For my non-San Francisco readers, I apologize for back-to-back San Francisco-centric<\/a>*\u00a0posts. What can I say, I simply love my city,\u00a0affectionately\u00a0known in our house as \u201cthe progressive bubble within which we choose to live.\u201d Come for a visit sometime, it\u2019s awesome. <\/p>\n As you know, one of the things that I am very\u00a0interested\u00a0in is the political landscape of our city. A place where elections often pit \u201cthe left\u00a0against\u00a0the lefter\u201d San Francisco is both an target for those who hold a more conservative ideology as well as a place where progressive values can be tested and lived out like no other urban center. Nowhere else is this beauty playing out right now than in our current mayoral race. With this post I plan on periodically reflecting on this spirited contest that has all the crud of any political race, but is overall filled meaningful conversation and is populated with am oddly large number of truly viable candidates who. And while I may not find alignment with many of their\u00a0positions, personalities and\/or politics, I trust that each is following a call to public service and the betterment of the city we all love.<\/p>\n But first . . . full disclosure.<\/strong> As some of you know <\/em>John Avalos is my #1<\/a> \u2013 <\/em>more on ranked choice voting later<\/em> \u2013 so if that immediately\u00a0discounts\u00a0anything I say, there is not much I can do about that. What I can tell you is that I am not part of his paid staff, no one from the campaign vets my writing and I make no\u00a0assumptions\u00a0that I agree with everything that John stands for or\u00a0against. I simply trust the man and have chosen to give him my support and time. I sit in a few meetings, give some thoughts, <\/em>tweet a bit<\/a> and help coordinate the <\/em>PTA<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n With just over two-months to go, here are a few reflections:<\/p>\n RANKED CHOICE VOTING \u2013 <\/strong>This year will be San Francisco\u2019s first use of ranked choice voting<\/a> in its citywide mayoral election. We have used it for supervisor races, but never for the top office. There is much debate about whether ranked choice adds or detracts to the democratic process, but it certainly made a splash last year in the election of Jean Quan as Mayor of Oakland<\/a> and many suspect it will do so this year in San Francisco. And while I will leave it to those who are indeed smarter than a fifth grader to\u00a0decode\u00a0the complicated\u00a0matrices\u00a0to figure out how many votes are needed to be elected, I do think it has created some subtle changes to process.<\/p>\n Ranked choice voting will force voters to have a greater dialog about a wider pool of candidates. Rather than having to convince your friend or neighbor why they should vote for your person and abandon their long-time candidate, you can honestly say, \u201cGreat, I\u2019m glad Tony Hall<\/a> is your number one, but would you consider giving Terry Baum<\/a> your #2? Conversely, if you are split and really do like more than one person, you can take part in the election should your #1 get dropped early. I have found that in my conversations with folks that this shift in strategy forces supporters to\u00a0acknowledge\u00a0commonalities between candidates and is an early positive result of the ranked choice process.<\/p>\n NEW ENTRIES<\/strong> \u2013 While I was on vacation<\/a> a few more folks jumped into the race, Public Defender Jeff Adachi and \u201cInterim\u201d Mayor, Ed Lee.<\/a> I have never met\u00a0either\u00a0of them, but Jeff and I share the hometown of Sacramento and at a recent debate<\/a>, I was really impressed with his energy and honesty. He seems like another viable candidate, and while he may get pegged as only about\u00a0the\u00a0reformation\u00a0of the San Francisco pension system<\/a> he should\u00a0probably not be discounted.\u00a0As far as Ed Lee is concerned, while I have not decided on my #2 or #3, it is safe to say that Mayor Ed Lee will not be in my ballot come November 8th. When I saw the announcement I was not totally\u00a0surprised, but I was\u00a0disappointed. As one who has worked to help institutions think about meaningful change, I had been impressed by his ability to leverage his interim status in order to bring a change of tone to city hall. We each certainly have the\u00a0prerogative<\/a> to change our mind, but I have yet to hear of any compelling reason that he chose to go back on his promise to many people that he would not seek the\u00a0permanent\u00a0office or any\u00a0acknowledgment\u00a0that it might be because of these very promises that folks saw his leadership in a different light. All of this prompted\u00a0this facebook status update<\/a> which I still stand behind and makes\u00a0clear\u00a0where I am on Ed Lee\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n Much of the reason that Ed Lee has been an effective INTERIM Mayor is precisely because he is an INTERIM who promised NOT to seek the office. This move has negated the positive foundation [that] has been built for the next mayor to build upon. A great INTERIM mayor and city administrator, but Ed Lee has lost the support of this SF voter for either office. FWIW: I support\u00a0John Avalos<\/a> and now ANYONE but Ed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n These two new\u00a0entries, in addition to the rest of the field,\u00a0will also create some\u00a0interesting\u00a0relationship tests as there are many of us who are friends and colleagues in other\u00a0political\u00a0and social arenas. I\u00a0trust\u00a0that we will all stay friends and i am simply looking at this as a great witness to our collective\u00a0commitment\u00a0to local politics and civic engagement.<\/p>\n THE PERSON AND THE CANDIDATE <\/strong>\u2013 Whenever I talk with folks who are far more involved in the campaign than I, I always try to ask them how they are doing. I don\u2019t do this because I am part of Team Avalos<\/a> and I\u00a0appreciate\u00a0their work, but\u00a0because\u00a0it is important for us not to lose perspective during the intensity of a\u00a0political\u00a0campaign. Regardless of what you think about a person\u2019s politics, we should remember that when they enter the race they embark on a\u00a0grueling\u00a0period of time where they are taxed physically, emotionally and spiritually. Sure they have each chosen this\u00a0journey, but we must still keep in mind that Mayoral\u00a0candidates don\u2019t\u00a0all of a sudden get placed in a life vacuum removing the pressures and commitments of everyday life. As much as I may disagree with what they do, say or\u00a0believe, I always try to remember that they each have families, supporters, friends and limits. As we approach election day and things get heated up, I suspect that many of us will need to be reminded of this more than once.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s it for now. I\u2019ll post again on this if and when there are enough random musings screaming to be release from my head. If you are around this week, on Tuesday night I\u2019ll be a the 2011 San Francisco Arts Forum<\/a> \u2013 hashtag #SFMayorArts<\/a><\/em> \u2013\u00a0where I\u2019ll be hanging out with other candidates social media folks and\u00a0live-tweeting<\/a> for @AvalosSF<\/a>. Stop by and say howdy!<\/p>\n
\n[image: KCIvey<\/a>]<\/p>\n