Jim Ross

Gavin Newsom Sounds Totally Gay (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That)

Political Consultants Give Obama Speech High Marks -- But Wonder if You Can Be Memorable When No One Remembers Anything You Said

It's hard to be nostalgic when you can't remember anything. And a handful of San Francisco's top political consultants are now pondering if it's possible for President Barack Obama to have delivered a "memorable" address when they had trouble recalling its specific lines even 15 minutes after he utt ... More >>

What’s in David Chiu’s political baggage?

It's hard to be nostalgic when you can't remember anything. And a handful of San Francisco's top political consultants are now pondering if it's possible for President Barack Obama to have delivered a "memorable" address when they had trouble recalling its specific lines even 15 minutes after he utt ... More >>

Stealth Bloggers

Posing as journalists, bloggers got paid to write positively about Mark Leno.

Better Than N.Y.!

Posing as journalists, bloggers got paid to write positively about Mark Leno.

A Step Forward

Whether it's Agnos or Gonzalez, one of them needs to jump into the race

Greening the Left

Tycoons will pay to generate leftist ideas in voters' minds, but now they want to see results

Will Supes Vote to Save $31 million -- Or to Save Their Asses?

San Francisco likely won't be outsourcing any jobs in the near futureThe issue of contracting out city services to private firms has long been the third-rail of San Francisco politics. Even though outsourcing would save taxpayers a lot of money, the city's supervisors almost never approve a departm ... More >>

Would Gay Marriage Not Being on the 2010 Ballot Help or Hurt Gavin Newsom? The Answer: Yes.

Being emotionally charged up can certainly affect how demonstratively one waves his or her placard in a street protest, but it's of less use in the voting booth. No matter how emphatically you punch your ballot, it still only counts for one vote. This appears to be the crux of Equality California's ... More >>

Bill Clinton Throws Weight Behind Gavin Newsom. 'This Doesn't Suck,' Quips Political Analyst.

The big political news of the day is that President Bill Clinton will officially endorse Mayor Gavin Newsom's campaign for governor of this state. You don't have to be a conspiracist to see the politics in these politics: Newsom was an unabashed Hillary Clinton loyalist and Bill Clinton and Jerry Br ... More >>

Political Strategists Confident Extended Parking Meter Plan Is Dead -- But Maybe It's Only *Mostly* Dead

Can some manner of Miracle Max save the extended parking meter enforcement plan? ​In retrospect, the Municipal Transportation Agency's proposal to extend parking meter hours to 9 p.m. or midnight through swaths of the city and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays could have been more badly timed. This, ... More >>

Going, Going, Gavin: What's Next For Newsom, City, State?

​ It's unlikely anyone has ever publicly announced he's taking a job so he can spend less time with his family. But countless folks turning in their resignation letters have chalked up the decision to jump ship to a desire to spend more time with the fam. Gavin Newsom joined that lengthy list ... More >>

Newsom Resign-O-Rama Continues -- Is it Business as Usual or Beginning of End?

So long, Mr. Ryan...​With today's announcement of the departure of Kevin Ryan, the head of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, Gavin Newsom passed an important pinnacle. His right-hand men and women have now quit more times than Brett Favre. It took a while, but Newsom caught up. On a serious ... More >>

Gavin For Gov: Who Got Paid?

Audrey FukumanDon't worry -- the whale was compensated​Last night, we made our initial perusal of Mayor Gavin Newsom's Dostoevskyian, 529-page campaign filing laying out the finances in his failed bid for governor. And while Newsom spent around $700,000 more than he raised in 2009, his campaign pe ... More >>

Leland Yee's Sarah Palin Crusade Strikes 'San Francisco Gold'

For Sen. Leland Yee, Sarah Palin has proven to be the perfect foil​For the record, Sen. Leland Yee has always claimed that his ongoing Sarah Palin crusade is not a politically motivated operation. If some other figure with a penchant for charging $100,000 per speech were slated to appear at Califo ... More >>

Will Facebook Privacy Ties Wreck Chris Kelly's AG Campaign?

