Michael Moore, Gavin Newsom Flip-Flop

Far from the first and not nearly the last, filmmaker, Michael Moore, joins Gavin Sucks.com in a political flip-flop.

Four years after delivering a speech on behalf of then Green Party candidate, Matt Gonzalez, Michael Moore sat down with Gavin Newsom who is now virtually unopposed for re-election. The Oscar-winning director planned a round table discussion regarding on healthcare as an adjunct to his promotional tour for “Sicko,” an indictment of the U.S. Healthcare system.

Moore extolled praise upon Newsom for promoting a universal health care plan for San Francisco and taking a stand on gay marriage.

I want to say how proud I am to sit next to you here.

Later, Moore and Newsom held a private screening of the new documentary followed by a question and answer session. Today, Matt Smith of SF Weekly weaves his own made-for-the-Internet conspiracy theory involving Moore, Hollywood’s Weinstein brothers, Gavin Newsom, and the international hype machine.

Check out the video for yourself. Me, I say, who cares? Matt Smith’s video is just one of many of the lonely Green Party satellites emanating hot air (destroying the ozone layer) as they orbit hot-topic Gavin Newsom… searching to destroy. Smith’s flick is a weightless, pointless mass without a nucleus. I gave it two yawns and a delete.

Face it, Hippies! Chris Daly and his Big Bang Convention have Plutoed. The Regressives are without a candidate, because none of the Green Party nominees had any votes. You already gave them to Gavin – Good! As a Quality of Life advocate, I’m grateful. No doubt Gavin will set sight on a bigger office with a bigger constituency far outside The City… and far more conservative. Gray’s the new Green! Our city sidewalks will finally get the attention they deserve.

Clean, Safe Streets!

Gav4Gov.com

Video: Conspiracy! Michael Moore, Gavin Newsom In Global Flip-Flop Ring

Matt Gonzalez: Failure to Launch

Beyond Chron has written an superb article detailing why Ross Mirkarimi opted not to tie his lot to sinking dinghy, Chris Daly, and why Matt Gonzalez has no chance of sinking the SS Gavin Newsom. Were Gonzalez to run, he could raise the many splintered progressives from the unfathomable depths of a Titanic convention.

I say "Run, Forrest Run." Unfortunately, no one would be more shocked than Gonzalez were his 'Regressive' braces to fall from his sides so he could pull away. He won't run. Besides, senior citizens in Boca Raton rock the vote, not all bark and no fight activist/pacifist. Rather, the few who do are already smitten with a Conservative in sheep's clothing. For now, the Regressive mantra remains:

I think, I can't; I think, I can't; I think, I can't...

Randy Shaw writes:

At San Francisco’s June 2 Progressive Convention, there were only smiles and applause as over a dozen elected officials claimed unity behind a progressive agenda. But it soon became clear that the supervisors attending the Convention were not on the same page. Supervisor Chris Daly, who called for the Convention, soon announced a budget plan that he saw as a progressive alternative to Mayor Newsom’s. But Daly acted before securing approval of his proposal from some of his progressive colleagues, including fellow Budget Committee member Ross Mirkarimi. When Mirkarimi challenged some of Daly’s budget cuts, the District 6 Supervisor took offense, storming into his onetime ally’s office to denounce Mirkarimi for betraying the progressive cause. Lacking the Committee votes to advance his plan, Daly cancelled the June 13 Budget hearing. The progressive split over the budget then became public when Board President Peskin removed Daly as Chair of the Budget Committee. Last night, Matt Gonzalez met with core supporters about the mayor’s race. Can a Gonzalez mayoral campaign unify San Francisco's fractured political left?

Using his position as Budget Chair, Daly quickly moved to amend Newsom’s budget. But in his eagerness to offer a “progressive” alternative to the Mayor, Daly took for granted that his fellow progressives---particularly fellow Budget Committee member Ross Mirkarimi---would back his agenda.

But Daly either did not realize, or care, that Mayor Newsom’s budget included items strongly backed by Mirkarimi. Daly’s budget proposal also included cuts for street and pothole repairs that were supported by his colleagues, as well as progressive constituencies like the San Francisco Bike Coalition.

Since Daly identified his budget as The Progressive Budget, he did not want it changed. Since his goal was to sharpen the distinction between Newsom and the progressive Board, Daly saw accepting some of the Mayor’s budget priorities as serving the opposite result.

