Watching City Hall #348, (3-03-05)

“When evil-doing comes like falling rain, nobody calls out ‘stop!’ When crimes begin to pile up they become invisible. When sufferings become unendurable the cries are no longer heard.”

(Brecht)

That Bertolt guy, he knew his shit. Boss Tweed told Lincoln Steffens about the same thing in New York City at about the same time that Brecht was being born in Augsburg, capital of Bavarian Swabia in 1898.

Yeah, Tweed told Steffens that if he only did one bad thing that the people would discover it and rally around it and he’d be finished. He noted that by doing countless numbers of bad things, people began to believe that it was simply the nature of the beast and took no action. … Well, welcome to SF politics. Let’s take a look at some dirty doings that are gonna cost you money, comfort, perhaps your home …

Hellman/Fisher finish annexing SFUSD

Warren Hellman interviewed and approved SFUSD superintendent, Arlene Ackerman for her present position. The only public record of this is in a ceremony at one of the museums where Ackerman was introduced as a new trustee of the City’s multi-billion dollar art collection. The interview came up. One of my contacts provided me with a record of the comments. Who knew (probably not Ackerman) that she was in for a closely supervised short run during which Hellman and Fisher would recreate the template upon which they captured control of the L.A. schools in a movement with Eli Broad, Dick Reardon and Bebe Bros. Construction.

Ackerman hit town at the end of a rail that extended to Washington, D.C. which is where they attached her and kick-started her out of town tied back to back with chief aide, Elois Brooks (titled: Chief Academic Officer here). As she’s done in San Francisco, Ackerman failed mightily at managing schools, but scored off the chart in the areas of arrogance and bile. Over 2 dozen schools in the D.C. system privatized (became ‘Charter’ schools) … this might give you some idea as to why she hates charters so much.

That’s all history. Today’s news is that Ackerman will be out on or around June 30th which is when her partner, Brooks will become eligible for full lifetime health benefits from SFUSD. The pair will leave town roughly a million to the good. … Their replacements are already on the job.

Hellman and Fisher hired a new Chief Financial Officer for the District. They hired a new Chief Facilities Officer. Through SFSOS, their right-wing billionaires slush fund, they’ve paid the salaries of this pair and recently added another interesting person.

That would be Harlem super-principal, Lorraine Monroe whom Fisher and Hellman have given $150,000 to act as some sort of consultant to SFUSD in which capacity, the Examiner’s Bonnie Eslinger notes, the two playful billionaires have flown her back and forth across the country.

Is Monroe (who promised to curse critics of Ackerman) to be the new token black figurehead superintendent of SFUSD? Seems unlikely. Lady has her own foundation. However, buying the endorsements of high profile black leaders is something Hellman and Fisher understand well. The local SFSOS charm bracelet of black ‘leadership’ is a very heavy piece of bling bling. They paid over $100 grand to get Jesse Jackson to come in and speak in favor of forcing the rest of the black people out of the Bay View during the last mayor’s race (ok, maybe he didn’t know that’s what Gavin’s really about). In other bad news …

Shaw, Haaland & Gullickson say ‘Fuck the tenants!’

The more serious wonks of you out there will have read Henry George’s seminal ‘Progress and Poverty’, written in San Francisco well over a hundred years ago. In the work, George posits that the only way to maintain a diversity in the SF population is to remove the factor of land speculation from the real estate equation. At least in some instances.

A hundred years plus down the line, George’s philosophy is reflected in the modern ‘Land Trust’ concept. Isolated bands of ‘George-ists’ have struggled against developer interests in attempts to create trusts for individual buildings and larger properties. The recently departed Matt Gonzalez introduced the matter into the public debate 3 years or so back. Chris Daly picked up the issue as Matt faded from the fray. Word from recent meetings is that Randy Shaw of Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Robert Haaland of SEIU 790 and Ted Gullickson of the Tenants Union have joined to oppose the formation of land trusts in the City. Like it ain’t enough you gotta fight Sangiacomo and Shorenstein. Now, you gotta watch your back in your own back yard.

