Last night, actor/director/activist George Takei gave the introduction to a Commonwealth Club of California program with bipartisan legal team David Boies and Ted Olson; it was moderated by the state's lt. governor, Gavin Newsom.
The sound isn't the best; my apologies, but I recorded it on my phone. And I'm afraid I wasn't quick enough turning it on to catch his opening trademark "Oh, myyyyyyy," which is what the laughter is for at the beginning of this clip.
This program took place on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions overturning DOMA and California's Prop 8.
Showing posts with label gavin newsom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gavin newsom. Show all posts
Friday, June 27, 2014
Monday, March 14, 2011
San Francisco City Hall Hits the Snooze Button: My Latest Northside Column
Common Knowledge
No gadfly in City Hall
By John Zipperer
Published March 2011
San Francisco faces a tragedy that no amount of budget scrimping or constitutional tinkering seems likely to change. Simply put, our fair city might lose its place in the national pantheon of political train wrecks.
The new Board of Supervisors that took office in January is, well, boring, if you agree with a recent Bay Citizen report. After years of public sniping and snubbing and wild accusations among certain supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom, things have calmed down so much that Dr. Phil would be proud.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Voting in San Francisco: Supervisors Unclear on the Concept
Yesterday during our lunch hour, a group of coworkers gathered around a table and went through the statewide propositions on this fall's ballot. It's a semi-regular practice where I work that allows us to share what knowledge we have about the often-times confusing and contradictory questions that are put to California voters in an attempt to do an end-run around the state legislature. What's even funnier is when the state legislators themselves get a proposition on the ballot; talk about not having self-confidence in your ability to do your own job.
This morning, I filled out and sealed my mail-in ballot (see photo). It took about 20-25 minutes, which involved filling out five different forms with lists of names for people seeking elected offices, as expected; well, actually about half of the forms involved propositions for the state and for the city & county of San Francisco.
The state propositions were the usual mix of back-and-forth over taxing and spending and environmental regulations (which is really usually about money, too, in the end). I was prepared for those, because we had gone through voter guides during our lunchtime meeting, so I knew both sides of the arguments (some, admittedly, laughable) for the props and I made my selections.
In fact, as we wrapped up our lunch meeting, I said that I didn't know if there were any local referenda on the ballot this year, but there usually is something silly, such as the Board of Supervisors (our version of a city council) trying to force the mayor to appear before them a minimum number of times. We laughed; meeting broke up.
Today, what do I find on the ballot? A question about forcing the mayor to appear before the Board of Supervisors a minimum number of times. That's not the strangest part; those honors have to go to the fact that this is the second time San Franciscans have had to vote on this same question. Voters rejected this silly proposal the last time it was put before them, and I certainly hope they will reject it this time.
If it sounds perfectly normal for a mayor to meet regularly with his community's elected council, please consider that San Francisco's Supervisors are not perfectly normal. Not to sound like a right-winger here, but the Board has a majority of members dedicated to a decades-out-of-date political agenda (they did recently vote to make Monday's "Meatless Mondays," which always reminds me of "Taco Tuesdays" – and I don't think that was their intention). As a result, the housing and commercial development market is terribly expensive and distorted in the city. The cost of doing business here is very high. The schools are a disaster. Criminals are treated with kid gloves, if the offenders are undocumented aliens. You get the idea.
So I always figured that it was a feather in Mayor Gavin Newsom's cap that he refused to subject himself to the Supes' presence.
I hope this is the last time the Supes play their he's-just-not-that-into-us game at the ballot box. But with some of the whackier supervisors being termed out this year, and with Newsom likely headed to Sacramento as lt. governor, there might just be a new cast of characters to continue the never-ending, Highlander-like fight.
The state propositions were the usual mix of back-and-forth over taxing and spending and environmental regulations (which is really usually about money, too, in the end). I was prepared for those, because we had gone through voter guides during our lunchtime meeting, so I knew both sides of the arguments (some, admittedly, laughable) for the props and I made my selections.
In fact, as we wrapped up our lunch meeting, I said that I didn't know if there were any local referenda on the ballot this year, but there usually is something silly, such as the Board of Supervisors (our version of a city council) trying to force the mayor to appear before them a minimum number of times. We laughed; meeting broke up.
Today, what do I find on the ballot? A question about forcing the mayor to appear before the Board of Supervisors a minimum number of times. That's not the strangest part; those honors have to go to the fact that this is the second time San Franciscans have had to vote on this same question. Voters rejected this silly proposal the last time it was put before them, and I certainly hope they will reject it this time.
If it sounds perfectly normal for a mayor to meet regularly with his community's elected council, please consider that San Francisco's Supervisors are not perfectly normal. Not to sound like a right-winger here, but the Board has a majority of members dedicated to a decades-out-of-date political agenda (they did recently vote to make Monday's "Meatless Mondays," which always reminds me of "Taco Tuesdays" – and I don't think that was their intention). As a result, the housing and commercial development market is terribly expensive and distorted in the city. The cost of doing business here is very high. The schools are a disaster. Criminals are treated with kid gloves, if the offenders are undocumented aliens. You get the idea.
So I always figured that it was a feather in Mayor Gavin Newsom's cap that he refused to subject himself to the Supes' presence.
I hope this is the last time the Supes play their he's-just-not-that-into-us game at the ballot box. But with some of the whackier supervisors being termed out this year, and with Newsom likely headed to Sacramento as lt. governor, there might just be a new cast of characters to continue the never-ending, Highlander-like fight.
Monday, March 29, 2010
My New Column in Northside San Francisco
The new issue of Northside San Francisco is out (in print and online), and it includes my first column for the publication. The column's called Common Knowledge, and this month it features my city's mayor (and probably future state lt. governor), Gavin Newsom.
Everything’s relative in Newsom’s next race
By John Zipperer
When San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made his abortive run for the office of California governor, he was the Democratic Party’s liberal candidate. So I was surprised when my friend Gina said that Newsom had been her preferred candidate. Gina’s politics are solidly center or even center-right; she’s a Facebook fan of John McCain. What, I asked, was Newsom’s appeal? “He’s practical,” she said. “I like his pragmatism.”
Everything’s relative in Newsom’s next race
By John Zipperer
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Nancy Pelosi, Health-Care Hero?
Saturday night politics:
It's looking like my congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, is the muscle behind the health-care push. If we get some sort of health-care reform out of this government, it'll be to her credit.
Also, props to my mayor, Gavin Newsom, who was fantastic on the health-care issue last night on HBO's Bill Maher program. He was particularly strong in making the small businessman's case for health-care reform, drawing both on his restaurant business experience and on San Francisco's efforts to create universal health-care on a local level.
Sometimes, our politicians do deliver.
It's looking like my congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, is the muscle behind the health-care push. If we get some sort of health-care reform out of this government, it'll be to her credit.
Also, props to my mayor, Gavin Newsom, who was fantastic on the health-care issue last night on HBO's Bill Maher program. He was particularly strong in making the small businessman's case for health-care reform, drawing both on his restaurant business experience and on San Francisco's efforts to create universal health-care on a local level.
Sometimes, our politicians do deliver.
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