Christina Olague

Andrea Shorter, City Commissioner, Fined $800 by State Political Body

Andrea Shorter, the longtime city commissioner who spearheaded a group of well-funded domestic violence activists that drove Supervisor Christina Olague from office, has been fined for failing to report her own sources of funding. The Fair Political Practices Commission yesterday approved an $800 fi ... More >>

Penny for Your Votes: Supervisors Lend Funds to Curious Causes

Body Politic: Scott Wiener Strips Down City Bureaucracy

Vernon Davis, Ron Conway, Mayor Lee Team Up for London Breed

Supervisor London Breed today sent out a most eye-catching invitation to a soiree in her honor. The Feb. 25 event is hosted by, among others, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, Mayor Ed Lee, Lee's preferred financier Ron Conway, and held at the house of downtown Democratic pillar Wade Randlett. That is a ... More >>

Christina Olague Lands New Gig with Nonprofit

After a brief, tumultuous, and largely unpleasant term on the Board of Supervisors representing the Haight, Christina Olague is back in the Mission. The former supe and planning commissioner just finished her first week at the nonprofit Arriba Juntos, where she's a program assistant. Her responsibil ... More >>

Proposition 8: U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal on Gay Marriage (Update)

Update 2:10 p.m.: City Supervisors respond to U.S. Supreme Court decision on Prop. 8. Read at the bottom Original story 12:29 p.m.: The U.S. Supreme Court just announced that it will review the federal constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, as well as the Def ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi Can Relax, Effort to Recall Sheriff Isn't Gaining Momentum

The effort to recall Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi isn't happening -- at least not anytime soon. The Democratic County Central Committee had been considering moving ahead with a recall, but this week, it decided to scrap those plans, especially since it's been hard to find a financial backer to shell out t ... More >>

Ranked-Choice Voting: Does Anyone Really Understand It?

Mayor Ed Lee, Election Champ?

As we noted yesterday, it's difficult to pin banners reading "WINNER" and "LOSER" on vestiges of city power following Tuesday's election because they're often the same people. Today, Chronicle columnist C.W. Nevius came up with an interesting take on things. Who's the big winner? Mayor Ed Lee. Every ... More >>

Eric Mar Wins, Volunteers Outdo Record Spending in District 1 Election

The odds were against Eric Mar. The Richmond District supervisor was seen as the most vulnerable of all San Francisco progressives up for election Tuesday -- and that was before the city's moneyed interests tried to drown him with buckets of cash.In addition to Mar's reputation as an erratic legisla ... More >>

Election 2012: Winners and Losers

There ain't no devil, there's just God when he's drunk -- Tom WaitsThe striking thing about assessing San Francisco's big winners and losers emerging from last night's election is that they're often the same people. In District 5, tech investor turned political money man Ron Conway's candidate, Lond ... More >>

District 5: London Breed Wipes the Competition

Barring any unforeseen craziness, London Breed appears to be the new District 5 Supervisor. In a vicious race -- where the definitive question at times seemed to be: "Which candidate's actions have turned-off the fewest voters?" -- London Breed finished at the top with room to spare. A trail of pr ... More >>

Election 2012 -- Mo' Money, Mo' Problems?

Politicians of all stripes are wont to say that you can't solve a problem by throwing money at it. This year, however -- nationwide and particularly here in San Francisco -- the key to victory seems to be hurling about large sums of money.As SF Weekly wrote yesterday, proponents of the $195 million ... More >>

Here's How Ivory Madison Plans to Vote in the District 5 Supervisor Race (Video)

Ross Mirkarimi's neighbor, Ivory Madison, is back in the limelight again, but this time, she's going after Supervisor Christina Olague, who, as Madison claims, thinks it's okay for a cop to abuse his wife and still run a law enforcement agency.The really rich anti-Olague folks put together this last ... More >>

Prop. B: Parks Bond Opponents Outspent By 100-to-1 Ratio

Over the weekend, foes of Proposition B, the latest city parks bond measure, sent out a missive claiming they were being outspent by a 100-to-1 ratio. Well, that seems crazy, so we checked -- and it is, indeed, inaccurate. They're being oustpent by a 100.3 to 1 ratio. ($798,957 to $7,969). Much like ... More >>

Facebook Page Created for Women Who Don't "Like" Ross Mirkarimi

Ross Mirkarimi is quickly settling back into his post as sheriff, registering inmates to vote, and generally trying to get everyone to forget about his nine-month political and family drama with his wife. But Erica Sedlander, a UC Berkeley graduate student, isn't letting the sheriff off so easy; she ... More >>

Julian Davis, District 5 Pissing Off League of Pissed-Off Voters

The last time San Francisco pols gave the League of Pissed-Off Voters good reason to drop the F-bomb with so much ease was when Ed Lee was appointed interim mayor. Needless to say, the group of twentysomethings is long overdue to publicly spew political profanities. Good thing for the ... More >>

Police Union Ditches Christina Olague Following Mirkarimi Vote

The San Francisco Police Officer's Association has rescinded its endorsement for Supervisor Christina Olague in the November election after the District 5 rep shocked everyone by voting to give Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi his job back as the county's top cop earlier this week.The Union fired off a s ... More >>

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi Gets His Job Back

Ross Mirkarimi got his badge back last night after the Board of Supervisors reinstated him as San Francisco's sheriff. After several hours of public testimony, the board voted 4-7 to give Mirkarimi his job back, claiming the bruise he gave his wife did not amount to official misconduct. Supervisors ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi: Supervisors Make Votes Work for Them

Last night, Sheriff-No-Longer-in-Limbo Ross Mirkarimi told the press that "the system worked in this case." In the end, Mirkarimi was reinstated to his elected position -- but it's hard to describe any "system" that involved nine months of lunacy, nine Ethics Commission hearings, several forests' wo ... More >>

