Calvin Welch's San Francisco values
In the January, 2007 Haight-Ashbury Voice, the newsletter of HANC (Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood Council), Calvin Welch provides an object lesson in San Francisco values in action, left-wing variety. In a message (see below) to HANC members, Welch provides some numbers from last November's election showing how progressive he and the folks in the neighborhood are: The precincts in and around the Haight predictably voted overwhelmingly against putting sexual predators on a shorter leash, against mandatory parental consent for abortion, for taxing oil companies, etc.
Funny thing about Welch's selection of issues to wax smug about, he omitted Proposition E, which would have raised the tax on parking in the city by 25-35%. What happened to Proposition E in the Haight? We know what happened to it citywide---it lost by more than a 2-1 margin: 151,628 to 73,922. City voters said no resoundingly to the idea of making it even more expensive to drive in a city where, thanks to its progressive leadership, it's already quite difficult and expensive enough, thank you.
Funny thing about Welch's selection of issues to wax smug about, he omitted Proposition E, which would have raised the tax on parking in the city by 25-35%. What happened to Proposition E in the Haight? We know what happened to it citywide---it lost by more than a 2-1 margin: 151,628 to 73,922. City voters said no resoundingly to the idea of making it even more expensive to drive in a city where, thanks to its progressive leadership, it's already quite difficult and expensive enough, thank you.
Welch ends his message with this: "Take a look at these votes and be thankful you live in such a neighborhood." San Francisco values according to Calvin Welch: self-righteousness, smugness, and sketchy intellectual integrity.
How the Haight-Ashbury Voted
November 7, 2006
By Calvin Welch, HANC Board
One of the ways to measure the civic health of a neighborhood is to look at the way its residents vote, as measured both in voter turnout and the content of that vote. In either measure the Haight-Ashbury seems to be in great health.
If San Francisco is considered the left most voting county in California, then the Haight-Ashbury must be seen as the left-most voting precincts in San Francisco, expressing the strongest of the “San Francisco values” so annoying to the right wing both at the national and the local level.
Below is to be found proof of those values, at least as expressed by some 6,600 Haight-Ashburians last November at the polling place. As usual there were variations between the sub areas of the Haight-Ashbury, and, again as usual those variations were slight. The North Panhandle precincts, from Fulton to Fell, from Stanyan to Baker, cast the fewest votes, but also had the fewest registered voters. The Flatland precincts (Oak to Frederick, Stanyan to Buena Vista) cast the next most votes and voted the most left of the three areas of the neighborhood. The Hill precincts (Frederick to 17th, Stanyan to Buena Vista) cast the most votes and compared to the other portions of the district, the more “moderate” votes though only slightly---remember a Haight-Ashbury moderate is a Pacific Heights left-liberal.
HANC members took positions on nine ballot measures, six at the state level (Yes on 1C, the Housing Bond; No on 83, the “sex offender reform”; No on 85, the parental notification requirement; Yes on 87, the big oil tax; Yes on 89, the campaign finance reform; and No on 90, the phony eminent domain “reform”) and three local ballot measures (Yes on A, the school bonds; Yes on G, the expansion of formula retail legislation; and Yes on H, relocation benefits for tenant evictions).
HANC’s positions were reflected by the overwhelming majority of Haight-Ashbury voters. Take a look at these votes and be thankful you live in such a neighborhood.
November 7, 2006
By Calvin Welch, HANC Board
One of the ways to measure the civic health of a neighborhood is to look at the way its residents vote, as measured both in voter turnout and the content of that vote. In either measure the Haight-Ashbury seems to be in great health.
If San Francisco is considered the left most voting county in California, then the Haight-Ashbury must be seen as the left-most voting precincts in San Francisco, expressing the strongest of the “San Francisco values” so annoying to the right wing both at the national and the local level.
Below is to be found proof of those values, at least as expressed by some 6,600 Haight-Ashburians last November at the polling place. As usual there were variations between the sub areas of the Haight-Ashbury, and, again as usual those variations were slight. The North Panhandle precincts, from Fulton to Fell, from Stanyan to Baker, cast the fewest votes, but also had the fewest registered voters. The Flatland precincts (Oak to Frederick, Stanyan to Buena Vista) cast the next most votes and voted the most left of the three areas of the neighborhood. The Hill precincts (Frederick to 17th, Stanyan to Buena Vista) cast the most votes and compared to the other portions of the district, the more “moderate” votes though only slightly---remember a Haight-Ashbury moderate is a Pacific Heights left-liberal.
HANC members took positions on nine ballot measures, six at the state level (Yes on 1C, the Housing Bond; No on 83, the “sex offender reform”; No on 85, the parental notification requirement; Yes on 87, the big oil tax; Yes on 89, the campaign finance reform; and No on 90, the phony eminent domain “reform”) and three local ballot measures (Yes on A, the school bonds; Yes on G, the expansion of formula retail legislation; and Yes on H, relocation benefits for tenant evictions).
HANC’s positions were reflected by the overwhelming majority of Haight-Ashbury voters. Take a look at these votes and be thankful you live in such a neighborhood.
Labels: Calvin Welch, District 5, Neighborhoods, Right and Left
posted by Rob Anderson @ 9:43 PM
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