Watching City Hall #389 (8-17-05)

"It's nobody's fault.
We just needed someone to blame."

(Elvis Costello counsels Pat Murphy)

Boy, you talk about mother fuckin' dog days of summer. When the biggest story on the local scene is that Chris Daly is on the outs with Pat Murphy (sorry you had to be involved in this one, Luke, believe me, it pre-dates you) ... I mean, c'mon, there are lots of major stories there. For instance.

Herrera's 4 'aces in da hole' squelch opposition

'Unopposed' for City Attorney? That's because of Dennis' acumen in dealing himself a support staff including Matt Dorsey, Cathy Garza, Jerry Threet & Adriel Hampton (see WCH #289 - 'What's Dennis building in his basement?') ... like having secretaries with gun permits and shooting awards in previous contests. Sadly, the Herrera 'next step' (my guess) of a move to the Attorney General's office was short-circuited by the deflating (to Dennis) sound of the flop of Jerry Brown's hat into the ring. However, the overall effect was to move Herrera into the #2 slot of bankable local political lites (Gav's da boy) on the Democratic slate. Still, you gotta give the guy credit. He's snowed Bruce Brugman so well that the big ole bearded one has forgotten that Dennis still hasn't moved to enforce the Raker Act. He neatly dodged (so far) the Comcast Contract debacle by claiming the venerable "I was only acting on behalf of my client." (dat wud be Gavin - who als o distanced himself from the nation's most unpopular monopoly this week in his 'wi-fi' speech - only Peskin & Pier appeared ready to stand by their local communications monster). Look for further mix-ups between Gavin and Dennis for top spot on the local party's ticket for whatever is available on the next floor up. I understand that Wednesday's dinners with Herrera & Kamala Harris and Peskin are the second most desirable place setting of the week. Second to (of course) ...

h.'s salon, hottest ticket in town

OK, it was Adriel's idea. We were having our usual friday lunch a couple of months back and he looked at me (I was still hung-over at 1pm) and said something like: "We should invite someone else."

I invited Krissy Keefer cause I ain't dumb. ... It's worked out. There are around 30 of us and we're over a dozen each week and every single one of the bastards is worth their own movie. Our only problem is outgrowing our weekly space. This week, Herb Caen's kid, Christopher is on the menu. Art Bruzzone showed up once and left us all praising his brilliance. Not that 'brilliance' (yeah, he's bright in the ghetto too) ... not that smarts are any stranger to us. Angela Alioto is smarter than Art as is Matt Gonzalez. They're regulars as schedules allow and the people listening to them and responding are at least as smart as them. We get many suggestions for where we should take our little weekly soirees. The places have to have plenty of seating and be cheap and close to City Hall. Normally, I'd just have them up to my own pied a' terre near City Hall but I'm only allowed one guest at a time. This week's suggestion is the best yet. It comes fr om a regular member of the ever- moving lunch.

"We need to buy a school bus and turn all the seats backwards.
... Except for the last 3 or 4 seats and you take them out.
That way, you get space for 30 to 40 people facing a natural theatre space.
You can pick people up at City Hall or the Courts or wherever they work.
We have to check and see if everyone except the driver can be drunk.
Other than that, I don't really see a problem."

(unknown source)

There's other news more important than that but it's hard to imagine. Herrera's coup leads the pack. Any politician will tell you that. Especially in a race for a City-wide office, to have no opposition at all should send off a huge red light and it does with me tho I find myself strangely wanting to say that: "Dennis Herrera is the finest, most upstanding American I've ever known." And, stuff like that.

Kudos to Heather Fong but the cops still suck

People with memories longer than their things remember the days back around 5 years ago when Leland Yee and Tom Ammiano used to call hearings (Tom was the President of the Board in a difficult period) to consider something (anything) to do with the SFPD and have absolutely no one show up to testify. I mean, that was embarassing. No cops. Not one. No Chief. No deputies. No captains. No friggin' crossing guard from the Polk Street entry (although we had one then). That was because Willie Brown made a deal with the POA that granted them a papal level immunity to their earthly activity for as long as they supported (and contributed cash) to his political campaigns. The POA (that's 'Police Officers Association' for those of you who don't know the name of the union that reps the steroid-ridden San Francisco Police force) ... Fong showed up at a lengthly meeting of a Board hearing regarding 'Community Policing' last week and she remained (an d, kept her top brass) ... she was there to the bitter end. It was, like 6 hours, people.