Daly’s chief problem was that he advanced a budget whose central feature---the $33million affordable housing package---lacked a mobilized anti-Newsom constituency. While housing activists were not joining Daly’s condemnation of the Mayor’s budget, constituencies angry at Daly’s cuts were rallying to Newsom’s side.

Board President Aaron Peskin recognized how Daly’s budget plan had split progressives and boosted the Mayor’s base, and pulled the plug on Daly’s chairmanship. Those criticizing Peskin for the move seem entirely unaware of how Daly’s stance was expanding, rather than hurting, Newsom’s political base.

Can Matt win? I’m already on record saying that Newsom is unbeatable, and he has become stronger in the past month as his mayoralty entered full-campaign mode.

But the question for progressives may have changed from “can Matt win” to, can he be the vehicle for creating real and lasting political unity around a progressive agenda?

It has because clear that the June 2 Convention failed to achieve this, and one can only wonder as we recall all of the speeches why Daly and Mirkarimi never discussed their specific budget priorities that day---or why the attendees were not asked to approve a progressive budget right then.

If Matt Gonzalez ran on a campaign that included his own budget plan for the city, then the public could assess whether his “progressive” budget differed from Mayor Newsom’s. This could repair relations between the Daly and Mirkarimi camps, and leave the city’s progressive forces in a better position than they are in today.

If Matt does not run, expect the in-fighting among San Francisco’s progressive activists to continue. And for some to blame this on Gonzalez, rather than looking inside themselves.

Complete Article: Can Matt Gonzalez Reunify San Francisco’s Left? By Randy Shaw

Newsom Challenges NFL, 49ers

Mike Swift, Mercury News reports:

NFL officials toured San Francisco's proposed site for a new 49ers stadium on Monday, just two days after the company that controls the 49ers' preferred site in Santa Clara said it opposes the South Bay stadium plan next to Great America.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom used the NFL visit to declare San Francisco's site as superior to Santa Clara's. The mayor told reporters that the NFL wants the 49ers to stay in the city, and that Santa Clara has "no way to justify" spending more than $160 million on a stadium, which could lure the team south for the 2012 season. Referring to the Bay-side location of Hunters Point, Newsom said:

With all due respect to Santa Clara, San Francisco has a better proposal. It should make the NFL pause and reflect on the fact that it makes no sense whatsover for the 49ers to leave and go down next to Highway 101 and an amusement park.

Newsom also questioned the wisdom of Santa Clara officials, who are considering whether to contribute $160 million to the stadium, as well as the multi-million dollar cost of moving an electric substation.

Any city that wants to put $200 million up, I can assure you the worst investment you can make is an NFL stadium. I just don't know how they can justify it. That being said, I guess that's up to them and the folks down there.

After meeting with Newsom in city hall, the NFL executives drove to the former Hunters Point Navel shipyard, a Superfund site that is being cleaned up by the U.S. Navy and developed by Lennar Corp. After passing mounds of contaminated soil covered with plastic tarps, a three-car caravan of city officials and Lennar executives drove the NFL executives to the top of a hill that offers commanding views of San Francisco Bay and downtown.

Neil Glat, a senior vice president with the NFL, called the view "pretty terrific."

Hunters Point is right there on the water and could be a special place, but the devil's always in the details and those infrastructure issues can be thorny issues, an[environmental] remediation issues can be time-consuming and costly.

Today, the 49ers will be showing off the highway and transit connections in Santa Clara - one glaring weakness at Hunters Point. The NFL is not planning to tell the 49ers which site to pick, Glat said.

Asked about Newsom's statement that "the NFL would like to see the 49ers stay in San Francisco," Glat said the NFL had made no statement to that effect.

A big part of the NFL's agenda Monday was to check on Monster Park, the aging city-owned edifice that will remain the 49ers' home until a new stadium is built. Four nationally televised games are scheduled at Monster in the coming season, including the first Monday Night Football game when the Arizona Cardinals visit San Francisco on Sept. 10.

In April, after years of angry correspondence between the 49ers and the city that the city's poor maintenance had led to public safety issues at the stadium, city parks officials agreed to provide the team $10.3 million in rent credits to make repairs.

City officials Monday showed off some of the stadium's old escalators, clogged with leaves and other debris, that are to be repaired or refurbished before the start of the season. The stadium's parking lot, restrooms and elevators are also being repaired.

