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Extra! 'Culture of fear' stalks Grant Avenue!
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No one running for District 3 supervisor got much of a chance to separate from the pack at Wednesday's candidates' debate, but there was one clear winner in the hyperbole derby: Lynn Jefferson.
At one point, Jefferson, a Marsha Garland protege and the most aggressively pro-development horse in this race, said she was running to help erase "the culture of fear" currently gripping Upper Grant Avenue. This "fear," which isn't palpable to any of us who actually walk and shop the street every day, was a not-so-veiled swipe at the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, the local preservationist group that went unmentioned all night but was very much the elephant in the living room in the packed, sweaty auditorium at the S.F. Art Institute.
Although this race will determine who represents all of District 3 beginning next year, Wednesday's debate was very North Beach centric. Chinatown was mentioned a few times, mostly in relation to the proposed subway extension, and increased development along the Embarcadero (something Jefferson strongly supports) was discussed briefly. But the night belonged to North Beach and the issues that got the the lion's share of the attention were the issues closest to North Beach: empty storefronts, renter protection, dirty streets, more cops on the beat.
In discussing the situation on Grant Avenue, Jefferson conceded that "high commercial rents might have something to do" with boarded up storefronts but quickly dismissed the obvious in favor of blaming the problem on the obstructionist elements (read: THD) that thwart would-be shopkeepers at every turn. Jefferson said she's talked to merchants along Grant who "are literally quaking in their boots" for fear of incurring the wrath of "the obstructionists" and their High Priestess of No, Nancy Shanahan, who likewise was never named (although Candidate Jefferson referenced her at least three times).
Fortunately, it was not a night devoted solely to Ms. Jefferson's personal obsessions.
Even working within a tightly controlled format, debate moderator Phil Bronstein looked like a guy trying to herd cats, no doubt wishing he was back negotiating with intractible newspaper unions instead. As is the case in most of these group forums, little substance emerged. But a few interesting moments, and a handful of statements, are worth noting:
* All the candidates came down squarely for small business, but Claudine Cheng did the best job of articulating a strategy that might actually create incentives for merchants who run neighborhood-serving businesses, like hardware stores, to locate to District 3. Along with extending tax breaks to merchants as a way of offsetting the ridiculous rents (an incentive favored by most of the other candidates as well), Cheng proposed an anti-blight campaign that would, among other things, put pressure on landlords who deliberately let their commercial space languish while waiting for the proverbial fatted calf to show up.
Improving transportation to specific neighborhoods would also help, Cheng said, as would maintaining cleaner streets.
* Tony Gantner, running on a green platform and backed by both the Sierra Club and San Francisco Tomorrow, was the only candidate to speak out against rampant development along the waterfront.
"I support proposals that are strictly maritime uses," Gantner said, noting that the voters passed Prop. I with that intent in mind. He added that it was important to keep the Embarcadero -- on both sides of the street -- an open and inviting place for San Franciscans. "We can't let development drive Port decisions as a way of reducing their $2 billion obligation."
* Joe Alioto Jr., another candidate who is making the care and feeding of small business the centerpiece of his campaign, said he's enjoying running this race "more than anything I've ever done." I ... I hardly know what to say.
Alioto chided the current political climate that he said makes it difficult for small businesses to thrive, saying he would work to overturn that and attract the kinds of commerce that local residents want to see. He also said he favored extending the central subway tunnel from Chinatown into North Beach.
* Denise McCarthy, a longtime community activist who gained her political experience as a Port commissioner, said her priority would be finding ways to keep families and seniors in the district. She also spoke eloquently on the subject of reaching out to undocumented immigrant children before their lives spin out of control.
* David Chiu, who has the endorsement of outgoing Supervisor Aaron Peskin, appeared to be honing his skills for an upcoming cliche festival. Chiu described himself as a "conciliator" and a "bridge builder," pledged to provide "a new generation of leadership" while finding "common ground" to "build consensus." Underneath all the dross, though, there does seem to be a viable candidate at work. Adding a speechwriter to the campaign staff couldn't hurt, though.
* Mike DeNunzio, the sole Republican in the race, defended the need to protect existing rent control laws. He pointed out that 82 percent of District 3 residents are renters, so "rent stabilization should be respected and supported by any candidate running for supervisor in this district." Jefferson, seated to DeNunzio's immediate left, didn't so much as flinch during the applause that followed.
DeNunzio also made it clear that, if elected, he'll put seniors' issues front and center down at City Hall.
* Wilma Pang made it clear to everyone in the house that she's running a grassroots campaign from the heart. "I don't have money and I don't have political support," she said. In other words, she's got no chance.
* Earl Thibodeau, who registered to run but failed to submit all the required paperwork on time and was disqualified, was invited, after some hemming and hawing, to join the other debaters even though he's now a write-in candidate.
Interestingly, none of the pro-small business candidates had much to say about the idea of working to repeal the ban on commercial rent control, the one thing that would probably help small businesspeople the most. Granted, it would be a tough fight, even a quixotic one, against long odds -- the ban is a state law -- but as the Bush administration has so ably demonstrated, laws are made to be overturned. Or broken, even.
