Griftin' on the Dock of the Bay

Responding to written questions from SF Weekly, port spokeswoman Dunn faxed a statement that sidestepped most of the queries.

She did not explain why port officials granted rent credits for unfinished construction work or without proper proof of payment. Asked why the port allowed Ernst to fall months behind in his rent payments, Dunn wrote, "It is not uncommon for the port to be flexible with its tenants on past due rents when "rent credits' are likely to be granted in the near future."

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In a March interview, Ernst confided, "I am petrified of Willie Brown. I might as well put a gun in my mouth; the judges and the courts are his. I can't fight that. The Justice Department can't get this guy."

Ernst repeatedly tried to acquire political influence with Brown. At first, he curried favor with Joe O'Donoghue. In April 1997, Ernst gave O'Donoghue a rent-free office for his Residential Builders Association in a large, sunlit room on Pier 38 facing the Embarcadero. O'Donoghue installed his sidekick, Independent newspaper columnist Warren Hinckle, in the space. In a lawsuit two years later, Hinckle explained that in exchange for no rent, O'Donoghue "agreed to use his expertise and good will to help expedite" city approval of construction permits sought by Ernst. In an interview, O'Donoghue confirmed that he helped Ernst get various approvals for the pier project from the Board of Supervisors and the Brown administration. But Ernst made a tactical mistake: Neither the RBA nor Hinckle is a maritime business, a fact that apparently rankled several port commissioners, one of whom, Denise McCarthy, is Hinckle's ex-wife.

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.