It looks like hack-turned-supervisor Carmen Chu has decided she wants to try and keep her seat in the next election. She has decided to deal with the homeless issue in her district and blames the sweeps at Golden Gate Park, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

In her most aggressive political move since being appointed in September, interim Supervisor Carmen Chu publicly demanded that several city departments come up with a specific plan to address her west side district’s homeless problem.

The District 4 supervisor is holding a community meeting Monday to address increasing complaints from her constituents that The City’s recent efforts to clear Golden Gate Park of homeless people has increased their numbers in the adjacent Sunset neighborhood.

Last week, Chu requested city departments, including the police and the Human Services Agency, to come up with a Sunset-specific plan to combat the homeless problem in time for the meeting.

But her patron, Gavin Newsom, is not buying it.

Newsom responded to Chu’s concerns last week, saying, “There was a homeless problem in the Sunset before we stepped up enforcement in the park,” and adding that it was “naïve” to think that increased efforts in the park would not prompt some homeless to move to other locations.

It’s a small disagreement and I cannot speak to the validity of either side, but it looks like she’s been cut loose from the Mayor’s office. It also looks like she’ll do what it takes to hold the seat. She better be ready, because there are plenty of sharks that swim around in District 4.

(As Alex Clemens noted, “We are very, very, very diminished.” – promoted by Bob Brigham)

This diary is cross-posted on Daily Kos.

Today I received word on the local San Francisco community board The Wall that a city legend, gay rights pioneer and one of the late Harvey Milk’s closest confidants, Jim Rivaldo passed away yesterday afternoon at the age of 60 after succumbing to liver cancer, a condition he suffered for some time.

In case you haven’t seen the notice on Suspects, word comes that Jim passed away today. Fair Winds and Followings Seas. If anyone has a suitable pic of Jim we can put up please forward.

For those of who are young or fairly new to San Francisco, I found this article in the San Francisco Sentinel that briefly profiled his career.

He was a close friend and confidant of the late Supervisor Harvey Milk, and worked on Milk’s campaigns, which included unsuccessful bids for state Assembly and supervisor before he was elected to the board in 1977. Disgruntled former Supervisor Dan White gunned down Milk and Mayor George Moscone in their City Hall offices November 27, 1978.

He was actually the last person to speak to Milk before he and Moscone were killed. Most importantly, he forged a path for openly gay politicians in both parties.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano read the commendation, which highlighted Rivaldo’s work on the No on 6 (Briggs initiative) campaign, which saw the measure to ban gays from teaching in public schools go down to defeat in 1977.

In a brief interview, Rivaldo told the Bay Area Reporter that the highlight of his career was “my association with Harvey Milk.”

“There’s nobody better,” said Rebecca Prozan, co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, which honored Rivaldo with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He was similarly honored by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, which he co-founded with Milk when it was known as the Gay Democratic Club.

“While he focused much of his attention on LGBT candidates and issues, to far less fanfare, Jim helped elect every African American candidate in the 1970s and 1980s, and in 1976 served as treasurer in the campaign that brought us district elections,” Ammiano stated.

Those district elections were abandoned in the aftermath of Milk’s murder, but city voters passed another version of district elections several years ago that remains in place today.

Rivaldo also served as the first openly gay state commissioner, appointed by Milk to represent San Francisco on the North Central Regional Coastal Commission.

“Through Jim’s efforts and leadership, we have the Office of Citizen Complaints, domestic partnerships, and ironically, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian Republican organization, the Log Cabin Republicans,” the commendation states.

In the brief obituary in todays’s Examiner, it was written that he also consulted Supervisor Bevan Dufty and Assemblyman Mark Leno. I never personally met Jim Rivaldo, but I value the wisdom he shared on “The Wall” and any exchange I had with him was a pleasure.

Jim Rivaldo was a treasure in this city, and he will be sorely missed. God’s Speed, Jim.