Asked about perceptions that Monster Park is perhaps the worst stadium in the league, Glat said: "It's far from state-of-the-art at this point in time."

Complete Article: Newsom challenges wisdom of Santa Clara stadium investment by Mike Swift Mercury News.com.

PESKIN DUMPS DALY, ISSUES STATEMENT

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin today removed Supervisor Chris Daly as chair of Budget and Finance Committee.

Peskin appointed himself chair of that committee.

Peskin’s written statement to the Interim Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and Board Members follows:

Madam Clerk and Colleagues:

I am writing to notify you that I have removed Supervisor Daly as Chair of
the Budget and Finance Committee.

I have appointed myself in his place.

Supervisor Daly and his staff deserve our sincere gratitude for their hard
work and leadership as well as thier commitment to San Francisco’s most
vulnerable — the poor, the elderly, the young, and the disabled.

I look forward to all of you to create a budget that respects those values
and addresses those neds that have been overlooked or deserve an additional
funding.

Aaron Peskin - President

The complete post by By Pat Murphy, Sentinel Editor & Publisher.

SFist writes: Chris Daly Got so mad at District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi for not backing him up on the budget showdown with Newsom that other folks joked that they'd need to call in the SWAT team.

Daly To Be Removed From Post?

Rumor circulating City Hall have it that Board President, Aaron Peskin, might make Chris Daly give up his position as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee.

“Peskin is mulling it over.” As quoted by a Reliable Source Overheard in Fog
City Journal by Luke Thomas.

Complete article plus more regarding the Daly and Newsom rift.

Daly Misread Documents

Pat Murphy, Sentinel reports San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly Tuesday cancelled today’s scheduled Budget and Finance Committee set to rewrite the City budget without approval by the full San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Daly, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, told Board colleagues Daly wants instead “to ascertain whether public resources were inappropriately used for electioneering purposes and whether Newsom ‘07 is appropriately engaging the legislative process before making crucial decisions in this year’s budget process.”

In speaking during Roll Call submissions of Tuesday’s Board meeting, Daly stated his office had “acquired documents that indicate the Mayor’s Office may have exercised undue influence to secure public space in front of City Hall for a Wednesday budget rally.”

“I am very concerned about the cloud of impropriety surrounding the Mayor’s
budget engagement…Documents show that we appropriately reserved space for our
budget rally first. Fair is fair.”

Competing rallies in support of the City Budget proposed by Mayor Newsom and in support of Daly’s rewritten budget had been scheduled at the same time and in the same location on City Hall steps at high noon Wednesday.

Daly complained, both to Board colleagues and to the San Francisco Ethics Commission, that the pro-Newsom rally was given preferential scheduling despite Daly applying for rally permit before the pro-Newsom rally permit application.
Mayoral Press Secretary Nathan Ballard responded the pro-Newsom rally application was submitted first.

“We were there first,” Ballard told the Sentinel.

DALY MISREAD DOCUMENTS:

“He’s referencing documents that I actually provided to him pursuant to a
Sunshine request and he’s misreading those documents,” stated Ballard.

Ballard added Daly simply lost his nerve to hold the committee hearing.

“Chris Daly lost his nerve when he realized that Mayor Newsom’s allies were
going to descend upon City Hall in support of the Mayor’s Budget. And so he
cancelled the hearing.”

The City budget likely would have been rewritten without approval by the full San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Through a procedural move, the full Board would have been be left only with a budget as revised by Supervisor Chris Daly for final Board consideration.

Daly’s rewritten budget allowed no independent scrutiny by the Budget Analyst’s Office available to commissioners in past City budget reviews.

Passage appeared probable with majority committee membership sympathetic to the Daly motion. Three votes are needed to pass the measure.

Membership consists of Supervisors Chris Daly, Tom Ammiano, Ross Mirkarimi, Bevan Dufty, and Sean Elsbernd.

Chris Daly Sucks.com on Pirate Cat Radio 87.9 FM

Count the minutes and I’ll count the ways that Supervisor Chris Daly Sucks.com. I’m especially grateful to Bunny Whiskers for having me as a guest as we switch horses in this far down stream. An explanation is forthcoming; and San Francisco’s sexiest DJ with a dark side tickles with wit – beware and meow!!!

When: Thursday, June 14th at 6:00 PM
Radio: 87.9 FM (San Francisco & Los Angeles)
Web: Pirate Cat Radio.com

We will be taking calls, so be prepared and don’t Suck.com.