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The Battle for the 2009 Board Presidency
District 9 Forum Reveals Candidate Preferences

Written by Luke Thomas. Posted in News, Politics

Published on September 09, 2008 with 8 Comments


Candidates Eriq Quezada, David Campos and Mark Sanchez
attend a candidates forum hosted by the League of Young Voters on Monday.
Photos by Luke Thomas

By Luke Thomas

September 10, 2008

Three candidates in the race for district 9 supervisor took center stage Monday vying for the coveted endorsement of The League of Young Voters.

Co-sponsored by Pirate Cat Radio 87.9FM, candidates David Campos, Eric Quezada, and Mark Sanchez squared off in what attendees hoped would produce clear distinctions between the three like-minded progressives.

During the debate, Fog City Journal asked the candidates whom they would vote for for board president in January.

By far the most important function of the board president is the authority to assign supervisors and chairpersons to sub-committees, and it is no secret to city hall insiders that Supervisors Chris Daly, Bevan Dufty, and Ross Mirkarimi are jockeying behind the scenes to line up the necessary votes to secure the most powerful position on the legislative body.

The president of the board may also ascend to the office of mayor in the event of the mayor’s resignation or death.

Sanchez, who received Mirkarimi’s endorsement, said he would vote for Mirkarimi.

“I think he’s solidly progressive and he’s done the things progressives have stayed away from in terms of violence prevention,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez did not rule out consideration for Daly but made clear he would not vote for Dufty.

“I don’t want a moderate,” Sanchez said. “I like Bevan Dufty – I think he’s a great guy – but I don’t want him president of the board.”

Though Dufty has voted with progressives on some key votes during his tenure on the board, his alliance with Mayor Gavin Newsom and “downtown” forces has earned him, fairly or unfairly, the label “faux progressive.”

 
Supervisor Bevan Dufty received a congratulatory pat on the back
from San Francisco Historical Society head, Jim Lazarus,
while San Francisco Chamber of Commerce head, Steven Falk, shook hands
with Building Owners and Managers Asscociation Director Ken Cleveland
following Dufty’s swearing in for a second term on the Board of Supervisors in January 2007.

Quezada, who has received Daly’s endorsement, said, “There’s only really two candidates that I would consider and that’s Supervisor Mirkarimi or Chris Daly.”

Campos strayed from his fellow opponents saying he would vote for district 1 candidate Eric Mar.

“I think that we should definitely have a progressive heading the board of supervisors,” Campos said. “I’m just not committed to one individual at this point.”

There’s only one problem with Campos’ consideration of Mar. According to Sanchez, Mar has already said no.

After the debate, Fog City Journal asked Campos if he is also considering current board members for board president. He maintained he would vote for a progressive but would not rule out voting for Dufty.

For the majority of voters in District 9 and the membership of The League of Young Voters, knowing Campos has not ruled out voting for Dufty may give rise to legitimate concerns about whether Campos’ election to the board of supervisors will be in the best interests of progressives.

More Info

Debate archive

League of Young Voters

Pirate Cat Radio

David Campos

Eric Quezada

Mark Sanchez

Luke Thomas

Luke Thomas

Luke Thomas is 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, has published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521.

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  • Brian Wallace

    I understand Eric Storey, who is also a candidate for District 9 Supervisor, showed up and caused quite a stir. And in the spirit of fairness was not allowed to speak.

    I guess that Eric is getting the “Dennis Kucinich treatment.”

    Just curious, is being called “a faux progressive” an insult … or a compliment?

    Quick, someone hand me the lipstick!

  • paulhogarth

    Eric Storey is not a serious candidate. He’s running for District 9 — *the* district with the largest Latino population in the City — but opposes the Municipal ID legislation. Wrong answer!!

  • http://www.fogcityjournal.com/profiles/profile_luke_thomas.shtml Luke Thomas

    The League of Young Voters is only interested in Campos, Quezada and Sanchez for their endorsement consideration. Eric was in the audience and was gracefully acknowledged by Sanchez.

  • Pissed Off Voter 32

    Eric didn’t cause any kind of stir. We talked him before the debate started. He said he knew he wasn’t invited and that he was just there to watch. We’re going to have him on our regular Pirate Cat radio show some time in the next few weeks. (Check it out every Friday from 6-8 on 87.9 FM or http://piratecatradio.com/ or on iTunes radio under Alternative. This Firday we’re going to talk with Elaine Santore and Amanda Witherell.)

    The League’s steering committee researched all of the candidates and determined that Sanchez, Quezada, and Campos were the most qualifed. Because every other candidate forum has included all of the candidates, we wanted to do something different and try to facilitate a more in-depth discussion. We think it went really well and gave us a better understanding of the candidates so we can decide on them based on their merits instead of just who they’re endorsed by.

  • Erika

    The Board Presidency is indeed a very important issue that Campos supporters may be overlooking. Dufty has some merits, but hasn’t voted with progressives on issues such as environmental justce in the BayView and affordable housing. Ross Mirkarimi is a solid, visionary progressive with the ability to lead.

  • tami

    Hey Luke,
    With all due respect, I really love Fog City Journal and I think you do a great job. However, I was leaving the debate with David and heard the entire conversation with FCJ and David. I do not remember him ever characterizing Bevan Dufty as a “progressive” he would consider for BoS president.
    Specifically, I remember he named the “progressives as Mirkarimi, Daly, Ammiano and Peskin”. He said he would vote for a progressive for BoS president, including Eric Mar, it is irrelevant if Eric has stated he is not interested, the question was who would David support? I believe, that in answer to FCJ, would David support Dufty, he reiterated he would vote for a progressive.
    For the record, Dufty did endorse Kim-Shree Maufas for BoE, and when we were fighting to stop the closure of John Swett, Dufty was responsive to me as a non-constituent and supported the effort. For me, he was standing up for the Black and Latino children of John Swett and he will always have my appreciation and respect for that. He has had a mixed record but was never categorized as a “progressive” in the conversation that I heard. I know David likes and respects Dufty, but I HEARD him say he would vote for a progressive, which is in line what I know he wants for San Francisco.
    My personal favorite for President is my Supervisor Mirkarimi.
    I only happened to be standing there when the exchange occurred and feel compelled to convey what I heard as I stood there.

  • http://www.fogcityjournal.com/profiles/profile_luke_thomas.shtml Luke Thomas

    Tami, you’re right, Campos did not say he considers Dufty a progressive. But he didn’t rule out voting for him either. If Campos is willing to say he will vote for a progressive, why wasn’t he willing to say he will not vote for Dufty?

  • shona

    Campos will not vote for a moderate – check his voting record . he will vote for a progressive . what he is stating is that we dont know what the composure of the board will be come november – i work with him closely and my guess is it will either be Ross or Mar.
    david would lose all his grassroots support if he voted for moderate like dufty and seeing as thats most of his support – there is no way that will happen ,davida heart is in the right place and to true progressive politics he will remain true and has thus far !