When I filled out the online form to run for delegate, I viewed it as an insurance policy.  I just wasn’t sure how many people were planning on running and who was planning on running.  Sure SF is a pretty darn progressive city, but this is probably the most political city that is not a capital city.  And you know, it’s probably more political than most capital cities.  So, just because there are a lot of progressives here doesn’t mean that progressives won’t get out maneuvered.  Hey, it happens.  I put my name up in order to help ensure that progressives would grab those seats.

However, ultimately, the battle in AD-13 will end up being a bizarre one. You probably saw the diary by alecbash about Mark Leno’s slate for AD-13.  What Alec didn’t mention is the competing slate of Senator Carole Migden and the pissing match started by a the good senator becoming involved in the caucus. The prospect of a Migden slate sent SF politicos into something of a tizzy.  Well, I’ve now heard that Senator Migden has pulled her slate.  For whatever reasons that she may have, it seems that we have avoided at least one ugly battle on a secondary front.  Wow, I sound like some bad journalist from the 19th century. 

However, I am a Mark Leno fan, after all, he is the man that whipped the votes on the gay marriage legislation.  And as for Migden, she is generally a good progressive.  I will not fault her for that.  However, her antics  are a bit over the top. Leno has provided real leadership for our community, and I laud him for that.  (Warning: Debra Saunders (writer of the above-linked story, is a right-wing shill, but the voting for Guy Houston incident happened.) While I think improvements could be made to the slate (which you will find over the flip), it is a solid one.  I think he missed some really good people.  Alix Rosenthal, who’ve I written about during her quest for the D8 Supe seat, is great. Nicole Rivera, who has done some really important field work in CoCo cty for the ’06 election and for the OC Supe race, would also have been a good choice.

On the male side (I still think the bifurcation is stupid), well, Leno’s slate is fairly solid.  Of course, I’m on that side, and you can still feel free to vote for me (Brian Leubiz/Leubitz).  However, I’ll be supporting Leno’s slate (full listing over the flip).  If you’d like more details about the slate or about my opinions on the CDP, shoot me an email.

The following is from the Leno folks:

WHEN: Sunday, January 14th, 2007
Registration and Voting begin at 2:00PM
Official Program begins at 3:00PM–but arrive no later than 2:45PM (doors close promptly at 3:00PM).  You do not have to stay for the program in order to vote starting at 2:00PM.

WHERE: The State Building Auditorium, 455 Golden Gate Avenue (between Polk and Larkin)

WHAT:  Come support me and the rest of Assemblyman Leno’s unified, gender-balanced, community-representative team of Assembly District 13 for election to the California Democratic Party Central Committee:

Our Team has 6 Women:
– London Breed, Exec. Director African-American Arts & Culture Complex, Vice President SF Redevelopment Agency Commission
– Kamala Harris, District Attorney
– Jennifer Longley, SF Young Democrats, California Young Dems Women’s Caucus Officer
– Hydra Mendoza, Board of Education Member
– Eva Royale, Labor leader (UFW) & Dolores Huerta Foundation
– Leah Shahum, SF Bicycle Coalition Director & SF Municipal Transportation Agency Board Member

…and 6 Men:
– Jeff Anderson, Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Board Member
– Alec Bash, President, DemocracyAction
– Dan Enrique Bernal, Speaker Pelosi’s District Director
– David Chiu, Small Business Commission, CEO Grassroots Enterprise– technology firm for political & non-profit organizations
– Toye Moses, President, African-American Democratic Club
– Michael Sweet, President, Raoul Wallenberg Jewish Democratic Club

I know, this is pretty darn local.  But, just in case anybody who is reading this is also in my district, I thought I would share this.  It’s not that I don’t think Bevan is a good guy.  He is.  He’s a really good guy. Every time I’ve talked to him, he’s been very nice and pretty darn helpful.

But as they say, nice isn’t really the most important feature of a politician. The record of Bevan Dufty is well, not so nice.  District 8 is arguable the most “progressive” of any district.  Yet somehow, our supervisor is one of the more conservative members of the Board.  Now, I’ll admit that Dufty is clearly progressive, but in my opinion, not enough. 

He votes with Gavin Newsom almost all of the time.  And again, the Mayor, not a bad guy, just more conservative than the district.  Dufty has encouraged Ellis Act evictions and additional condo conversions; it’s why the SF Tenants Union has endorsed Alix.

As I said, Dufty is a good guy, but I’m not sure he really sees the forest for the trees.  He focuses on small issues and fixes them.  Great! But why are those issues there in the first place? That’s what we need to address.  That’s the critical thing that Dufty seems to miss. He treats the symptoms, but never actually addresses the sickness. Alix, on the other hand, really seems to understand the relevant issues.

So, if you happen to live in District 8 of San Francisco, Vote for Alix Rosenthal.