Bay Area Party Wednesday, June 27
SoCal Party Wednesday, June 27

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I wrote this for today’s Beyond Chron, San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily.

Back in March, I reported that Michael Colbruno – State Senator Carole Migden’s former chief of staff – is now V.P. of Government Affairs for Clear Channel Outdoor, the massive billboard company.  Whenever Colbruno wants to help his old boss, he makes sure that San Francisco gets plastered with campaign billboards for election season.  Today, the local Municipal Transportation Authority (M.T.A.) will vote on whether to give Clear Channel an exclusive contract to advertise on all 1,100 Muni bus shelters throughout the City, just in time for Carole Migden’s tough re-election fight.

But Clear Channel isn’t waiting for the Muni contract to help her campaign.  Last week, the company set up huge billboards throughout the district, proclaiming that Migden is “leading California’s campaign against the War.”  Migden has always opposed the War in Iraq, but to say that she has led California’s campaign demeans members of Congress like Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters and Lynn Woolsey who represent California and have led the charge since Day One.  Carole Migden may have authored a resolution in the State Senate last January to oppose George Bush’s escalation.  But ironically, it was her opponent, Mark Leno, who sponsored the very first resolution in the nation against the Iraq War – in October 2002.

On October 10, 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Iraq War Resolution, giving George Bush carte blanche to invade the country based on “weapons of mass destruction.” But three days earlier, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution urging Congress to oppose such military action.  Sponsored by then-Supervisor Mark Leno, San Francisco became the very first City government to go on record opposing the War.  Tony Hall and Gavin Newsom were the lone dissenters.

At the time, Carole Migden was in the State Assembly – but there was no such action taken in the state legislature to oppose the War.  Now she claims to be “leading California’s campaign” against the War.  Her only evidence is that in January 2007, Moveon.org approached her to get the State Senate on record opposing George Bush’s proposed escalation of the conflict.  As a State Senator, Migden authored the Resolution, as did Mark Leno who sponsored a companion motion in the Assembly.

But if Migden has been leading the campaign against the War, what has she done in the past four years about it?  While Migden was on the state Board of Equalization from 2002 to 2004, she has been a State Senator for the past two-and-a-half years.  Two years ago, Assemblyman Jerome Horton sponsored a resolution urging that Congress withdraw from Iraq “no later than December 31, 2005.”  Migden was nowhere to be found.

By claiming to lead California’s campaign against the War, Migden has minimized the work that members of California’s Congressional delegation – including the two who ironically represent her State Senate District – have done to oppose this War.  In 2002, San Francisco’s Nancy Pelosi broke away from the party leadership and lobbied the Democratic Caucus to vote “no” on the Iraq War Resolution.  In January 2005, Lynn Woolsey of Marin County became the first member of Congress to support withdrawal.

In fact, most of the members of Congress who have led the charge to end the War in Iraq are from California.  In September 2006, Maxine Waters of Los Angeles sponsored a resolution to repeal authorization of the War.  In June 2005, eight members of Congress – including Woolsey, Waters and Barbara Lee of Oakland – founded the Out of Iraq Caucus.  Today, that Caucus has a healthy California membership, including Pete Stark, Xavier Beccera, Lois Capps, Sam Farr, Bob Filner, Mike Honda, George Miller, Grace Napolitano, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Linda Sanchez and Hilda Solis and Diane Watson.

The Clear Channel billboards are clearly identified as belonging to the company, but do not disclose if Migden’s re-election campaign paid for them.  But the billboards include the same photo, campaign logo and campaign slogan that Migden has used on her official campaign website — which at least raises issues about “co-ordination.”

With Migden’s relationship with Colbruno, it’s no surprise that Clear Channel will display her likeness throughout the district.  Not only does Clear Channel do this for Migden, but they also do it for other candidates who are protégés of the State Senator when she lets Colbruno know that it’s important.  Such examples are Harry Britt’s Assembly race in 2002, and Chris Daly’s re-election fight in 2006.  If Muni approves the Clear Channel contract today, expect to see these ads on bus shelters soon.

But what’s fundamentally dishonest is when the billboards claim that Carole Migden is “leading” the way for California against the War in Iraq.  Because this demeans the work that many other legislative leaders in the Golden State have taken to bring our troops home.  Migden may have been a good vote on this issue, but she’s not a “leader.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: As a private citizen, Paul Hogarth has endorsed Mark Leno for State Senate.  He does not play an advisory role in the campaign, and saw the billboards himself without a “tip” from the Leno campaign.  Send feedback to [email protected]

Today, Mark Leno will announce his candidacy for SD-03.  (Calitics event listing here or you can check out MarkLeno.com)  So, at noon at the Yerba Buena Gardens Esplanade, San Francisco’s political scene will change. It has to. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

So, come watch change unfold before your own eyes.  It’ll be fun.

On the SF Bay Guardian’s Blog Tim Redmond asks, “Who will be with Leno at the kickoff?” An interesting question I suppose, but the even more interesting question is why?

At some level, it gets pointless for me to keep yelling, “The primary process is there for a reason!!!”  I mean, I’m sure you will see me say that several times.  But, as Tim pointed out last week:

On the positive side, it’s a clear sign that the days of machine politics in San Francisco are over, dead, done for. Can you imagine Willie Brown letting an actual contested election happen on his watch?

It’s nearly impossible to argue with that statement, and just as difficult for me to be anything but delighted over that.  In the day of open source politics, the political machine is the polar opposite.  A good political machine, by definition, resists people-power in favor of power of a single person, or a small group.  So, with one quick movement, Leno strikes a blow for good government and a vital grassroots.

But, as for who will be there? That really comes down to is personal relationships, which are, and aren’t, a valid reason.  The Gav and Leno have always been mutually supportive, and the same can be said of Migden and Chis Daly. And whatever differences and complaints I have with the Mayor, it cannot be argued that Leno shares those deficiencies.  He is tireless, a legislator of the highest order, and surely enjoys being a legislator.

What our elected leaders should really be asking themselves is (and it’s the same advice I offer to those for any primary challenge): Who will better represent SD-03? Who will be a more effective legislator on the issues that matter? Who will fight for the interests of the district? And of course, who is right on the issues? Look at their records, independent of the constraints of incumbency. Look at the baggage each candidate carries, both positively and negatively.  If need be, take some time. Think about it for a while. There’s no rush.  We still have fifteen months.

And, oh yeah, I’ll be there on Friday at noon (more info). I welcome you to join me in standing up for democracy and against machine politics.

It’s official.  Word spread yesterday, but I haven’t had a chance to post it on the front page yet.  Assemblyman Mark Leno is working to provide more effective representation for San Francisco and Marin. I will write about this more, but right now, I just want to highlight the kickoff event on March 2 at noon in the Yerba Buena Gardens Esplanade. I posted full details in the event listings earlier today. See the event page for full information.

In a very insightful look at the (expected) 2008 primary campaign with Assemblymember Mark Leno challenging incumbent Senator Carole Migden, Randy Shaw writes:

Migden’s inability to mount a serious challenge to Leno’s slate of delegates for the California Democratic Party convention reflects her disconnection from the city’s activist base. For a sitting Senator to field a slate, then abandon the slate, then deny she ever tried to run a slate, is not a good sign for her chances against Leno in the June 2008 primary.

There was a surreal feel to Leno owning the very same room where Migden once ran Democratic Party Central Committee meetings with an iron fist. But as Shaw notes, the upcoming primary race will be about far more than the traditional San Francisco fight over who is the most left.

More and more, I believe it is important to judge primary campaign candidates on three axis:

Left – Right
Grassroots – Top Down
Forward – Back

While there may not be much difference between Leno and Migden on the first axis, I think only looking at the traditional stances on issues is a very superficial way to view the race (but I’m sure we’ll see many articles on how they are both gay and similar on the issues).

On the second axis, Shaw is correct in noting the disconnect between Migden and the SF activists. While a few years ago many would have assumed that the fallout from the Leno/Britt primary would have lingered, Leno has so impressed San Francisco’s activists that many of Britt’s biggest supporters have nothing but great things to say about Leno. Even more, Leno has significant approval from members in both the Milk and Alice clubs — a feat deserving a peace prize.

But the third axis may have even more contrast. Shaw sums this up nicely:

Why have people encouraged Leno to run against a fellow Democrat for the State Senate? The late Miquel Contreras, whose leadership of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor starting in the mid-1990’s soon transformed the city into a pro-labor stronghold, offered the best explanation in a similar context.

Contreras drew some criticism when he backed Democratic State Senator Hilda Solis against an incumbent Democratic Congressperson Marty Martinez, who had an 80% pro-labor voting record. Contreras said labor would no longer be content to support politicians who simply voted right, instead “we want warriors for working people.”

Mark Leno has proved a warrior for progressive causes in the Assembly, and many San Franciscans want the city to have a fighter for its interests in the State Senate. In contrast, Carole Migden is so disinterested in fighting for her constituents that she abandoned the powerful role as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee so she could devote her full energies to Steve Westly’s campaign for the Democratic nomination of Governor.

That’s not a misprint. San Francisco’s chief representative in the State Senate cared more about advancing the political career of the multi-millionaire Westly than she did the economic interests of her own constituents.

This is what Matt Stoller calls the bar fight primary and this axis is the one that has become far more important during the Bush era. Phoning it in isn’t good enough. Activists don’t want leaders to pay their dues, they want them to aggressively lead.

Looking at the full picture of the race, it is clear that Leno is viable (if not heading into the race with an advantage). Throw in Joe Nation minimizing the North Bay vote and I think Leno is the front-runner.