialogue and a robust exchange of ideas in an environment clear of posturing," wrote Jordan in a letter returning the measure to the Board of Supervisors. "Several of the statements made in the resolution oversimplify the issue ...." Jordan doesn't identify the issues he believes to be oversimplified; one clue is that the resolution made a passing reference to the city's own Fire Department consent decree as an example of the need for continued monitoring of workplace harassment. Jordan refused to endorse the Fire Department consent decree earlier this year when he was busy posturing for the firefighters union endorsement. No sooner had Jordan silenced the Board of Supervisors' voice on affirmative action then he similarly sent back unsigned a resolution authored by Supervisor Tom Ammiano urging the San Francisco School Board to discontinue the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program in the schools because it prepares youth for a career closed to lesbians and gay men. Jordan's office said the resolution sat on board liaison Robert Oakes' desk until after the School Board had acted on the matter, making the issue moot. For the record, Oakes says Jordan had no position on the issue. ... The Committee on Jobs has such strong name ID that the Mime Troupe's new play, Coast City Confidential, refers to it by name and gets immediate reaction. Recognizing that this name recognition works against them, the committee has a new front, San Franciscans for Sensible Government, which last week mailed 50,000 copies of a brochure attacking Ammiano's tax package. "We want San Franciscans to be vocal on this issue ...," states the mailer, instructing voters to contact the board and urge a "no" vote at the July 31 session. The estimated cost of the package and mailing: $50,000.

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