In a surprising move, the 54,000 member SEIU 1021 union endorsed Mayor Lee’s “consensus/city family” pension and healthcare reform measure over Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s pension reform initiative. Under Lee’s plan, the majority of SEIU 1021 workers will see their pension contributions increase by at least 3 percent. Under Adachi’s plan, which takes a progressive approach to solving The City’s pension costs crisis, a majority of SEIU 1021 workers’ pension contributions will remain unchanged.
Nuru, who was first hired by Lee during the administration of former Mayor Willie Brown, was the subject of a series of ethical scandals involving the misappropriation of public funds for personal uses, retaliatory threats against whisteblowers as well as directing city contractors to engage in illegal political activities while they were being paid with public funds, Herrera states.
The subtext of Yee’s move is viewed as an unsaid challenge to Chinatown powerbroker Rose Pak’s grip on the Chinese-American community in an attempt to weaken her base of support and to garner Asian-American votes for his mayoral bid.
Adachi’s candidature, whose pension reform initiative was certified August 2 for the November ballot, is expected to sharpen the focus on the issue of unsustainable city pension costs and the need for increased contributions by city employees.
In an interview Monday following a mayoral debate at the Castro Theater in which interim Mayor Ed Lee was booed, hissed and air horned for breaking his promise to not seek a full-term, Rees, who describes herself as a “progressive independent,” told FCJ she was inspired by the late Ann Richards, the former progressive Governor of Texas who admirably became a symbol of pride and accomplishment for the advancement of women in State and National politics.
If this morning’s announcement of interim Mayor Ed Lee’s official candidacy in the race for mayor, which included a protester calling for Lee to step down and fellow candidates lobbing accusations of dishonesty and lies at Lee, is any indication of what Lee will have to endure on the campaign trail, this year’s mayor’s race has the making of one of the most contentious battles in the history of San Francisco politics.
“Get over your fucking self,” Pak responds. “This is about Willie Brown and me. Fuck keeping your word and your fucking promises. This is about me and using you to advance my fucking agenda – and my agenda is me.”
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