[LEMONS] 9.03.2003
Matt Gonzalez: Mayor of San Francisco
Regular readers will notice a newish design element on the site: the Matt for Mayor button at the top left of the window. It has confused some, befuddled others. Am I now a politician? Officially, that is? No, it is not I. I remain, eternally, 1-T. The Matt in question is chairman of the board of supervisors and district five representative Matt Gonzalez. Matt's got my vote for mayor of San Francisco, and he should have yours too. He's a Green with a track record as one of the city's best supes, he wants to bring tital power to San Francisco, he's going to save our precious neighborhoods from pottery barn blight and he's loved by deputy sheriffs because he's a crime fighter, like Batman, Spiderman, or even, um, Aquaman. Best of all, he's not a replicant.Gavin Newsom is our local Kennedy (or so we keep hearing) and like Kennedy he has plenty of cash in his coffers. Also like Kennedy, he doubtlessly has his sights set on higher posts. Governor, Senator, President; the mayor's office is a mere stepping stone. Shoulders as strong as Gavin's are wasted on mere metropoli. Everyone assumes that this race is Newsom's to lose. It's Newsom or nobody. And that was true, when his main competitors were Alioto and Ammiano. Now, I like the A-team as well as anybody, but neither of them has a shot against Gavin Newsom. No way, no how, not going to fucking happen. Enter Matt Gonzalez.
Gonzalez' last-minute entry has some progressives in aflutter, afraid he'll further split an already fractured ticket. But if the cradle's already broken, giving it another kick isn't going to hurt anything. Ammiano and Alioto were already divying up the city's hardcore lefties before Gonzalez entered. And guess what? There weren't enough of them to beat Newsom to begin with. To beat Gavin, you've got to appeal to voters outside of your immediate base. And the only candidate among the three major progressives who can do that is Gonzalez. I would love to support Ammiano, and normally would be suiting up to throw my weight behind yet another Quixotic campaign. But let's face it, were Tom going to be mayor, it would have already happened. His tremendous write-in success a few years back says more about voters' disatisfaction with Willie Brown than it does Ammiano's electability. To put it bluntly, Tom Ammiano will never be mayor of San Francisco.
Gonzalez, on the other hand, actually has a shot, he alone can take the fight to Newsom. He's still behind Newsom, Alioto and Ammiano in the polls, but it's early and he hasn't been in it long. In the end, however, it may all come down to sex-appeal. Have ever before two more visually stunning men battled for the Emporership of our fair whatever? I don't know. I'm not a history buff. But damn, those boys are fine. And in the end, we all know that elections are nothing more than a beauty contest. Newsom may have the money, the machine and the momentum. But the ladies love cool Matt.
UPDATE: -- Gonzalez' kick off party, the great mayoral debate, bike coalition endorsement, at the Rotary club.
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