Stay Tuned: Speak Power to Power,
A Dear John Letter

Written by Hope Johnson. Posted in Opinion, Politics

Published on July 21, 2009 with 12 Comments


Dear Budget Chair John Avalos…
Photos by Luke Thomas

By Hope Johnson

July 21, 2009

Dear Supervisor Avalos:

In a rarely seen move at Stay Tuned, I’ll get right to the point.  WTF is going on with this budget deal?  Relying on the long standing, wealthy power structure to keep promises is no way to wield the progressive power that voters put in place last November.

Please do not approve this budget for San Francisco.  At the very least, please incorporate Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi’s proposal to place funds for Newsom’s pet projects and excessive staffing on reserve for use as budget bargaining tools.  We often advocate speaking truth to power, but now is the time to speak power to power.

I don’t know who convinced you this budget deal is the reasonable and mature, collaborative effort, but don’t buy into it for a second.  Of course that’s what those in power and those climbing the political power ladder urge you to believe.  Why?  First, there’s no precedent for trusting Mayor Newsom, who has proven himself untrustworthy on any number issues from adultery to eco-chic to not spending money on approved social services.  Second the powers that be don’t care about this ‘payback is a bitch’ idea.  It’s only a bitch when you’re not in control of the conditions that determines or “fixes” the outcome.  Think along the same lines as ‘winning a battle is not the same as winning the war.’

Mirkarimi’s bargaining tools speak power to power, the only language the politically powerful consider worthy of a response.  Not sympathy, not empathy, not money, not kindness, not position, not title, not greater good, but power – determining power.  If you implement your own ability to block their quest to be the sole determinants of our city’s values by requiring negotiations for funds, then you’ve taken from the current power structure what they fear you’ll most realize.  You’d be telling them they can’t do whatever they want, whenever they want.  You’d be demanding your say in the ultimate power, the power to determine the course of public policy.

Frenemy Mine

Wow, you sure are paranoid, you say.

Hey, no need to believe me.  Ask your colleague President David Chiu how it works.  He used the same idea to get Mayor Newsom to discuss the MTA budget.


Frenemy Board Prez David Chiu?

Back in May, Chiu skillfully ripped Nat Ford a new one during the special Budget and Finance Committee meeting on rejection of the MTA budget.  Demanding Ford provide substantive answers to tough questions such as the MTA’s spending on work orders exceeding Prop A funds, Chiu appeared to be the people’s hero.  He especially focused on special interest groups and the Mayor’s pet projects.  Ford was put on the spot for Muni payments to 311, a project used endlessly by Newsom to boost his public persona and ambition for higher office.  Chiu also revealed little known payments to the police department for protection of city-owned garages.  This charge, spawned from Muni’s decision to reimburse the police department for free parking at a North Beach garage, contrasted badly with the fact private stores are not required to reimburse the police for patrolling private Union Square garages.  Additionally, Chiu attacked the Mayor’s public campaign lauding prevention of bus fare evasion.  He asked for the reasoning behind spending $8 million for officer salaries that collected only $350,000 in fines.

Chiu then backed up his performance at committee by lining up the seven votes necessary to reject the Muni budget.  What was that?  That’s right.  He demonstrated the Board of Supervisors’ ability to effect public policy.  And, whammy, missing Mayor Waldo Newsom was suddenly in the city and very interested in negotiating with the Board President.

Another thing, though, to keep in mind about this.  Chiu’s deal was not as beneficial for Muni riders as all that power brokering would warrant.  One wonders what his own deal brought him.  Just as we are all wondering the same thing on this budget deal.

Or you can turn to Mayor Newsom himself for questions on the importance of wielding the power of determining public policy.  Giving budget money to the district attorney from the public defender’s budget is nothing more than a demonstration to public defender Jeff Adachi that Newsom still has the final say in policy decisions.  Newsom would be sending a message to Adachi that he’d better stay in line, especially during the upcoming 2011 mayoral elections.

How big is your dome?

So, hanging in the balance is not simply a one time win of add backs or saving one or two social programs.  The bigger picture is setting up the ability to be determinants of future progressive public policy.  Similar to FCJ’s opinion article on the recent Recurrent Energy contract, Supervisor Mar’s decision to allow the untrustworthy Newsom to be in total control earned Mar the ‘weakest link’ label on the deal.  That’s what MLK’s Montgomery Bus Boycott and Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement were all about.  Tired of relying on promises repeatedly broken, they demonstrated the ability to derail the power structure’s unfair public policy decisions.