Chris Kelly claims he's not being private about his Chief Privacy Officer gig at Facebook​These days, touting the title "Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook" on one's resume must feel a bit like being the Head of Safety for BP or Lead Acting Instructor at the William Shatner School of Drama. Followi ... More >>

Will Big Winners in Facebook Privacy Flap Be Politicians?

And Facebook users are making it easy for him...​We've written a bit about how the furor over Facebook's opening of more user data to prying eyes could cost Attorney General candidate -- and former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer -- Chris Kelly. But for politicians who don't have high-profile Faceb ... More >>

There Was an Election Last Night. As if You Gave a ****

At least Coakley's people hit the streets. And that dude​ San Francisco, there was an election last night. And you went to the polls. Or at least some of you did. You also went to happy hour, the laundromat, or maybe the refrigerator. Wherever you went, whatever you did, three out of four of you f ... More >>

Jeff Adachi for mayor!

At least Coakley's people hit the streets. And that dude​ San Francisco, there was an election last night. And you went to the polls. Or at least some of you did. You also went to happy hour, the laundromat, or maybe the refrigerator. Wherever you went, whatever you did, three out of four of you f ... More >>

Unions Sue Jeff Adachi, City to Keep Pension Reform Off Ballot

The union-led brawl over pension reform has, inevitably, found its way to a courtroom​Members of five city unions took the next step in labor's all-out battle against Public Defender Jeff Adachi's pension reform measure, suing Adachi and the city's election director in an effort to keep Propositio ... More >>

Phil Ting Launches Slick New 'Reset S.F.' Site -- But Not to Bolster Mayoral Run. Right?

Phil Ting knows assessin' and recordin'. But transportation? The environment? Ain't those mayoral subjects?​Perhaps it's a bit of a simplification, but the city's assessor-recorder has two jobs: assessing and recording. So it came as a bit of a surprise when assessor-recorder Phil Ting launched a ... More >>

San Francisco Besieged by Tons of Political Junk Mail

Crap​A colleague recently plopped his accumulated political mail of the last three-odd weeks down on our desk. Campaign fliers alone stacked more than an inch high and weighed around a pound. The voter information pamphlet for the city and state nearly tripled the poundage. That's a ton of politic ... More >>

What Do Voters Want In an Interim Mayor?

http://www.politicsonline.com​Political pundits and City Hall gadflies have spent the better part of December pontificating about who could -- and should -- serve as the interim mayor. But when the debate hit a tiresome peak, political consultant Jim Ross took his video camera and hit the streets, ... More >>

Gavin Newsom Goes Back On His Word To Avoid Back Room Deals

​After winning the seat for lieutenant governor in November, Mayor Gavin Newsom told reporters, point blank, that there would be no back room deals or political bargaining when selecting an interim mayor to fill the remainder of his term.He's also vowed to steer a clean-cut transition as he assume ... More >>

Tony Winnicker Says 'Farewell' to Everyone but SF Weekly

You don't write, you don't call​Mayoral spokesman Tony Winnicker has quit his job after working for the last year as former mayor Gavin Newsom's mouthpiece and then Mayor Ed Lee. Will we miss him? Not really, and here is why: He never calls us back!The fact that Winnicker has frozen out SF Weekly ... More >>

Dennis Herrera, Leland Yee, Two PR Machines Running for Mayor

Has he ever said 'No comment?'​On a near-daily basis, media outlets including SF Weekly receive a plethora of press releases from elected officials who are also gunning for higher office. The two who are most prolific with press releases are San Francisco's City Attorney Dennis Herrera and State S ... More >>

Joanna Rees Robocalls Irk Voters. Democracy Can Be Annoying.

