Overheard in Fog City: Quintin Mecke to Enter D5 Contest

Written by Luke Thomas. Posted in News, Politics

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Published on June 01, 2012 with 8 Comments

Quintin Mecke has stepped down as Communications Director for Assemblymember Tom Ammiano to run for District 5 Supervisor. Photo by Luke Thomas.

By Luke Thomas

June 1, 2012

Following his resignation statement today, Quintin Mecke, the former Communications Director for Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, confirmed he is running for District 5 Supervisor, Fog City Journal can report.

“Yes, entering race next week,” Mecke confirmed via text in response to FCJ inquiry.

Mecke, a progressive, is best known for his mayoral candidacy in 2007 against then-incumbent Mayor Gavin Newsom, running on behalf of San Francisco progressives who were unable to rally a mayoral candidate at the 2007 Progressive Convention.

Though Newsom trounced the field, Mecke made a decent showing, finishing a distant second with 9,076 votes (6.33 percent).

Now he has set his sights on being the next District 5 elected supervisor taking on Mayor Ed Lee-appointed incumbent Christina Olague and several heavyweight challengers including College Board Trustee John Rizzo; former Redevelopment Agency Commissioner London Breed, and community organizer Julian Davis.

Mecke is the ninth candidate to enter the ranked choice race for District 5 Supervisor, a District considered one of the few remaining progressive bastions in San Francisco.

In his resignation statement, Mecke paid particular homage to Assemblymember Ammiano who is expected to provide an early boost to Mecke’s campaign with an official endorsement.

“After an amazing run of close to four years working to forward progressive causes in the State Legislature, I am stepping down as Communications Director for Asm. Tom Ammiano effective today, Friday, June 1st,” Mecke wrote in his statement. “It has been my unique privilege to serve someone as committed to positive social change as my boss has been during his time in Sacramento and over the entire course of his career in public service.”

Luke Thomas

Luke Thomas

Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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  • Chance Martin

    Now THERE’s some good news!

    • http://district5diary.blogspot.com/ Rob Anderson

      Another party line progressive joining the other ten already in the race. Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the most progressive of them all?
      http://district5diary.blogspot.com/2007/10/quintin-mecke-roboprog.html

      The reality is that the “progressive” political agenda in the city is increasingly problematic: the Central Subway ($123 million while MTA is $50 million in the red), parking meters on Sundays and parking meters spreading into the neighborhoods, the anti-car Bicycle Plan, Critical Mass, graffiti as art, street punks as an oppressed class, the homeless are just poor people who can’t pay the rent, removing street parking on the Panhandle on behalf of the city’s obnoxious bike people, smart[sic] growth that allows UC to rip off the old extension property on Haight Street, the Market and Octavia Plan that rezones 4,000 properties in the middle of the city—40-story highrises at Market and Van Ness!—to encourage population density in a city that’s already the second densest in the US, and 19,000 people on Treasure Island.

      “Progressivism” as it’s now practiced in San Francisco is doing more damage to the city than anything since the 1906 earthquake and fire.

      • MistOfTheCity

         Go crawl back into your hole, troll.

        • pchazzz

          Likewise I’m sure.

  • Jim Meko

    A smart, thoughtful progressive. Good news indeed.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LSBUHQYPHL2GEESTZGNXZGB2EY sfsoma

    Wish I lived in D5 so I could vote for him.  Good man.  Highly recommend you check his views out before you decide on who to vote for.

  • Judi Iranyi

    I first met Quintin when he was the Chair and I was a member of San Francisco’s Shelter Monitoring Committee.  Then he ran for mayor back, but his candidacy was largely ignored by the media.  For years, he has been very active in neighborhood issues and progressive politics, primarily concerned with public safety, homelessness, affordable housing and MUNI reform.   In my opinion, he is a solid progressive and If I was in District 5, he would have my vote.  

  • Chickenjohn

    Vote for him? I wanna date him!!!!!