Think about what this trinity of phonies are doing. First, they’ve lost on every front in the war to halt gentrification. Shaw, for one, regularly makes deals with the most avaricious of developers as long as he gets a piece of the pie. As they lose, the lower-caste of SF (which includes all of the really cool people) loses housing. Yet, they refuse to endorse solutions that would make entire buildings not only affordable to the poor, but will allow them to attain ownership of their dwellings.

Shaw and Gullickson would rather crawl on their bellies for crumbs from the Sangiacomo table. 10%? 15%? Yeah, and the percentage matters not. Fact is that what Shaw and his cohorts accept as a definition of ‘affordable’ is beyond the means of just about every artist and dancer and writer in San Francisco. But, Shaw gets either control or outright ownership of this ‘off-site’ housing tossed out the windows of the speeding limos like so many gnawed chicken bones. Henry George was right, folks. Land trusts will happen. They just won’t happen until this unholy gang-of-three are removed from the equation.

Things you didn’t notice

Local politicos dodged a bullet at the recent Chinese New Year’s Day parade. Chinese parade organizers noted to any who would listen that not only would they not allow the Falon Gong (110 million strong in China – they outnumber the Communists) … not only would they not allow them to march but that they weren’t too happy and, in fact, had been forced to allow floats positive to the idea of Gay Marriage to join the procession. They noted that they don’t particularly like gay people either.

So, don’t get me to laughing here. … Imagine you’re Mike Farrah and you’re reading all of this in the paper and you’ve got your well-spun mayor getting ready to sit in the back of an antique convertible and wave his support of these bunch of Klan-wannabee assholes by simply appearing in the parade.

Not that Gavin was alone. Even new 5th District overlord, Ross Mirkarimi was in line for the cameras (albeit on a bicycle – Dave Snyder’s idea?) … Everyone saved face when parade organizers backed down on the Falon Gong issue. Still don’t know if they changed their minds about all that queer stuff.

Pot studies are Wayne Justmann’s idea

Dennis Peron and Wayne Justmann are the co-parents of medicinal pot in San Francisco. When D5 supe, Ross Mirkarimi broached the idea of establishing some regulations for our clubs, it shocked me. I assumed Ross was carrying water for the mayor or, worse yet, the cops.

Couldn’t have been further from the truth and I apologize. It was potentate pot poppa’s idea to get a handle on the scene. I spoke with Justmann during a Board hearing a couple of days ago and he assured me he hasn’t gone over to the DEA. I believe, brother, … I believe.

Press Rawanda continues

When the SFPD cares enough to send the very best, they don’t send their Chief. They don’t send Greg Suhr. They sure as shit don’t send Denis O’Leary or Greg Corrales.

They send Sergeant Neville Gittens. And, he keeps his cool. … Oh, they sent a lawyer to sit next to him and whisper advice but the hearing before Board President Aaron Peskin’s Government Audit and Oversight Committee belonged to Gittens on the cops’ side. The only blue uniform in the room was worn by Gittens.

“There’s no way we can keep track of 1,800 reporters.”
(Gittens)

It was kind of cute the way the long and lanky Gittens pretended that the entire idea of pulling press credentials from 1,100 reporters was actually HIS idea. Yeah, uh huh, you heard me. The cops have pulled over a thousand press passes and placards over the past year and a half.

When I asked police chief Heather Fong why the cops were pulling credentials and she referred all questions to Gittens, the sergeant. So, he’s in charge and he’s trying to say that it is necessary to “keep track” of reporters.

Now, why the fuck is that? There isn’t a single anecdotal case of anyone using a press pass to commit a crime. Unless you consider criticizing the cops to be a crime. Doesn’t Gittens know that he’s just duplicating the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security? Hell, everyone can’t film and follow and bug us.