Just in time for dinner​Negative attention is still attention. In that case, perhaps irritating voters enough to start popping off in e-mail threads is the campaign strategy for Joanna Rees, the "progressive independent" running for mayor in 2012. Rees' campaign has already started inundating vote ... More >>

Sheriff Hennessey's Retirement Called 'Open Secret'

Now what?​Sheriff Michael Hennessey's announcement that he will not seek re-election in November didn't seem to come as a surprise to those loosely connected to City Hall. On Friday, Hennessey, drafted a memo to his staff, explaining that he has no plans to run for sheriff again. "It was a pretty ... More >>

49ers President Jed York Likes Mayor Ed Lee, But Is It Enough to Keep The Team in S.F.?

Some love to hate him​The stylistic differences between former Mayor Gavin Newsom and the current Mayor Ed Lee are too many to list here. Yet the one distinct deviation certainly worth noting is their relationship with 49ers president Jed York.Lee reportedly met with the 49ers president yesterday ... More >>

Scott Wiener Shuns Predecessor Bevan Dufty, Endorses Dennis Herrera for Mayor

Not Supervisor Scott Wiener's pick...for mayor ​On paper, it would seem to be a dead cert that Supervisor Scott Wiener would endorse his predecessor Bevan Dufty for mayor. They're both gay moderates from District 8 -- and incredibly tall (no, wait, that's just Wiener). Yet the tall one announced t ... More >>

Bevan Dufty: Is He Making a Comeback in the Mayor's Race?

Looking for money in all the right places​Just last month, Bevan Dufty admitted that his mayoral campaign was foundering; he dropped his pledge to hit-up only local donors and has since been taking red-eye flights back-and-forth to the nation's capital.  And now we know why.In his effort to r ... More >>

David Chiu Gets 'Do Not F*ck With Me' Letter from Mayoral Opponent

Villa-Lobos loves Gavin Newsom, dislikes David Chiu​David Villa-Lobos, San Francisco's perennial candidate, fired off a letter to Supervisor David Chiu, warning his mayoral opponent: "Do Not Fuck With Me."The off beat Villa-Lobos claims that Chiu's campaign recently "stormed" down Polk Street aski ... More >>

John Avalos: "I'm Running for Mayor"

Not Chris Daly​Supervisor John Avalos said today he is definitely running for San Francisco mayor.Avalos, the true-blue progressive who represents the Mission and Excelsior neighborhoods, says he and his wife will go to the Department of Elections at 4 p.m. to sign the paperwork, officially declar ... More >>

Greg Suhr: Was the New Police Chief a Bargaining Chip?

Suhr was worth millions​Mayor Ed Lee has finally chosen Greg Suhr, a veteran cop long attached to the good ol' boy network, as San Francisco's next chief of police. And why wouldn't he pick Suhr? That's who the San Francisco police union wanted. Not to say that Suhr is the wrong choice. On the con ... More >>

Ouch! Circumcision Ban Makes the Cut for November Ballot

Get off my dick!​At first glance, the notion of banning male circumcision in San Francisco seemed so unfathomable when it was proposed last year that even Mayor Gavin Newsom, tripped up by the notion, blurted out to reporters: "Not even Chris Daly would propose this."But that once far-fetched, onl ... More >>

Ranked-Choice Voting Makes for a Boring, Undemocratic Political Mess

Get off my dick!​At first glance, the notion of banning male circumcision in San Francisco seemed so unfathomable when it was proposed last year that even Mayor Gavin Newsom, tripped up by the notion, blurted out to reporters: "Not even Chris Daly would propose this."But that once far-fetched, onl ... More >>

Mayor Ed Lee's No-Drama Governing Style Is Proof He Won't Run for Mayor

He's not running for mayor and happy about it​Just this week, we learned about yet another grassroots movement to push interim Mayor Ed Lee into running for San Francisco mayor.And while Lee remains unwavering in his decision not to run, reporters continue to ask him compulsively, "Are you plannin ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi Might Not Be a Shoo-In for Sheriff After All

Will he slide into victory?​The sheriff's race is becoming increasingly more interesting to watch. First, we learned last week that Deputy David Wong, a veteran in the sheriff's race, was fired by his boss, who happens to be endorsing Wong's opponent. Now, the Examiner is reporting some more curio ... More >>

