Kamin Reviews DCCC Endorsements Meeting

August 12, 2010 | 72 Comments

So on August 11th, a couple hundred people packed themselves into the smallest possible room for the biggest meeting of the year to get an up close and personal look at the machinations of the local Democratic Party. Unlike some in the standing room only crowd at the Local 2 headquarters, I got lucky and snagged one of the uncomfortable chairs, and sat for all three hours so you didn’t have to. This is what I saw…

Posted in Opinion, Politics

San Francisco Breaks Ground
on First US High-Speed Rail Station

August 12, 2010 | 3 Comments

The project is estimated to create more than 48,000 jobs in its first phase of construction, which will last seven years. These jobs include the people who will design, build and operate the facility, the manufacturing jobs created by the materials being utilized in the facility and the businesses providing consumer goods and services to workers and the passengers utilizing the Transit Center.

Posted in News

Reilly Files Brief Supporting City Attorney Appeal of Alioto-Pier Ruling

Reilly Files Brief Supporting City Attorney Appeal
of Alioto-Pier Ruling

August 11, 2010 | No Comments

Voter-mandated term limits allow supervisors to hold office for two consecutive four-year terms. If allowed another term, Alioto-Pier will have held the seat for nearly 11 years. Reilly’s brief makes a strong case that the Superior Court judge erred in overturning a two-year-old City Attorney’s opinion denying Alioto-Pier access to the ballot. The brief provides convincing support for the argument that the City’s rounding-up rule (which calls for supervisors who complete more than two years of an unexpired term to be deemed to have served a full term) indeed covers Alito-Pier’s situation.

Posted in News, Politics

Adachi Responds to Labor Law Suit Over Pension, Healthcare Reform

Adachi Responds to Labor Law Suit
Over Pension, Healthcare Reform

August 11, 2010 | 14 Comments

“The law has very specific requirements that must be followed in order to receive the approval from the Department of Elections for a measure to qualify for the ballot,” said Adachi. “The democratic process by which The Sustainable City Employees Benefits Reform Act was approved both by the City Attorney through granting title and summary to the petition and by the Department of Elections when the signatures of 49,178 San Francisco voters were verified and accepted. We as Americans have the freedom afforded to us by the Constitution to have our choices heard at the ballot box and the taxpayers have the right to address how their tax dollars are spent in San Francisco without interference from special interest groups.”

Posted in News, Politics

Labor Unions File Suit Against Adachi Pension, Healthcare Reform

Labor Unions File Suit Against Adachi Pension,
Healthcare Reform

August 11, 2010 | 1 Comment

Thomas Willis, an attorney for the plaintiffs, stated, “The proponents of this measure took short cuts in drafting and circulating the measure, and as a result the voters lost. They lost because they didn’t get enough information about the measure and who was behind it. The measure is clearly invalid and should be removed from the ballot.”

Posted in News, Politics

Overheard in Fog City: Daly Endorses Keys

Overheard in Fog City: Daly Endorses Keys

August 10, 2010 | 6 Comments

Keys, a long-time aide and former 2006 re-election campaign manager for Daly, has earned this campaign’s highest profile endorsement, catapulting Keys to the top tier of candidates vying to replace Daly. With Daly’s endorsement, Keys will benefit from Daly’s ties to the District 6 community as well as Daly’s proven ability to win elections against well financed candidates.

Posted in News, Politics

The Remarkable Model
of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia

August 10, 2010 | No Comments

Today there is renewed interest in reviving a publicly-owned bank in Australia on the Commonwealth Bank model. The United States and other countries would do well to consider that option too. Any proposed legislation should contain careful checks for accountability. The Commonwealth Bank served Australia brilliantly well for its first 11 years under the stewardship of one honest man, Denison Miller. When he passed away in 1923, the bank was delivered into the hands of a board of businessmen more interested in serving their own interests than the nation’s. Legislation would need to be drafted that prevented that from happening again.

Posted in Opinion, Politics