I have to be blunt about one part of life in California since moving here. Election year 2006 was not a pleasant experience for me in the state. Before the June Gubernatorial Primary, I watch Dianne Feinstein among others campaign up and down the state for Phil Angelides. I voted for Steve Westley, but when the ticket was set for the November election, I was a good soldier and line up fore-square behind Phil. So where was Dianne?

I quickly reached the conclusion that her primary activities were nothing more than part of the CDP and labor making sure everyone knew who was in charge, November be damned. Because when it was time to put balls to the wall for the statewide ticket, Dianne, was nowhere to be found. I went to no less than three rallies in San Francisco and Oakland and never saw her. Now, she’s doing it again.

The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Feinstein will endorse Hillary for President.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton, bolstering what appears to be an increasingly formidable campaign operation in delegate-rich California, will announce her endorsement by Democratic U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California’s senior senator, today, sources close to the campaign have said.

The endorsement of the New York senator’s presidential bid by Feinstein — one of the state’s most popular politicians — swells what is now a growing list of recent Clinton supporters among key Democratic political figures in the nation’s most populous state. They include Rep. Ellen Tauscher of Walnut Creek and Assemblyman Sandré Swanson of Alameda, who announced his support for Clinton this week.

Feinstein told Clinton supporters and friends at a private fundraiser in Colorado earlier this month that she would back the New York senator in her presidential bid, but she has yet to make it official.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Hillary and will be there for her if she is the nominee. I also expect her to carry California on November, 2008. However, the California establishment should at least once in their lifetimes take theirs heads out of the sand and look at the big picture.

Charlie Brown will be running for Congress, Jerry McNerney will be running for reelection and we have a shot at picking up to other seats downstate. Why make the hill steeper by nominating someone who will motivate Republicans to turn out? We do not need to see who is “boss”, you’ve shown us plenty of times. For once, look beyong your own interests.

This is a premature, possibly morbid diary, but should we start thing about a future without Nancy Pelosi? Sooner or later, we Democrats will have a bad election. That is just a fact of American history. We also know that speakers who lose their gavels due to scandal or election losses do not last much longer in Congress, the risk of holding such a lofty post. When that day comes (hopefully no time soon), San Francisco will have a Congressional vacancy for the first time since 1987. The City’s Central Democratic Committee has a very strong “wait your turn” attitude and the Burton Machine still lives, BUT no one is going to want to wait another 20+ for the seat to be open again, so the question is: Who will run when Madame Speaker retires? Here is my short list of possibilities.

1. District Attorney Kamala Harris is young, popular, dynamic and well connected to the Willie Brown machine (get you minds out of the gutter). She has done a good job of keeping her name in the press and face in front of the camera and she is everywhere a group of Democrats are meeting. She would also carry on the tradition of having a female represent the district.

2. Mayor Gavin Newsom may prefer to represent more than 500,000 people at a time, but he has not put enough distance between himself and Tourkgate to run for statewide office. He is still very young and a few effective terms in Congress would allow him to build more national contacts and let memories fade. California has term limits for governor so he can afford to wait it out or even succeed Barbara Boxer in 2016.

3. Assemblyman Mark Leno is a popular figure in San Francisco, likely going to the State Senate next year and a good bet to become the first openly gay Congressman from San Francisco. He’s been effective in Sacramento and there is no reason to believe he would not be effective in Washington.

4. Supervisor Tom Ammiano will likely be elected to the Assembly next year, but his personality rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

5. Board President Aaron Peskin and Supervisor are ambitious, but can they appeal to the city at large?

6. Assemblywoman Fiona Ma is strongly connected to the Burton Machine. Could she become the City’s first Asian-American Rep.? Leland Yee? My gut tells me Phil Ting has a better shot.

Any names you want to share?

Some may look at me strangely for doing so, but after Sunday’s breakfast I joined the Alice B Club. After the event and some research, I concluded that it’s the best organized Democratic organization I have seen since moving to California. It also closely fits where I sit in the party. Someone suggested the City Club, but I decided no as they are the closest thing to the DLC around here. My only regret is that did not support Harvey Milk for Supervisor but that’s water under the bridge. Anyway, know of any other good clubs?