Run, Ed, Run Campaign Is Being Financed by Nine Donors

Nine people are running Run, Ed, Run​Recently, Chinatown guru Rose Pak told SF Weekly reporter Caroline Chen that a lot of the money being kicked in to the Run, Ed, Run campaign was coming from many people within the Chinese community -- in small amounts. But campaign finance records released yest ... More >>

George Gascón Criticized for Considering Three Strikes Law in Alex Trebek Burglary

Will he strike out with voters?​Update: District Attorney George Gascón's campaign manager Maureen Erwin told SF Weekly today that she believes David Onek's campaign incorrectly propagated information that Gascón chose to prosecute Lucinda Moyers under the Three Strikes law."From a campaign's st ... More >>

Bevan Dufty Welcomes Ed Lee to the Race -- But Why?

One of them welcomes Ed Lee to the race, and one of them doesn't ​Mayoral candidates alike are raging over Mayor Ed Lee's abrupt entrance into the fray. But not Bevan Dufty -- at least not in public. The former supervisor, who helped Lee attain his current position as interim mayor, has bent over ... More >>

The Billion-Dollar Bet: Which Pension Reform Measure Will Pass and Survive Legal Challenge

One of them welcomes Ed Lee to the race, and one of them doesn't ​Mayoral candidates alike are raging over Mayor Ed Lee's abrupt entrance into the fray. But not Bevan Dufty -- at least not in public. The former supervisor, who helped Lee attain his current position as interim mayor, has bent over ... More >>

Republicans Love Mayor Ed Lee

Ed Lee welcomes support ... from everyone ​In a liberal bastion like San Francisco, what Democratic candidate would want the support of the Republican Party? Turns out, plenty. Supervisors David Chiu and Ross Mirkarimi, and mayoral candidate Michela Alioto-Pier, to name a few. But as far as the ma ... More >>

What Will It Take for Ross Mirkarimi to Lose the Sheriff's Race?

Not an easy slide into first place​Barring a miracle, Ed Lee is on his way to becoming the next mayor --it's now the hotly contested sheriff's race that is the one to watch. As of this morning, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi had a narrow, 10 percent lead over Chris Cunnie, securing 38 percent of the vo ... More >>

Progressively Worse: The Tumultuous Rise and Acrimonious Fall of the City's Left

Not an easy slide into first place​Barring a miracle, Ed Lee is on his way to becoming the next mayor --it's now the hotly contested sheriff's race that is the one to watch. As of this morning, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi had a narrow, 10 percent lead over Chris Cunnie, securing 38 percent of the vo ... More >>

Ed Lee Calls Candlestick Blackout "National Embarrassment." Ain't That a Bit Harsh?

ESPN television broadcastIf John Madden were calling this clip, no doubt he'd say "Boom!" ​When Mayor Ed Lee told gathered throngs of media that the multiple power failures during Monday Night Football were a "national embarrassment," he used strong -- and curious -- language. San Francisco's infr ... More >>

Supervisor David Chiu Scores High with SF Chamber of Commerce

David Chiu's business-friendly advice: Let the Wookiee win​The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce has released its annual scorecard, ranking how it feels members of the Board of Supervisors have been doing when it comes to bolstering our economy. And, like every year, the results are as predictable ... More >>

"Toss Ross" Campaign Launched to Oust Mirkarimi over Domestic Violence Allegations

​As Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi fights for his political survival amid allegations that he physically abused his wife and his former girlfriend, some of his critics have taken up the tools of social media in an effort to remove him from office.Two websites have sprung up in recent weeks that urge city ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi's Lawyer: Sheriff Is "Bit of a Tyrant"

​If Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was hoping to recast himself as a loving husband as part of his defense against domestic violence charges, his attorney, Robert Waggener, isn't doing anything to help paint that picture.  As the Chron notes today, Waggener, in front of a throng of cameras and report ... More >>