Supervisor Christina Olague Explains Her Vote to Save Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi

The cheers from no-longer-suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's supporters were still echoing in City Hall when the fallout started hitting Supervisor Christina Olague.Less than 12 hours after casting the crucial vote to give Mirkarimi his job back, she sat inside her City Hall office and read the foll ... More >>

Christina Olague ... LOOK! A PUPPY! But It's Not Hers

It's not every day that a politician literally employs the "LOOK! A PUPPY!" routine. But, for Supervisor Christina Olague, this was that day. District 5 residents awoke this morning to a fresh crop of door hangers glistening in the morning dew. And, upon them, was the above photo of the incumbent su ... More >>

8 Washington: Supervisor Olague Votes Herself out of Favor

Medical Marijuana Advocates Mourn Pot Club Closures in Mock Funeral

There were plenty of tears shed during yesterday's funeral procession dedicated to medical marijuana and all the local dispensaries that have passed in the last year. In the Haight, residents in black and white garb gathered around a jazz band a la New Orleans and a 12-foot paper-mâché puppet of U ... More >>

Mike Antonini: Planning Commissioner Says He Has Votes for Reappointment

Mike Antonini is not Gregor Samsa. He did not wake up one morning to find himself suddenly transformed into a white, male, Republican, dentist. He has been white and male for a long while, a Republican for not quite as long, and a dentist for no brief interval either. This was the case when he was r ... More >>

Mirkarimi Trial: Defense Attorney Accuses Mayor Lee of Perjury

Medical Marijuana Is Still too Expensive

Being poor is not so bad. Not in San Francisco at least, where in addition to free housing, city officials are now also handing out taxpayer-subsidized puppies to panhandlers. The disabled, terminally ill, or downright dirt-poor also "enjoy" an advantage over the healthy or the merely struggling to ... More >>

Obama Makes Another Stop in San Francisco Today, Which Means Traffic Will Be Awful

We love Obama, but we hate traffic. So each time the president makes a trip to San Francisco we feel truly conflicted. Then again, the only thing that we hate worse than San Francisco traffic jams is the thought of Mitt Romney becoming our next president. So here we are willing to suffer through ano ... More >>

Labor Unions Protest City Fat Cats' Raises, Democracy

At a time when thieves are tearing apart the infrastructure of our city for a few dollars worth of copper, it warrants mentioning that the glistening dome of San Francisco's City Hall is, literally, slathered in gold. Perhaps those who'd like to even the score should aim a little higher. That's the ... More >>

Gold Dust Lounge Bites the Dust -- Sort Of

Nobody wants to hear that their favorite watering hole is closing down, which is why we're not going to say the Gold Dust Lounge is shuttering -- at least not yet.This afternoon, the city's Historic Preservation Commission voted against designating the popular bar as a historic landmark, claiming th ... More >>

Market & Rye, Dante's Weird Fish, and Harrow Open, and Cu Co's May Not Shutter After All

The past 24 hours in gossip, innuendo, and cold hard facts about the San Francisco food scene. On Monday we shared a preview of Market & Rye, and now Eater SF confirms that Ryan Scott's West Portal restaurant started slinging sandwiches today (68 West Portal at Vicente). The post also remi ... More >>

Gold Dust Lounge Isn't Really a Historic Landmark, Report Says

​Next week, the city's Historic Preservation Commission will decide whether the Gold Dust Lounge is indeed a historic landmark. The problem is that even if the commission gives the bar a "landmark status," that doesn't mean the popular lounge will remain a watering hole.According to a city report ... More >>

Supervisor Christina Olague Attempts to Save Gold Dust Lounge from Eviction

​Yesterday, the news hit that the Gold Dust Lounge's landlord was suing the bar owners for not evicting the premises as of March 10, when their lease was up. But it seems Gold Dusters have recovered today with another last-minute victory that could (hopefully) preserve the favored watering hole. A ... More >>

Willie's World Redux: The Former Mayor Tells It Like It Is

Controversial 8 Washington Condo Project Slips Off Greased Skids -- For Now

View Larger MapA proposal to erect a 12-story tower housing 165 condos ranging in price from several million dollars up to $10 million -- or more -- has, at least for now, come derailed from an intriguingly fast track of pending approvals. The 8 Washington project, whose developers describe it as a ... More >>

Christina Olague, New D5 Supervisor, a "Bold Pick" for Mayor Ed Lee

​This morning, Christina Olague was sworn in as the new District 5 supervisor during a quick ceremony at City Hall. While the former planning commissioner is no political novice, she is also no sure vote for Mayor Ed Lee and his moderate agenda, making his pick all the more puzzling.  "It's a ... More >>

Board of Supervisors Seem Afraid to Address Medical Marijuana

Supervisors won't acknowledge the green leaf in the room ​Urban planning in San Francisco is a very big deal -- and so is the city's Planning Commission, the appointed officials who call the shots on urban design. So what does one of the city's more important entities need to do to get some respec ... More >>

Building & Trades Unions Say City Hall Protest Isn't Political Show -- It's All About Jobs, Jobs, JOBS!

Joe EskenaziMike Theriault, head of the Building & Construction Trades Council, wants jobs. When does he want them? Now.A crowd of 300 to 400 soggy, hardhat-and-overalls-wearing union men and women -- many of whom, sadly, had no other engagements at noon on a working day -- stood at City Hall Pl ... More >>

Just How Many Favors Can S.F. Grant to City's Favorite Politically Connected Barkeep?

The Planning Department maintains that Medjool's rooftop bar is illegal -- yet every politician in the city has raised bucks up there and no one seemed to know about itA fair amount of ink -- but not enough -- was spilled over how a typo will allow heavy Gavin Newsom donor Gus Murad to build a propo ... More >>