Sadly, the force doesn't listen to Heather Fong. Nope. Not even a little bit. She can order them on foot patrols all she wants. They ain't gonna do it. Fong's dedication is unquestioned. She has certainly won me over in the last year. But, it's like rooting for an undersized linebacker moving up to take on King Kong. The lady has courage but she is hopelessly outgunned. The real head of the department is newly re-elected POA President Gary Delagnes who runs somewhere to the right of David Duke on the political scale.

Delagnes is powerful because the force is made up of a couple of thousand red necks carefully chosen from a canvas of rural trailer parks and annointed by a citizens advisory panel that features the likes of Steven Courrier who never met a uniform that didn't make him cream in his jeans. It's that simple. Until cops are chosen from the neighborhoods in which they will serve (for their entire careers as possible) ... chosen by councils of neighborhood representatives and vetted at public hearings, you're going to continue to get the kind of 'Cops', trailer park trash police coverage that we presently endure. The only way to make that happen is to dump the mayor or to get him to agree to remove every member of the PD command staff who hate the people and idea of actual San Francisco. Neither is gonna happen.

So? So, the big news (remember, I only had to beat 'Chris Daly attacks sometimes personal groupie, Pat Murphy') ... the big news is that Fong stood up to the POA and that Delagnes continues to mock her and that the ball is in Gavin's court. Incidentally, during the 'suspicious bag' incident at da Hall last week, a friend (Salon regular - I don't usually note this) ... Michael Strickland (civiccenter.com?) ... Michael was heading into his apartment and caught the most amazing film of a couple of steroid-crazed (my characterization - Michael just noted that they were more inspired than others on the call) ... got some great shots of the cops playing out their fantasies, when suddenly. ... An older white guy in a suit shows up and their attitudes change instantly. Suddenly, they're all smiles. Michael doesn't know who the guy is. I look and chuckle. It's Professor Peter Keane. Also, Commissioner Peter Keane of the Police Commission. They know him well. They've been required to watch a hate film created by POA head Delagnes which was circulated through the precincts without the knowledge of the Chief of Police. The film attacked Keane and called him a commie and the usual shit you haven't heard since they stopped showing 'Dragnet'.

I was there. Coming out of a Board hearing on the Comcast bullshit. I saw Delagnes directing cops and deputies around on the 'bomb' scene. I yelled across the street: "Hey Gary, what's it like to be police chief!!??!!" The deputies and cops roared with laughter. Charles Kalish, riding his bike alongside me, shook his head and looked at the pavement. Delagnes copied Charles.

More cop bullshit

If you want to shoot the mayor or blow up City Hall, just come to the Polk Street entrance. The cop who did the crosswalk for school kids and nuns and nuts is no more. "I have other duties." Thus spake the officer (one was to give supe, Ross Mirkarimi a tow job and thousand dollar tab for his girlfriend's car - when I questioned this, guy got belligerant and said I should ask the "Building Manager" about the ticket) ... they don't protect the Mayor at this critical juncture (I've personally complained about shopping carts full of who-the-fuck-knows-what, parked at the entry with no police interest) ... they don't protect the mayor. They don't protect the citizenry. They don't even get out of their cars. They all live somewhere else and got their jobs because they're crazed right-wing nuts.

Unfortunately, I'm only exaggerating a bit. I live right across the street from the most visible failure in San Francisco policing. That would be U.N. Plaza. They have stopped patrolling it. I shit you not. When they had the U.N. thing here a few weeks back, they kept a 24 hour presence on the plaza. That's all history. Maybe one cop a shift making a special premier performance. Someone no one ever saw before. That's because they never walked a beat before. And, most of them won't walk. No matter what. They come out with these mountain bikes and use the tires as clubs to run into prone drunks.

But, like I say, they aren't there anymore, even with the mountain bikes. I pass through the plaza at least a dozen times a day and trust me, the local Captain has made it clear that he/she? doesn't care if it remains the domain of every druggie & pervert in the state. Too dangerous for the POA.

Put bluntly, the failure of the SFPD to re-connect with the community is a huge story that is untold. Like the rural elements of the Chinese Army brought in to kill the student protestors at Tianeman Square (the local militia refused to shoot), they have no ties to the people here. They lack single foot patrols (only way to meet the people) and are (like the murderers from Peking) chosen for their hates of the primary values of the people they are sent to suppress. That's your police force for the most part, folks. Steroid-loaded, right-wing hate mongers who want you dead or locked up. When the time comes, they will not hesitate to fire into a crowd of demonstrators. Have a nice day.

"Yeah, working the front door at a pot club is stressful.
You know that at any moment, a robber or a cop
can come through that door, put a gun in my face
and take away all the money and medical marijuana."

(a 'robbee')

That's enough for now.