Luke Thomas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nAugust 10, 2011<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something to be said about an individual who is inspired to serve for the common good. Meet venture capitalist Joanna Rees who so far has undeservedly not garnered much attention in her bid to become the next Mayor of San Francisco.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cprogressive independent,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always said from the beginning that this was incredibly purpose-driven for me,\u201d Rees said, referring to her mayoral candidacy. \u201cI had this great mentor, Ann Richards, the former Governor of Texas, and she instilled in me an obligation to go into public service when she said, \u2018Achieve what you want to achieve professionally before you serve.\u2019 So it really is about service and not about getting the job, and that\u2019s why this campaign experience has actually been inspiring to me. I feel like I have a real opportunity to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rees\u2019 apparent selfless desire to serve and to give back is a quality that, regrettably, seems to have gotten lost on many politicians these days who, once in office, develop a taste for power; seemingly revel in the sycophantish props and attention they receive from their coattail dwellers; become corrupted by the legal bribes they receive – bribes that chip away at their souls while diverting their political compass – and quickly lose sight and footing for the immense honor and responsibilities attached to the privilege of public service.<\/p>\n
Not all politicians, mind, but human nature being what it is, it takes a special individual who has everything to offer and very little to gain, who is immune to the foregoing trappings inherent in the beast of politics, someone who is willing to sacrifice themselves for a noble cause.<\/p>\n
Could that special individual be Rees? She\u2019s already independently wealthy and has nothing to lose by running on a platform to restore dignity to City Hall and to make San Franciscans proud of their political leadership.<\/p>\n
As she repeatedly reminds audiences during mayoral debates, she is running against City Hall insiders. By contrast, Rees seems to be prepared to do whatever\u2019s necessary to capture the imagination and the support of the voiceless in a bid to rid the city of the play-to-play patronage and corruption that is all too common in San Francisco, the very scourge that benefits the few over the many.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely, 100 percent,\u201d she said when asked if she is willing to be a one-term mayor. \u201cBecause it\u2019s about getting us back on the right trajectory and the only way we\u2019re going to do that, is through fighting the tough battles.\u201d<\/p>\n
And those battles will be against entrenched interests that will do anything to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n
As a woman in a male-dominated world of venture capitalists, \u201cI\u2019ve stood alone for so long,\u201d Rees added. \u201cThe press always says I bootstrapped myself into the old boys club of venture capital. Nobody wanted me there, but I felt like I had a purpose and I had to stand alone, a lot. But I said I am an important voice here making a contribution based on the perspective I came from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knowing very little about Rees until she entered the race, I wanted to test her progressive credentials on issues that are important to some progressives, particularly the issue of reporting undocumented arrestees to Federal authorities and the city\u2019s Sanctuary City Ordinance.<\/p>\n
On both issues, Rees supports opting out of US Immigration and Custom Enforcement\u2019s (ICE) Secure Communities (S-Comm) program and fully supports the city\u2019s Sanctuary City Ordinance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely not. I do not support it in anyway,\u201d Rees said of S-Comm, \u201cand I believe our Sheriff Michael Hennessey was right in opting out of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I love about San Francisco is that it opens its arms to the world, and let\u2019s not stop doing that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
When asked what she means when she says she\u2019s a \u201cprogressive independent,\u201d Rees said: \u201cIndependent means I\u2019m about the best people and the best ideas and, frankly, don\u2019t care where they came from, and I have been frustrated by the conflict-based dialogue that often exists – and that\u2019s the way people get headlines – and I really think we have to get back to serving the community. And progressive means I am about a forward progress, open minded, and as I have said, I am about empathy \u2013 I feel like we\u2019re losing empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a long, two-hour mayoral debate, I didn\u2019t have much time or energy left to delve further into Ms. Rees\u2019 background and qualifications, but I was certainly intrigued to learn more and offered to have a sit down with her at a later date where FCJ can explore her candidacy further. So far, she comes across as straight forward, honest (a rare quality these days), and courageous.<\/p>\n
Before we parted ways, I asked Rees why she\u2019s running.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this city and I care about people in this community,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople in this community really deserve to have the government serve them than serve itself. This is the whole reason why I am doing this – because I want to serve the community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201cprogressive independent,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n
Joanna Rees: A Refreshing Alternative to Politicians as Usual? - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Joanna Rees: A Refreshing Alternative to Politicians as Usual? - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 \u201cprogressive independent,\u201d 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.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fogcityjournal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-08-10T21:38:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-08-11T01:33:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/images\/photos2011\/sfpoa_mayoral_debate_20110804\/mw2w6005_std.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Luke Thomas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/#!\/fogcityjournal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@fogcityjournal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Luke Thomas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Luke Thomas\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/1a7952ea8bdeecb3a82f4b9d2ac302ab\"},\"headline\":\"Joanna Rees: A Refreshing Alternative to Politicians as Usual?\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-08-10T21:38:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-08-11T01:33:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/\"},\"wordCount\":966,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/images\/photos2011\/sfpoa_mayoral_debate_20110804\/mw2w6005_std.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2987\/joanna-rees-a-refreshing-alternative-to-politicians-as-usual\/\",\"name\":\"Joanna Rees: A Refreshing Alternative to Politicians as Usual? 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