Compiled by Kim Geiger
H. Brown
“My promise is to fire your boss. That would be 61 department heads and hundreds of commissioners, agency and authority directors and their PR staffs. I will replace them with veteran city employees from within those departments, agencies and authorities.”
“I believe in God, judgment and the SF 49ers.”
H. Brown is a journalist and runs a blog, sbulldog.com, which discusses arts and politics in San Francisco.
George Davis
“This is a one issue campaign which is to make Golden Gate Park clothing optional like the major urban parks in Europe. For other policy issues, a well-known city manager will be appointed.”
George Davis says he sees his campaign as part of an international movement to promote a free body culture. Author of “Naked Yoga,” Davis has dedicated his life to promoting this lifestyle. Check out his website: gonakedyoga.com
Since beginning his campaign for mayor, Davis has been arrested by San Francisco police four times for being naked in public — charges he says the San Francisco district attorney has cleared him of.
Lonnie Holmes
“I know San Francisco should use an intelligent approach to public service to make every neighborhood safe.”
A juvenile programs director at the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department and guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, Holmes is also a youth football and basketball coach and has worked to raise money for child education efforts and providing food for low income families.
Harold Hoogasian
“San Francisco’s budget and payroll is out of control. I will stop the ridiculous, unending increases.”
The most conservative candidate of the bunch, Hoogasian, a flower shop owner and coffee farmer says he will reign in government spending and stop government waste.
“Grasshopper” Alec Kaplan
“Legalize everything. Legalize prostitution and sex work; make it safe. Make everyone happy. No problems, only solutions. Legalize cannabis; greens for peaceful purposes.”
A Russian-born but longtime San Francisco resident, Kaplan drives a purple minivan taxi, which doubles as his home.
Quintin Mecke
“San Francisco can do better. The promises that were made four years ago have been left unfulfilled and it is time now to move forward in shaping a city that is reflective of the values that it is known and respected for.”
Mecke touts a long resume of public service, from director of public safety systems to volunteering with the U.S. Peace Corps.
Gavin Newsom
“We are the first American city to launch universal health care. We are taking bold action on climate change. We helped lead the fight for civil rights such as marriage equality. We won the stem cell center because the nation knows we are a capital of innovation.”
The incumbent, Newsom says he’s proud of his achievements since becoming mayor in 2004 and is asking for an additional term to continue with his agenda. But his first term has been riddled with controversy — particularly surrounding his love life, where within his first term, the mayor went through a divorce, was reported to have briefly dated a 20-year-old restaurant hostess, then admitted to having an affair with his campaign manager’s wife.
Wilma Pang
“As a single parent and grandmother of four, I have raised three college degreed (one PhD) daughters through the SF public school system.”
A lifetime renter and long-time San Franciscan, Pang is a professor at City College of San Francisco and volunteers her time to preserve the cultural heritage of Chinatown as well as helping immigrants study to pass the country’s naturalization exam.
Michael Powers
“My creation of the Power Exchange adult sexual liberation experience shows my capacity to embrace every kind of alternative lifestyle and manage multiple environments housed in one totally law-abiding and successful business.”
Powers has been a nighclub owner in San Francisco for 11 years, has a two year degree in criminal justice and claims he once spent three years as a woman.
“Chicken” John Rinaldi
“Am I dumb enough to think I can win? Not really. But I do believe I can win the losing vote, and that’s why I’m asking you to vote for me for second place. Think of it as an intellectual exercise, designed to raise the level of conversation.”
A self-described showman, Rinaldi has been associated with the annual Burning Man festival and claims he converted his truck to run on coffee grounds.
Ahimsa Porter Sumchai
“Ahimsa means ‘no killing.’ I grew up in public housing, attended public schools and represented San Francsico at the 1970 White House Conference on Youth.”
Sumchai has worked as a helicopter physician, emergency physician to the San Francisco Giants and specialist for the Department of Health. She was recently endorsed by Iraq war protester Cindy Sheehan.
Josh Wolf
“San Francisco is faced with many pressing issues that need real solutions. In a true democracy, such solutions properly arise from the people themselves. I’m running to help create such a democracy.”
Wolf, a freelance journalist, was jailed last year for refusing to give authorities footage he’d shot of a 2005 demonstration in San Francisco. Wolf now works at the Peralta Colleges television station, a public access, student-run organization.
[...] now works at the Peralta Colleges television station, a public access, student-run organization. http://sfnews.wordpress.com/2007/11/03/82/ [...]