According to local tour guides in France, City Hall in Versailles was intentionally built taller than the most famous resident, the Palace of Versailles, to commemorate the victory of the people over the rule of monarchy.

An intriguing idea, made all the more appealing when one considers City Hall also represents the ultimate power, the power to determine public policy.  After the French Revolution, no longer would the wealthy monarchy be allowed to create and enforce rules enabling their dominance to continue.

San Francisco City Hall’s dome is the tallest in the United States.  Give it the same symbolism.  Start by rejecting the budget or including Mirkarimi’s bargaining tools.  Then the next budget may not be dominated by cuts to social services and education because you’ll have a say in public policy.  Moves like taking money from homeless advocacy programs to fund PR campaigns like the Community Justice Center will be less acceptable because you’ll have demonstrated your ability to influence public policy.

I do believe in you.  I recognize you are trying to do what is ethical.

Speak power to power.  What good are your principles if you don’t use them when times are toughest?  Don’t shake hands with Mr. Potter.  Reject the budget or use your bargaining power rather than rely on promises.  It’s time for Progressives to start building airplanes instead of parachutes.

Stay tuned.

Hope Johnson

Hope Johnson

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  • marc

    Don’t see how we win when Newsom’s pet projects all escape the budget knife and there are no guarantees that we’ll see any of the few crumbs allegedly thrown our way.

    Ross is right on here: trust, but verify.

    -marc

  • brookse32

    I would add to this, Avalos and Chiu’s even more outrageous maneuver on the Muni issue, when just a couple weeks after Chiu wimped put on holding the MTA accountable to creating a real budget that wouldn’t oppress poor riders; Chiu proceeded to really stick the knife into the guts of those low income riders by cosponsoring a measure with Bevan Dufty which directed MTA to -raise- the fines for fare evasion – including a $500 fine for third offenses!

    This ridiculous measure passed and even John Avalos voted for it; in fact, the resolution passed unanimously!

    This supposed progressive, aggressive, Board of Supervisors brings the arts of backing down from the Mayor’s bullying and of punting sensitive political problems to others in order to avoid taking a stand themselves, to a whole new level…

  • paulhogarth

    Great job, Hope!! And as a Frenchman, I appreciated the analogy … but you forgot one detail.

    July 14, 1789 is known as “Bastille Day” because it’s when the poor people of Paris, upset that the monarchy was denying them bread, stormed the Bastille Prison — which brought the aristocracy down to its knees. Inflicting fear is effective …

    But what people forget is that the sans culotte didn’t just storm the Bastille on July 14th. They didn’t even get there until later in the evening … At around dawn that morning, they were over on the Left Bank … storming the Hotel des Invalides, a gold-domed structure near the Seine.

    What San Francisco building is modeled off the Hotel des Invalides? CITY HALL … with gold domes and all!!

  • Ruth R. Snave

    Sorry, folks, but this budget clash is not the French Revolution. Gavin Newsom is not a hereditary autocrat. And the supes are not the people, rising in revolt.

    The voters first elected Newsom mayor in 2003. They did so because the progressive board fumbled the issue of homelessness.

    Far from being an autocrat, Newsom has been mostly a distant figure-head, letting city agencies run on auto pilot. His budget is a hasty patchwork.

    Its priorities are those of the most entrenched of the bureaucrats. Letting them design the budget saved him the headache of having to think about it.

    The progressive supes, for their parts, are petty-bourgeois climbers, hardly an uprising people. Even worse, John Avelos is a parvenu.
    He heads the influential Budget Committee without ever having held elective office before.

    Likewise for David Chiu, the board prez. He’s another petty-bourgeois parvenu who’s in over his head.

    So this is not a scene from the French Revolution. It’s another Monty Python skit.

    Let’s all have a good laugh, because that’s the only upside from this mess.

  • Matt Stewart

    Hope,

    Thanks for the cogent appeal for reason. The decisions made by John Avalos are as bewildering as they are depressing. I have to wonder if the heat he has drawn from progressive circles actually cemented his positions rather than moderate them.

  • Matt Stewart

    I should add that I hope that whatever bruised feelings were created between John Avalos and progressives can be healed soon so that future progressive reforms are not endangered. I sent off a withering email to John in which he responded angrily (understandably so). But I apologized and presented my viewpoint in a (I would like to think) more clearheaded manner.

  • Ruth R. Snave

    The present budget crunch was an ideal opportunity for Mayor Gavin Newsom to address deep structural problems with the city’s financial condition.

    He could have challenged the excessive pension plans of city employees, their excessive wages, and the duplication and inefficiency that are endemic in the bureaucracy.

    He did none of this. Instead, he went along with bureaucratic inertia and caved to the clout of influential bureaucrats. This attitude of coasting with the status quo is not effective management.

    The supes, for their part, made mostly minor changes. They played to ideological posturing and theatrics.

    They failed to address the 900 lb gorilla in the room:

    The economy of the world, the nation, the state, and the city has imploded. An extraordinary financial reality check is waiting just around the corner for everyone, with no proper planning anywhere at City Hall.

    How can we get more capable leadership in both wings of City Hall? This the question we all need to ask ourselves now.

  • Hope Johnson

    Hi Matt

    I believe the progressive supes worked together well yesterday on the budget vote, even accomodating each other’s political styles. Chiu had opportunity to take both sides (yes to $600,000 to PD and yes to split both ways at $450,000) and Avalos was able to honor his “good will” agreement negotiations while supporting budget protections. They seemed to have actually worked out some plans ahead of time like Daly offering a huge reserve to make Campos’s number seem reasonable. Everyone remained calm, despite Elsbernd’s angry questioning, which appeared to be extra aggravated by the progs cooperative spirit. I was proud of them!

    Hello Mr. & Ms. Snave

    This is no time for questions – it’s time for thoughtful suggestions. Public comment on ideas for capable leadership is open.

    Thanks for reading FCJ,
    Hope

  • Ruth R. Snave

    To Hope Johnson:

    I note you say above:

    “This is no time for questions – it’s time for thoughtful suggestions.”

    Questions are always in order. Otherwise, we may be lacking information for better suggestions.

    I’ve heard it said that the first duty of a doctor is to do no harm.

    Likewise, we might say that the first duty of a reporter is not to block questions.

  • Hope Johnson

    Mr. Snave

    Your comment implies your questions have been blocked. If you are alleging a complaint against FCJ, please do so with specificity so that any alleged incident may be properly addressed or corrected. It is inappropriate to require either party to use assumptions in alleging or responding to a serious charge.

    Hope

  • Ruth R. Snave

    Hope,

    Thanks for your comment above. Am still waiting, though, for an explanation of what your original comment meant:

    “This is no time for questions.”

    I maintain that questions are still in order about the budget. Here are two:

    Why do both the mayor and the supes continue to ignore the enormity of the financial crisis that the city is now approaching?

    Why do the the mayor and the supes busy themselves with rearranging the deck chairs as the Titanic speeds toward a giant iceberg?

    Let me explain –

    The economies of both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. became deceptively inflated after the end of WWII.

    Each country created its own imperialist economic system, based on winning the spoils of war, similar to what ancient Rome did after its defeat of Carthage.

    The U.S. harvested cheap resources from its economic satellites around the globe, many run by surrogate regimes imposed by the C.I.A.

    The U.S.S.R. economically annexed countries in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, to the same effect.

    Westerners rejoiced when the Soviet system started to implode in the late 1980s. They failed to realize that similar causes would start to undermine the U.S. system in the late 1990s.

    In both cases, an imperialist economy had been maintained through exploitation of other countries. Neither economy could sustain itself by virtue of its own productivity.

    Since the 1980s, the global economy has become polycentric. It is no longer longer bicentric.

    There are many sources of economic control, not just the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. In particular, Japan and China have come roaring into their own.

    All of which means that the U.S. is now facing as radical a readjustment of its life, both economically and otherwise, as England faced when it lost its empire.

    We aren’t in the midst of just another recession. American society as a whole is going through a radical redefinition, triggered by a global economic shift that cannot be reversed.

    In San Francisco, this means that we can’t keep on with business as usual, as both the mayor and the supes would have us believe.

    We can no longer afford a gigantic city bureaucracy with bloated wages and pensions plans, combined with poor efficiency and productivity. This pattern is a thing of the past. It is no longer sustainable.

    But you would never realize this situation from looking at the last budget process. It involved the same old moves of the same old game.

    But the game is not the same. It’s a new game entirely.

    When you mention these things to Mayor Gavin Newsom or Supervisors Chris Daly or John Avalos, their eyes glaze over. They don’t want to think about such things. It’s too much work.

    Nonetheless, they need to be pressed with questions that need answering, such as: How will SF adapt to the new game?

    In sum:

    This is no time to disparage the asking of questions. To the contrary, questions need to be raised and answered.

  • Matt Stewart

    It’s entertaining to see Hope run concise intellectual circles around Arthur Evans. It’s like Godzilla vs. a piss stain.