February 12, 2004 changed our world. Mayor Gavin Newsom had just returned from Washington where he was a guest of then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at the president's State of the Union address. He, and the rest of us, witnessed the president voice his support for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. Returning to San Francisco, Newsom, in an act of amazing boldness and incredible political courage, ordered then-city Assessor Mabel Teng to issue marriage licenses to any couple who wished to marry, regardless of sex or gender identity, an order that Teng was happy to follow. For the next month, nearly 4,000 couples from all over the country flocked to San Francisco to marry in what would be called the "Winter of Love." The national and world press at first reported it as just another example of left coast San Francisco being out of touch with the real world. But as married couples returned home and resumed their lives, the sky didn't fall, and the national dialogue changed. And the fight for equal LGBT rights took a seismic leap forward. As we head into the 2008 presidential election, civil unions – and equal federal benefits – for LGBT couples is now the accepted standard among all the Democratic candidates, some even having the courage to endorse full marriage equality. We credit Gavin Newsom for changing the national debate for LGBT rights and equality.
The fight for marriage equality is only one example of the courage we have seen in Mayor Newsom over the last four years. More recently, he successfully fought to lessen the cut of the city's allocation of federal Ryan White CARE Act dollars, personally lobbying now House Speaker Pelosi to keep the cuts from devastating the city's AIDS programs. He worked with Pelosi and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer in what he told us this week was "a collaborative effort" to spare the city the draconian cuts that were initially proposed.
We support Gavin Newsom because we believe he has done his best to make San Francisco a better place to live. More than 2,000 homeless in San Francisco have been housed since Newsom's "Care Not Cash" measure took effect, a success acknowledged in a recent television news broadcast interviewing previously homeless people who have benefited from the program. We acknowledge and support the mayor's other key initiatives on transportation, infrastructure, public safety, sustainability and housing, particularly housing for people with AIDS.
When the mayor stopped by our office Monday, he said that he believes the city is moving in the right direction, with great or modest progress in many areas, including the city's push to offer universal health care to its uninsured residents and Muni. Crime, particularly the city's homicide rate, remains a great concern, he said, and he acknowledged that he's "taking a lot of heat" over the city's decision to cancel Halloween in the Castro, even as law enforcement prepares for a unprecedented presence in the gay neighborhood this year in case people don't heed the city's "Home for Halloween" message that should soon blanket local airwaves.
Being mayor of a large city as diverse as San Francisco is not an easy job. Newsom is the first to admit that there is much still to do, but we have confidence in his vision and faith in his abilities to lead San Francisco for the next four years. We endorse Gavin Newsom for mayor.
Harris for DA
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris has accomplished much during her first term in office. She has met with virtually every community in the city at one time or another, particularly those that have historically had a distrust of law enforcement such as the LGBT community. She created a child assault unit that's headed by an openly gay man, and public integrity and senior abuse units as well. She told us that her office has increased convictions of gun crimes from 43 percent to 95 percent, and has collaborated recently with the mayor to tighten up the city's gun policy.
The city's soaring homicide rate is a concern and a frustration for Harris, and she acknowledged that only 30 percent of the city's homicide cases have resulted in an arrest. Of those, 87 percent were charged and 90 percent of those were convicted, she said. Witness intimidation is another issue that affects successful prosecution, and Harris has consistently urged witnesses to come forward.
Harris has worked to restore integrity, morale, and professionalism to the DA's office, and operates beyond the old prism of "soft on crime" or "tough on crime" that so often characterizes prosecutors. Instead, she said, her office is "smart on crime."
We endorse Kamala Harris for district attorney.
Hennessey for sheriff
Being sheriff of San Francisco entails overseeing the jails and staffing the courts. Sheriff Michael Hennessey has a reputation for being progressive in his approach, has made a science of prisoner rehabilitation programs, and has achieved a minority hiring record unequaled in American law enforcement.
During his 27 years as sheriff, he told us that he has implemented an array of programs aimed at reducing recidivism. Last week, for example, we reported on the new women's reentry program. Others include a charter high school in the jail, where prisoners can earn a high school degree. So far there have been 55 graduates. He has overseen other anti-violence programs as well.
San Francisco jails are one of only six correctional institutions in the country that provide condoms as part of the HIV education program. Hennessey has also improved conditions in the jails, most notably with the opening of a brand new facility last year.
Hennessey has a staff that's as diverse as the city itself; over 80 percent of the 850 deputy sheriffs are women and minorities. He has led the nation in the recruitment and promotion of gay men and lesbians, which make up more than 10 percent of the deputy sheriffs.
We endorse Mike Hennessey for sheriff.
SF ballot measure endorsements
Proposition A: Transit Reform, Parking Regulation, and Emissions Reduction. YES
This Charter amendment targets improved Muni service, increases parking revenues for Muni, preserves transit friendly neighborhood planning, and reduces political influence over Muni's governing agency.
Proposition B: Limiting Hold-Over Service on Charter Created Boards and Commissions: NO
The city has dozens of boards and hundreds of commissioners, many of whose terms expire at the same time and often at the same time as a change in their appointing authority (usually the mayor or the Board of Supervisors). Appointing authorities need reasonable time to make thoughtful decisions. The result of forcing massive numbers of vacancies will leave important boards and commissions without the necessary quorum to conduct crucial city business. Â
Proposition C: Requiring Public Hearings on Proposed Measures: YES
Putting measures on the ballot for public vote by stealth and at the last minute is not good governance. This Charter amendment calls for notice and public hearings before a measure is qualified to go on the ballot. Proponents of these measures should not fear full and complete public airing of the measure. After all, we are a democracy!
Proposition D: Renewing Library Preservation Fund: YES
This renews existing law permitting necessary funding to operate the San Francisco Public Library and the 27 branch libraries.
Proposition E: Requiring Mayor to Appear Monthly at Board of Supervisors Meeting: NO
This measure invites political grandstanding at its worst. It won't increase AIDS funding. It won't make the streets safer. It won't help a single homeless person or increase affordable housing. It is a total waste of time. Let the mayor do the job we elect him to do.Â
Proposition F: Retirement Benefits for Police Officers Who Were Prior Airport Police. YES
This proposition permits the Board of Supervisors to amend the contract of airport police personnel who worked prior to the merger of the airport police with SFPD in order to equalize their retirement benefits with newer hires.
Proposition G: Establish Golden Gate Park Stables Matching Fund: YES
This creates $1 in public funds to match every $3 in private donations up to $750,000 to reopen and maintain this historic feature of the park.Â
Proposition H: Regulating Parking Spaces: NO
This initiative petition would undo decades of careful planning to improve the livability of San Francisco. It hearkens back to the days before the freeway revolt, when the push to add space for cars, no matter the cost, led engineers to plan highways through Golden Gate Park and city neighborhoods. San Franciscans have spoken on this issue: we want livability, not traffic.
Proposition I: Establishing Small Business Office and Assistance Center as a City Department: YES
Mayor Newsom put this measure on the ballot asking voter approval to establish a city department to help small, local businesses cut through current bureaucratic red tape. The need for this form of streamlining is painfully evident to anyone who has watched the turnover of small businesses and resulting vacancies in the Upper Market and Castro area. This is a much needed government reform.
Proposition J: Adopting Policy to Offer Free, Citywide, Wireless, High-Speed, Internet. YES
What a no-brainer! Who can be against free citywide Wi-Fi?
Proposition K: Adopting a Policy to Restrict Advertising on Street Furniture and City Buildings: NO
While this may seem appealing at first glance, a good deal of money that funds Muni comes from paid advertising on public kiosks, transit shelters, benches, and public toilets, which also funds the street furniture itself. This would also restrict the city's efforts to replace existing, ugly, graffiti covered newspaper racks with the more uniform, esthetically pleasing multi-publication pods that are being installed around the city.