The Candidates at Last Night's D10 ForumLast night's D10 League of Women Voters forum was OK, but holy cow, if one more candidate had said, "yeah, I agree with so-and-so," I was going to lose it.
This model of 'debate' works once in a while, but there are just too many candidates for this type of forum to give people a chance to say anything substantive or to drill down into how they'd govern. The candidates are starting to all sound the same to me. Chris Jackson used "human capital", and then it was the official buzz-word for a while. Geoffrea Morris talked about looking at things on a "macro scale" and suddenly Dewitt Lacy is Mr. Macro! Kristine Enea had some creative and well thought out ideas on many issues, only to have Lacy and others down the line say that they agreed with what she'd said in the time-honored tradition of stealing other people's ideas and making them your own. Enea wasn't off the hook, either, co-congratulating Marlene Tran after Malia Cohen had just done so. How many pragmatists were there at that table last night? I think at least five used that word to describe themselves in a five minute span.
These forums are supposed to help us decide whom to vote for and what differences there are among the candidates, but everyone is just sounding more and more the same as one another for fear of saying something that the voters don't want to hear. Personally, I'd like to see a series of two-to-four candidate, full-on debates, around the issues that candidates DON'T have in common - but it won't happen.
Candidates have to start going after one another on the issues that differentiate them from one another, but in a forum setting where everyone is admonished beforehand to play nice, this will never happen. The lefties in the group need to embrace their leftiness and tell us why we should vote them in over 1) the other lefties and 2) over the more 'pragmatic' (read conservative). OK, that's my rant...
A few notable things from last night:
Ms. Cohen was better at this forum than at the 1800 Oakdale one where she stumbled a bit. Her vision seems to be shared by several of the "pragmatists", so I'd like to see some differentiation in forums from you and the others. I like the idea of an artisan food district around Pier 70. Mmmmm...
Ms. Enea came out with some good ideas, particularly around quality of life issues like a lack of trees and truck idling causing pollution in D10. Many of her ideas were co-opted by other candidates down the line.
Mr. Jackson, you've done good stuff at CCSF, and I think they'd be losing a really good board member if you won the D10 Supervisor race. As the youngest candidate in the field, you've done a lot. Heck, you even moved into Ms. Sweet's neighborhood without her noticing! Easier to check up on the competition from across the street, I guess.
Mr. Kelly, the self described "most progressive" of the candidates, needs a firmer handshake. Just saying. And taking down I-280, making MUNI free, and putting a permanent Burning Man site down in Little Hollywood... well, those are definitely outside the box ideas, so kudos for setting yourself apart. Promoting arts and speeding up rebuilding of the housing projects, were worthwhile ideas that were picked up along the line by others.
I think DeWitt Lacy doesn't like me. I'll have to work on him. Although he was the first to mention Friends of Alemany Farms, Mr. Lacy picked up on a lot of other candidates' ideas during the night. He tried to play both sides of the 'progressive' and 'pragmatist' card, touting his diverse endorsements.
Ms. Morris held her own quite well and has an optimism that it truly refreshing. Sorry you stumbled a bit on the tourism in D10 question, but you came through with the historical tour answer. "Geoffrea in #1, #2, and #3" still makes me pause, but I hope you can point you grandmother to the quick tutorial I have up here to show her how easy ranked choice voting is. Your mother-in-law was a delight to sit next to, by the way.
Mr. Moss was zinged again with the 'moving back to D10 to run' and the 'commitment to D10 and not yourself' issue, which I'm not sure can be ignored any longer. It probably should be addressed along with reference material to back up your side if you want it to go away. With the most money raised of all the candidates, this issue is going to overwhelm your message of why people should vote for you.
Eric Smith was heavy on the co-op model of doing things, and has a lot of really good environmental stuff to his credit. I'm all for using goats, too. I realize the importance of unions and the union vote to SF politicians, but does everyone have to be unionized?
Ms. Sweet did better at this forum, too. She has many accomplishments that she claims as her own, but has to address her absences from BART Board meetings and the fear in many residents minds that she'll be absent from BoS meetings much in the way current supervisor Sophie Maxwell is perceived to be - note, I didn't say you ARE, just that you're perceived to be absent. Good on you, Ms Sweet, for getting those 50 kids jobs this summer, though.
Ms Wesley-Smith, I know you're angry at the way things are done in the city and are here to end the status quo, but really, whatever ideas you may have to fix things are truly lost in your overwhelming anger. Trying to tease out from the diatribes what you'd do is truly impossible, but your voice is important in this election, if only it were a little more focused, forward-looking, and idea driven.
OK, on to the next one. Street Fairs this weekend and cleaning up the coast, if you're up to it! See where the candidates show up to know where their hearts really lie.
So much raised and there is no debate format.
ReplyDeleteAre there any debates scheduled where direct questions can be asked and candidates put each other on the spot?
I couldn't see any on the calendar, they are all these useless forums that frankly serve zero purpose.
pragmatical error?
ReplyDelete....cuz they've obviously made up their minds and it is sure as heck isn't Moss or any pragmatists. .... your blog!
whatdy'a got against pragmatic, thinking, breathing adults, anyway?
keep up the good work
Yes, I said that... thanks for so deftly reminding me of my own pragmatism.
ReplyDeleteI think you're making too much of the smear that was published in the Bay Guardian. Moss is obviously not their candidate, Tony Kelly is, they wouldn't dare take on anyone of color, so he's the last man standing. Sweet's IRS problem is a joke. She wrote a $10,000 check 10 years ago, made out to herself, it never cleared, she never noticed it, the IRS probably sent dozens of letters, and then put a lien on her house. She's on the BART finance committee. Who writes a check this big and doesn't know it didn't clear? My bet is she doesn't actually live in the house. My bet is she finishes in sixth place. Tear down the freeway? Kelly obviously never tried to get onto 101 from the Sunset in the morning. The traffic on Fell/Oak at Octavia is a nightmare. Let's see that fixed, not repeated. He's an idiot. As for the CCSF budget surplus, we all know if you cut enough classes and lay off enough teachers you get a balanced budget. It was like Noah saying, "Well, it's stopped raining so we're all good." Another brother from another planet. I think the voters are smarter than most of these candidates and will see thru their claims. The PIer 70 food court was way out in left field. Will they take food stamps? Who cares about heirloom tomatoes when you can't afford food for your kids? Last week Morris was at the SFPD community meeting complaining about being over-policed. At the forum she sounded like her meds had kicked in, gushing about how good the SFPD was. And Wesley-Smith was just pissed off. We don't need another child on the BoS. Time for her to take a time out.
ReplyDelete