It's over, and it's beginning

As you're probably aware, the final results are in, and Daly holds onto his seat (rather than getting a boot in it, as he so richly deserves). At least we can take some consolation from a few facts:

A. Thanks to term limits, the next four years will be the last we'll see of Daly. He'll probably try to run for some other office in 2010 (got to keep up the mortgage payments on that $700,000 condo, you know), but there's no way in hell that he'll be elected for anything city-wide. (Let's not forget that San Franciscans recently gave him a dismal 29% approval rating.) Daly's got too much baggage, and his opponents have too much ammunition to use against him for him to be able to refashion himself into a more broadly appealing candidate.

B. As opposed to the ABCD efforts of 2002 which was met mostly with apathy, there is now a considerable amount of momentum in opposition to him. For the past 6 years, many San Franciscans have viewed Daly with a combination of bemusement, indulgence and irritation. Many people were reluctant to speak up against him for fear of being portrayed as intolerant or against the truly needy. Clearly, he has capitalized on that lack of opposition, but he's not going to have that luxury anymore. We're becoming solidified and plugged-in.

C. Finally, Daly has always been his own worst enemy. He'll keep blundering along, digging his own grave. We're going to monitor the hell out of him, constantly looking over his shoulder. Whenever he does something questionable, we're going to use all the tools at our disposal to shine sunlight on his activities and document them. He'll no longer have the latitude to do what he pleases without being noticed by the public or the courts. When and where appropriate, we'll file suit or for injunctions.


It's never been our intention to merely be against Chris Daly. Opposition is important during elections, but it's not the real goal of our efforts; we're much more interested in making positive changes in District 6. That means that we need to sit down and determine what changes we want, then strategize how to achieve those changes. Since D6 is so diverse, there are bound to be hundreds of different objectives, but there are at least three things that we can all agree upon:

1. Public spaces (streets, sidewalks, parks, etc.) must be safe for everyone, and criminals must be prosecuted and punished. That's going to require the co-ordination of law enforcement, the District Attorney and citizens like ourselves.

2. Those spaces must be clean and free from the garbage, tagging and the mess that we've had to endure for so long. Too much of District 6 has been an eyesore for years now.

3. Public moneys that are spent on services for the homeless, et al, must be justifiable, cost-effective and accounted for. No more endless pork for Chris Daly's pals.


Beyond those basics, which Daly has ignored for the past 6 years, I think that most of us would agree that we need to revitalize the area -- especially the neglected neighborhoods west of 6th St. The mid-Market St. Corridor, the Tenderloin and SoMa all need to rebuild their sense of neighborhood, to create vitality and to encourage cultural development as well as business development (the two needn't be in conflict).

We believe that the public will exists to create this sort of change, and we think that Mayor Newsom and most of the Board of Supervisors is willing to participate in the process. We love San Francisco, and we want this District -- with so much squandered potential -- to be as vibrant, safe and picturesque as the best neighborhoods in town. Chris Daly has been opposed to much of these objectives, so we'll have to work around him.

If you would like to be part of this process, please e-mail us at uppertenderloin@yahoo.com, and say that you want to be included. We'll keep your name and contact information private, and we'll let you know the next step. And a big "thank you" to everyone who has read this blog and participated here for the past two months. It's heartening to know that we're not alone in seeking positive change.