Jim Sutton

City Charter May Keep Top Contender Out of DA Race

Michela Alioto-Pier to Petition Supreme Court Tomorrow

Can she run or not? Depends on when you ask...​Yesterday, we compared the ever-shifting legal status of whether Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier can or cannot run again to the indecision of Brett Favre. After further review, it's not a terrible analogy --  but here's a key difference: Favre's d ... More >>

City Attorney Dennis Herrera Appeals Ruling, Fights to Keep Michela Alioto-Pier off Ballot

Luke Thomas, Fog City JournalIt's not over yet, Michela...​City Attorney Dennis Herrera will this morning file an appeal of Judge Peter Busch's ruling that Michela Alioto-Pier is eligible to run again for District 2 supervisor. Herrera told KTVU-TV he was compelled to make this move on behalf of " ... More >>

Michela Alioto-Pier's $50,000 Legal Bill May Be Paid By City

Luke Thomas, Fog City Journal Michela Alioto-Pier: This won't be cheap, Mr. Herrera...​After beating the city in court yesterday to win the right to run again as District 2 supervisor, Michela Alioto-Pier treated her staff and supporters to a nice lunch. The city isn't on the hook&nbs ... More >>

Alioto-Pier: Not Progressive, Thus Termed Out?

Can't Stop, Won't Stop​Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier just doesn't understand. Tom Ammiano served fourteen years on the Board of Supervisors, Chris Daly ten. So why, then, is City Attorney Dennis Herrera insisting that Alioto-Pier -- who's been on the Board since 2004, when she was appointed to fi ... More >>

Michela Alioto-Pier Will Take City to Court, if Necessary, to Run for Supe Again

Michela Alioto-Pier is running until the judge says she can't​Yesterday, we reported on how Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier took out papers with the Department of Elections to run again, even though a 2008 opinion from City Attorney Dennis Herrera claimed she was ineligible to do so. John Arntz, th ... More >>

Michela Alioto-Pier Files to Run for Supe Again. Will Suit Against City Be Next?

Are Michela Alioto-Pier and the city on a collision course?​City's Department of Elections does not consider District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier eligible to defend her seatTwo years after City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed an opinion stating Michela Alioto-Pier was ineligible to run for re-e ... More >>

A Peek at Lascivious Anti-Newsom Mailers

Yesterday we reported on a viscerally anti-Gavin Newsom flier landing in mailboxes across the state. In addition to a pair of eye-popping photos, the anonymous postcard gives the phone numbers of two political consultants -- who say they don't know what the hell is going on here -- and lists the ret ... More >>

Mysterious, Crude Anti-Newsom Mailers Go Out Again

Once again, a misleading and anonymous anti-Gavin Newsom mailer featuring this eye-catching image has landed in Californians' mail boxes​A political postcard depicting Mayor Gavin Newsom with what appears to be a rectum for a mouth and also featuring the above -- undoctored -- photo has been sent ... 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 >>

Ethics Commission Whistleblower Beats 'Retaliatory' Complaint

​Our most eagle-eyed readers may remember a series of stories we wrote about a whistleblower within the Ethics Commission being hit with a series of oddly timed threats regarding his employment culminating in an anonymous complaint that could have resulted in his ouster from city government. Ethic ... More >>

Ethics Commission Whistleblower Lawyers Up, Charges Retaliation

​Some of you may remember a June 29 article we ran here about how the city's Ethics Commission sure seemed to be going out of its way to not cite and fine Supervisor Carmen Chu -- a moderate represented by lawyer and mayoral svengali Jim Sutton. Meanwhile, progressive Supes Gerardo Sandoval and Ch ... More >>

San Francisco's Campaign Finance Laws Are Complex. Eluding Them? That's More Simple.

'It's good to be the king' -- and it's always good to have powerful folks in your corner pulling some stringsSan Francisco's campaign finance rules are so beastly complex that professional treasurers with decades of experience have been known to drive sharpened pencils through their palms in fits of ... More >>

S.F. Democrats Play Game of Telephone Over Non-Existent JROTC Recall Effort

Tonight's Democratic County Central Committee meeting features a resolution that seems to have expired in relevance not long after it was put to paper.DCCC Chairman Aaron Peskin put forth a resolution, to be voted on at tonight's session, over "threatened recall campaigns" against school board membe ... More >>

Terms of Endearment: Alioto-Pier Says She May File Suit if City Doesn't Reverse Stance That She's Termed Out in 2010

Is that Alioto-Pier's 'happy' smile or her 'I'm gonna sue you' smile?Earlier this month, Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier sat down for a cup of coffee with City Attorney Dennis Herrera. She was hoping to get him to reconsider a ruling from his office stating Alioto-Pier will be termed out of office ne ... More >>

Avoiding Judgment

Backer of prostitution measure in a legal jam.

Letters to the Editor

November 8-14, 2006

Letters to the Editor

Week of Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006

Stealth Dollars

Questionable political donations are flowing into the city's most controversial political race

Tilting at Political Windmills

Some people, like attorney Paul Melbostad, just don't know when to quit. Bully for him.

Follow the Money

Why does Gavin Newsom need a backer like the California Urban Issues Project?

Dead Mud Walking

A ballot measure that would create a Municipal Utility District has so many legal flaws, it's all but DOA. In fact, passing the measure might delay the advent of public power here for years.

Dog Bites

Details, Details; Problem Is, It's Hard to Read in the Dark; PG&E Strikes Back