Cothran

This is a woman clearly aware of the power her family name still holds in certain parts of the city. She is also fiercely protective of that name and how it is used.

"Don't think for a second there aren't people who want to use [me] to pick up the residual Barbagelata followers. These voices come out. Of course they are thinking, 'West of Twin Peaks, get the conservative vote with the Barbagelata name.' "

In 1995, as the mayoral race was winding up and Elena's candidate, Frank Jordan, was looking more and more like a loser, she was approached by the San Francisco Republican Party and offered support if she were to run for supervisor the following year.

She laughed at them.
"I said, 'Oh, the old sacrificial lamb, huh?' ... When was the last Republican elected to the board?"

She knows the answer. And she knows I know the answer. It was when her father won his last race for supervisor, in 1973.

Things were different back then. Then, a Republican could win in citywide elections.

But things are likely to be different all over again in San Francisco, and soon. Because of a change in the city charter, in the year 2000, supervisors will be elected by district, rather than citywide. One of those small districts will encompass the conservative enclave of St. Francis Woods, where Elena lives. If she plays her cards right, she could win a seat on the board from there.

Such a victory would be tinged with deep irony. One of the greatest opponents of district elections was John Barbagelata. But hey, not everything can remain the same.

George Cothran (gcothran@sfweekly.com) can be reached at SF Weekly, 185 Berry, Suite 3800, San Francisco,