Folks, this is just another example of the disconnect between the cops and the rest of the planet. They don’t care about anyone or anything. Their mission in life is to make their lives easier and better paid and they’ll do absolutely anything to push those goals forward. Helicopters dangerous? Get rid of em. Police kiosks dangerous? … Dump em. Riding on the buses getting too close to the people? … Just stop doing it. Same with beat cops (it is amazing the lengths these people will go to, to save shoe leather – they go from cars to motorcycles to bicycles – anything to keep from walking) … don’t like the press you’re getting? Shit, take away all the press passes. Don’t like a critical police commissioner? Just make a film slandering him and show it at all the precincts. Don’t like whistle-blowers within the department? Get together a bunch of old boy brass and tell lies about the honest cops … ‘until you die’.

Solutions

Most of the press in the room thought that the cops shouldn’t have any part in issuing press passes. The California Highway Patrol stopped issuing them altogether last year. They simply instructed reporters to get credentials from their own agencies and they make decisions on a case-by-case basis on whether they like you enough to let you close to the Arnold (gotta barf bag?).

Gittens said he’d consider allowing separate credentials for some areas of the City (presumably, City Hall). I tossed in that you allow strangers to pick up your mothers and wives and children all the time with no more check upon their trustworthiness than a $5, 5 minute records check at the PD. Those would be cab drivers. Perhaps, instead of a piece of paper, the cops can give a small sticker that reporters can attach to their own agencies passes.

Does this relate to the Patriot’s Act?

I think McGoldrick is taking smart pills or something. Giving proper credit to Jerry Threet, his Chief of Staff for his first term for putting together the presentation, Jake went after the fascists in D.C. by moving to make the Patriot Act a ‘Watch Law’. I’m not quite sure, but I think it means: “Watch Out!!” (kind of like a ‘lookout’ block in football). District 1’s top dawg was upset to learn that not only were City employees (like in the library or hospital) not only are they not allowed to refuse requests from the feds (“Usually the FBI” noted one speaker) … not only can employees not refuse to comply, they are also forbidden to tell anyone about the request. McGoldrick won plaudits from Michela Alioto-Pier’s Rules Committee when he said that the Board should agree to stand between their employees, particularly department heads who are approached by the feds. … It kind of makes you wonder how many Homeland Security people have been mining City data bases and continue to do so. (Smile, Eric’s watching!)

It was a great hearing for Jake McGoldrick. One of his best. This is deep doo, folks and the end is not in sight.

Sandoval tackles Comcast – City Attorney tackles air

Gerardo Sandoval has thick skin. I’ve seen him really pissed off about 5 times in the last 5 years which ain’t bad. It takes a tall hill of incompetence and a total snub to get the boss of District 11 riled up.

He got both from the Department of Telecommunications during a hearing before Sophie Maxwell’s Land Use committee yesterday.

“We gave you $200,000 to bring in an outside consultant to advise us as to how to get the best deal from Comcast. Why haven’t you done it?” Yeah, it was an uncomfortable moment for the DTS chief (whose name I clean forgets) when he and his sole remaining contracts officer, Brian Roberts took the stand and faced Vice Chair Sandoval.

They really and truly hadn’t done shit. … Worst thing is, they blamed it all on the City Attorney’s office and when the dip-wad Deputy City Attorney assigned (didn’t catch his name either – don’t wanna overload you with details) … the deputy pretty much told them to lay off the god damned contract because they were gonna do it and if they needed any help, they were gonna use a firm they already had in-house. Shades of Louise Renne.

In fact, Sandoval didn’t learn much and neither did we until the public started speaking. Union reps and other watch-dogs explained that the SF mouthpieces had no contract information because Comcast hadn’t completed a single contract in California for a long time. They drag everything out. They lie. They cheat. They steal. But, … you already knew that.

Well, that’s enough of that for now folks. If I weren’t so busy having fun watching the Board and partying like hell with wild-eyed lefties (you shudda seen the party that swallowed last night’s trivia contest at Dylan’s last night). … And on. And on.

Cameras calm cops: