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Griftin' on the Dock of the Bay

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At the behest of port officials, Ernst moved to evict O'Donoghue and Hinckle in 1998, after most of his building permits had been approved. In court papers, Ernst alleged that O'Donoghue told him that "as the President of the RBA, O'Donoghue had a great deal of political influence in San Francisco and O'Donoghue intended to use his political influence to ensure that Pier 38's efforts to establish a maritime related operation on the Property would not succeed. ... O'Donoghue became enraged and told Ernst that he had better watch his back and said that Ernst 'could expect the worst.' ... O'Donoghue further told Ernst that he was kicking Ernst out of the RBA and that Ernst would not be able to rely on his relationship with a local politician to help him."

Ernst insists that his problems can be traced to O'Donoghue, who, he says, turned the mayor against Pier 38 as revenge for the eviction.

O'Donoghue laughed when asked to respond to Ernst's charges. "I am obviously not interested in jamming the guy," he said. "If I had involvement he would be out of there." Using a variety of unflattering metaphors, the acerbic lobbyist described Ernst's personality in some detail. Even after four years, he is obviously still pissed off at his erstwhile friend.

After tossing out O'Donoghue and Hinckle in April 1998, Ernst went looking for political allies. Among others, he found Dennis Herrera, a maritime lawyer in private practice. In November, Ernst and Herrera incorporated the San Francisco Port Tenants Association to represent the interests of businesses with port leases. Herrera, who was elected city attorney last year, says the tenant association quickly fell apart. The only other business relationship he has had with Ernst, he says, occurred when he purchased a residential building from him in September 1998, which Herrera sold at a profit three years later.

By the end of 1998, the state money had been spent and the maritime recreation center and restaurant were nowhere in sight. Ernst had a brainstorm. Out went the scheme to store motorboats for the little guy. Instead, Ernst would build a private marina for owners of luxury yachts. In 2000, Ernst approached the state for a second loan, this time to build permanent yacht berths and a public promenade -- the same walkway he was supposed to have built with the first state loan.

Despite the fact that the Pier 38 project was a financial shambles, the Department of Boating and Waterways agreed to loan Ernst another $1.3 million. But unfortunately for Ernst, his lease with the port prohibited permanently berthing yachts at Pier 38. Ernst desperately needed the Port Commission to amend his lease to allow such berths. He knew that getting the amendment would not be a cakewalk. Not only had he failed to build the maritime recreation center and restaurant as promised, but he had seriously offended Brown's cronies, O'Donoghue and Hinckle.

Ernst contacted Martin Eber, a local attorney who specializes in negotiating municipal permits and leases for private clients. When Ernst was trying to save his lease on the nude beach two years ago, he hired Eber to set up a meeting with Rusty Areias, director of the state Parks and Recreation Department. (Ernst met with Areias, but lost the beach lease anyway.) Eber says he told Ernst he could arrange a meeting with Brown to talk about the Pier 38 lease amendment and urged Ernst to make a list of his needs for the mayor.

Ernst tells a very different story. He claims Eber told him it would cost $200,000 to set up a series of meetings with Brown -- which Eber strongly denies. "That is patently absurd," he says. "Ernst was involved in a war with Joe and Hinckle and he wanted me to get involved. Ernst's problem is that he always thought that if he gave someone some money, the mayor would deliver the [Port Commission] votes. [I] tried to explain that there was no guarantee of anything. I can [only] show you how to present a case, or make the case better.

"I would have done that, or negotiated the lease," the attorney continues. "But he never gave me the list. I sent him a bill for $5,000 for working on that and the nude beach. He paid it."

Ernst then turned to one of his pier subtenants, Doc McDonald, a software developer who occasionally lunches with Brown at Le Central. Ernst claims McDonald asked him for $100,000 to pitch the lease amendment to Brown. McDonald says he did lobby the mayor -- but never demanded any money for his services.

"I was doing it for Carl," McDonald recalls. '"I saw [Brown] at lunch and said, "This guy is trying to get this work done.' Willie said, '"I'll look into it.' Carl was put on the agenda for the next [Port Commission] meeting. Carl never paid me a dime. He doesn't even have $100,000."

After the lease amendment was put on the agenda, Brown assigned Ken Harrington, his special assistant for business and economic development, to look into the matter. Harrington says McDonald told the mayor that it would be a "win-win" and the city would get "fabulous berthing," but that the amendment had to be put on the Port Commission agenda before June 30, 2001, to get the state loan. "So the mayor told [Port Executive Director] Doug Wong, 'This guy talked to me, get this on the calendar to get the loan, it's a good deal for the city,'" says Harrington.

The lease amendment was calendared for June 26. In the days before the meeting, Harrington nosed around the Pier 38 deal. "I called the head guy at [the state Boating Department]," he says. "He told me there was no urgency about the loan. Ernst was not being truthful; he had two years to get the loan.

"I looked at the lease; I found it to be the most incomprehensible lease I ever saw," Harrington continues. "Couldn't understand what the city gets in return for 36 years. Wong told me [Ernst] was parking cars and charging, which is in violation of the lease. In five years he had not done a single thing: no dry-boating, no restaurant, failed on public access, had nonmaritime tenants."

The morning of June 26 rolled around. At City Hall, Harrington received a fax of a portion of the lease amendment with a note scrawled across the top: "Willie, City pays 0 out of pocket! [Signed] Doc." Harrington says he never talked to McDonald, but he remembers the note. It was too little, too late. Harrington told the mayor Pier 38 was a problem. "The mayor said tell [Wong] to take it off the calendar and crunch the numbers."

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