"If we don't build this party, it's going to die," insists Jim Mangia from the convention floor; he's lobbying to have an hour to discuss party-building issues after the lunch break, and he's trying to calm down a delegate who believes this will throw the entire day's schedule out of whack. Mangia is O'Hara's campaign manager; he ran for lieutenant governor of California last year and was also the Reform Party's national secretary. Later, he concedes that there's a lot of infighting within the state party about growth, what the Reform Party stands for in the first place, and whether Ventura's win is something the party can build on. "We're learning how to disagree," he says.
Gerald Goetz, a delegate from Penn Valley, points out the problem more specifically. "Look at this here," he says, waving his hand at all the chairs that have emptied for a lunch break, previously filled with mostly middle-aged and older delegates. "Look at all the older people. Don't get me wrong -- they're good people. But you have to spice it up. I don't see younger guys coming in here."
Part of Mangia's goal for his party-building session is to introduce the delegates to the 37-year-old O'Hara. Mangia gives the floor to Joyce Dattner, O'Hara's campaign manager, who cautions the delegates that O'Hara's nursing a cold. But for the next 20 minutes, O'Hara reads from his stump speech ("My term paper," he cracked at a campaign meeting), and he gets over easily. Jim Mangia calls for a round of applause, and O'Hara leaves to drive back to San Francisco soon after.
July 13, Lori's Diner
Vintage pinball machines clatter in the background at a downtown '50s-themed restaurant as Cynthia Nesler tries to explain what she likes about the Mark O'Hara campaign. Nesler's been active in the Reform Party since 1994. The way she sees it, the goal isn't winning. It's increasing awareness. "[The campaign] feels very successful now," she says.
But ... still. Mustn't there be some plan to win? How do you convince people ...
"We're not 'convincing,'" she asserts. "We're creating and having conversations. You can have an opinion, and I can have an opinion. I don't look to Mark O'Hara for opinions. I have all the opinions I need. Mark has skills that can build bridges. That's essential to this kind of work."
July 15, Inner Sunset
Mark O'Hara isn't able to make it in person to this campaign meeting, at Craig Wilson's apartment; he's talking over the speaker phone with a sore back. Dattner is making much of Gov. Gray Davis' arrogant comment at Willie Brown's recent candidacy announcement that "there is no need to take a vote -- [Brown] will be the next mayor of San Francisco." The Reform Party is in the news of late, what with the upcoming national convention in Dearborn, and talk of a Ventura-Perot battle for the direction of the party. The O'Hara campaign -- the "San Francisco six," as O'Hara puts it -- plans to attend the convention, and much of the meeting is focused on how they can best promote themselves there fund-raising-wise. They talk posters and postcards and concise ways of saying what O'Hara's about: He's running for mayor, he has "new options and new ideas"; "People want to come together outside of City Hall and political parties"; and that O'Hara's "bringing independent politics to the heart of San Francisco."
The previous week, the first house party where O'Hara came to speak occurred: "Teachers and Help Workers for Mark O'Hara." Total attendance: one.
"I'm wondering if it's better if we're not trying to pick certain demographics," he says. "Maybe it's better just to have these things for anybody."
Dattner senses his frustration, and points out that more meetings are organized, with more people planning to attend, and she's already got a new volunteer.
"Well, then, that's what we'll do," O'Hara says.
"I think I'm less worried about this than you are."
O'Hara says his Dearborn trip went well. He passed out fliers at the table devoted to California Reform Party members, talked to people around the Dearborn Hyatt, and got donations -- enough to surpass the filing fee requirement. He also got the official endorsement of Lenora Fulani, which, along with Jim Mangia, brings the number of his official endorsements up to two. "I'd rather have a couple of good [endorsements] than a bunch of bad ones," he says.
Working on the campaign takes him away from time he might be spending on Skiptronic Studios, and he's trying to ensure that he doesn't use SuperBooty as a "venue" for his candidacy.
Why does Mark O'Hara want to be mayor of San Francisco, anyway?
"I just think the city is in great need of help. I think that help can only come from independent candidates. Our priorities are reforming the election process of the government here. Thinking about the other major candidates that are talking about running right now -- Ammiano, Jordan, Leland Yee, Angela Alioto is talking about it, of course Brown and Reilly -- they're all basically coming from the same place, which is they're political insiders, they're inside City Hall, they're career politicians, they're lobbyists, and they've been part of the Democratic machine for many, many years. They've lost respect for what the average voter needs and wants for San Francisco."
He says all this like he's rehearsed it, speaking the words as a run-on sentence, knowing what the right words are. He sounds sincere. He's speaking like a political candidate.
SuperBooty performs Saturday, Aug. 14, at noon at Backflip, 601 Eddy (at Larkin), S.F. Tickets are $5; call 771-3547.
