McGoldrick, Migden and Mommyhood: It's Wednesday Cookys!!

Are We We Gonna Have to Separate You Two? 

As you may recall, in January of this year, it came to light that there were some staff members in the Mistermayor’s office and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development whose salaries were partially funded by the half-cent sales tax set-aside for the Municipal Transportation Authority. To the tune of about $655k. Wade Crowfoot, the Mayor’s Director of Climate Protection Initiatives whose salary was partially funded by Muni money became the poster boy for allegations of abuse of Muni funds for non-MTA purposes. And boy, oh boy! People were outraged!

Supervisor McGoldrick vowed that heads would roll! The Board of Supervisors unanimously demanded that the money be returned!!

And Mistermayor’s office was all: First of all, this is all perfectly legitimate. Second of all, who are these angry people? What's a "supervisor"? Security!

Cue to May 2008. McGoldrick proposed a Charter amendment for the November ballot that would reduce the Mayor's control over MTA appointments. In June, Mistermayor put a proposed ordinance on the ballot that would give the Mayor's office more control over the Transportation Authority. According to Supervisor McGoldrick, Phil Ginsburg, the Mayor’s then-Chief of Staff, agreed to take the Mayor’s transportation measure off the table if McGoldrick would do the same. McGoldrick allowed his measure to die. But the August 1 deadline for the Mayor to remove his own transportation initiative came and went.

So, McGoldrick was all: Dude, W(T)F? We had a deal!

And Mistermayor’s Office was all: Listen Mr. MacGoldilocks, or whatever your name is, we had no such deal. Now seriously, stop calling.

Because he is half-French and half-Irish, I imagine Supervisor McGoldrick wrote Mistermayor a beautifully sad poem whilst smoking a rolled cigarette, then got rilly drunk and tore it up. Later, he called his friend, Supervisor Peskin, who brought over The English Patient, Kleenex and Chunky Monkey ice cream for a pity party and the conversation at some point turned to revenge. At least I think that's what happened. What I know is that McGoldrick and Peskin are suddenly back on the Mayor-Muni-money horse. At the August 12 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, McGoldrick announced that he and Peskin are asking the City Attorney to draft a Charter amendment that will “prohibit the use of Muni funds for staffing that [is] unrelated to anything at all regarding Muni in any direct way in the Mayor’s office."

When this issue came up in January folks at the Mayor’s office said that people whose salaries are paid by Muni (even Wade Crowfoot) are doing Muni-related-stuff. So, until we get a definition of the “direct way” Muni-funded employees would have to be engaged in transportation work, it remains to be seen whom this might affect. I mean, aside from the voters. Who would once again have to act as the Applause-o-Meter that settles disputes in the City Hall Dysfunctional Family Feud.

I Got No Place Else Ta Go!!

Having lost the election to be the Democratic Party nominee for her California State Senate seat by the overwhelming vote of a disappointed and bewildered public and embroiled in a fight with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) over campaign finance irregularities, what will Carole Migden do now? She’d be fired from any private sector job faster than she can yell: “Re-heat my latte!”

What sort of place would embrace a graduate of the Attila the Hun’s Charm School whose ego so vastly outstrips her abilities? The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, of course!  Rumors are swirling that Carole Migden is eying a run for the District 6 Board of Supervisors seat. The position will be vacant in 2010 when the current D6 supervisor, Chris Daly, is termed out. And, while anything is possible, there may be another reason for the rumors. 

In October of 2007, the FPPC prohibited Migden from spending $647k in old campaign funds on the June 2008 race for the Democratic Party nomination to the District 3 seat in the State Senate. (Basically ‘cause she didn’t report those funds like you’re s’posed to.) Back in April, Migden was granted a temporary order that allowed her to spend those funds – thus allowing her continue the D3 campaign. Having lost the June election, Migden is now seeking to have the temporary order tuned into a permanent order. A court filing on her behalf says the permanent order is necessary to (among other things) “allow Senator Migden to use the funds for future campaign activity.”

According to court documents, Migden’s people are presently in settlement negotiations with the FPPC. And because her position would be bolstered by a proclaimed need to use any money leftover from the D3 campaign in some other specific endeavor like a supervisorial run…well, let’s just say that when it comes to Migden, nothing would surprise me.

The Fine Print

What you read: On Monday, the California State Supreme Court ruled that freedom of religion cannot be used as grounds for a doctor to refuse to perform fertility treatments on a lesbian. Yay! And also: Duh.

What you didn’t read: The Defendant in that case, Christine Brody, has claimed all along that her religious objection to performing the fertility treatment on the lesbionic Guadalupe Benitez was the fact that Benitez is unmarried, not that she is gay.

Sidebar: Obviously aside from some…uh…unique circumstances, until May of this year, in California (the lawsuit originated in San Diego) being a lesbian necessarily meant being unmarried.

Because the law at issue (the Unruh Act) prohibited discrimination on the basis of LGBT status, not marital status, Brody will still be able to argue in court (the case is far from over) that Benitez's marital status, not her lesbianism was the basis for the religious objection.

Sidebar: Yeah right. I’m sure, Brody is a total hag. Often people whose religious beliefs require them to refuse fertility treatments to unmarried people are totally cool with gay folk.

According to the Court’s ruling, Brody treated Benitez for infertility for almost a year (August 1999 to June 2000) by prescribing Clomid, an ovulation-inducing medication. Benitez then self-administered semen from a sperm bank. Yeah. I can't stop the mental pictures either. What Brody (and another doctor) refused to do was intrauterine insemination - creating a semen superhighway with a catheter right into the uterus.

Sidebar: And, lo, the Lord sayeth unto thee, “Thou shalt aid the barren unwed mother to bear fruit…unless it might actually work.” Enconsystensies, 99:420.

--Melissa

PS - My very dear friend Brian Leubitz is running for Vice-Chair of the California Democratic Party. I don't know what a Vice-Chair does (though it sounds fun to sit in) but I do know that Brian would make a great [insert whatever he wants to be]. Because he is a wonderful, brilliant, earnest, kind, hard-working Gentleman. And no, I have no idea why he hangs out with me. Only delegates to next year's convention and the Democratic State Central Committee can vote, but you can bet your ass I'll be taking notes in the coming months on who supports him and who don't. Then I'll write mean things about his non-supporters' hair and clothing. Really, really mean things.