DCCC Candidate Questionnaire: two-sided copies!

Mr. Anderson,

You are on for Saturday afternoon at 2:05 pm at the UNITE HERE office at 209 Golden Gate Avenue. Don't forget to bring 45 copies of your questionnaire (double-sided). And please confirm that you have received this email.

Thanks,
Rafael

Mr. Mandelman:

45 copies of a 4-page questionnaire is 180 copies! Forget it, but I won't be there anyhow. But I really like the typical San Francisco touch about the two-sided copies. Symbolism uber alles! I'm under no illusions about my chances of getting the endorsement of the DCCC, which the Rincon Hill boys, Daly and Peskin, have recently taken control of. Luxury highrise condos! The Republicans must have gotten a few snickers out of that "progressive" project, much like they'll be laughing all the way to the bank with the Market/Octavia Plan, the Eastern Neighborhoods Plan, and the way you folks are allowing UC/Evans to hijack the old extension property on lower Haight Street. How exactly would things be different if the Republican Party controlled San Francisco?

Regards,

Rob Anderson

Democratic County Central Committee Candidate Questionnaire

GENERAL QUESTIONS:
1. Please confirm that you are a registered Democrat.
Yes, I am.

2. When did you register?
Several years ago.

3. Who did you vote for in the last two Presidential elections?
Kerry and Gore.

4. What have you done and what do you plan to do to ensure the election of a Democratic president this year?
I’ll vote for Obama.

5. Have you ever voted for or endorsed a non-Democrat in an election? Who? When?
I voted for Greens during my life-long flirtation with the left, which finally ended after 9/11.

6. Please provide a brief summary of your qualifications for this office. (no more than 250 words)
The incumbent, Ross Mirkarimi, represents the worst in SF progressivism, with his knee-jerk support for every half-assed, meddlesome “progressive” proposal that emerges. A short list of examples: He voted to make the 527-page Bicycle Plan part of the General Plan with no environmental review; he endorses Critical Mass which disrupts traffic for working people on the last Friday of every month; he voted for the luxury highrise condos on Rincon Hill; he supports the appalling Market/Octavia Plan that will rezone thousands of properties in the heart of the city to encourage overdevelopment of that part of town, including four 40-story highrises at Market and Van Ness; he supports the crackpot idea of eliminating the traffic underpass at Geary and Fillmore; he’s facilitating the city’s surrender to UC/Evans on the old extension property on lower Haight Street; he touted the fantasy of police foot patrols as a solution to gun crime in SF. And, like other SF progressives, he’s been silent on the issue of homelessness, even though Gavin Newsom is instituting sensible programs that will help the city deal with this chronic problem for years to come.

Hey, otherwise he’s doing a great job!

My main qualifications are that I oppose all this nonsense. Being a supervisor is first of all about sensible public policy. If you can’t get these important issues right, you are not qualified to be a supervisor.

7. If you are an incumbent, please describe one of your accomplishments in the position you hold. (limit 150 words)

8. As a testament of your commitment to the Democratic Party, please describe your contributions to the Democratic Party at the local, state and or/national level in the last 4 years.
I vote for Democrats.

9. If elected, or if currently holding office what are the three top issues you will work to affect?
This is a question that sounds specific without really being so. Why three? Why not one---or one hundred? The most important issue facing SF is homelessness, as it was four years ago and eight years ago. Mayor Newsom has made a good start in dealing with it in a humane, sensible manner. As supervisor I’ll support that effort any way I can. The next step the city needs to take on the issue is to enforce Laura’s Law on the mentally ill people on our streets.

Another issue is the attempt by the anti-car fanatics to screw up our traffic on behalf of the bicycle fantasy. The city’s main industry is tourism with millions of people driving into the city every year; all deliveries to city stores and businesses are made by truck; there are 460,150 motor vehicles registered in SF; there are more than 1000 Muni vehicles on city streets. If you screw up traffic for those wicked automobiles, you are going to screw up the city’s economy.

Ross votes like a Republican on development issues---the aforementioned Rincon Hill, the Market/Octavia Plan, and UC’s rip-off of the property on lower Haight Street for a massive housing project.

ISSUES QUESTIONS

(please answer yes or no and include an explanation only if necessary):

1. Do you support capital punishment (the death penalty)?

No

2. Do you support a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion?
Yes

3. Do you support Affirmative Action?

No. We need to adopt a class-based system of aid for poor and working people, not a race-based system.

4. Do you support same gender marriage?

Yes

5. Do you oppose privatization of essential government services and the outsourcing of public and private sector jobs, and support vocational retraining, income support and health care for workers who lose their jobs due to globalization?
Since you’re packing several unrelated questions into one here, I’m going to answer “no” to this one. City government is not a jobs program---more than 27,000 city employees is ridiculous---and sometimes the taxpayers can be better served by outsourcing.

6. Do you support reducing prison overcrowding and the drain on our economy by decreasing penalties for minor drug offenses and other victimless crimes, making the punishment fit the crime?
Yes, more or less.

7. Do you support the implementation of community-based policing to break down barriers between law enforcement officers and the people they serve, and to curtail police misconduct?
Of course, but this proposition is so abstract even Republicans can support it.

8. Will you oppose anti-worker initiatives that seek to undermine the ability of union leaders to carry out the will of their members and engage in political activities?

Yes

9. Do you support and encourage increased and expedited processing of applications for citizenship, family reunification and naturalization?

Yes

10. Do you support increasing the construction of affordable housing to alleviate and prevent homelessness, and develop supportive housing with continuum of care services to help homeless people re-establish themselves as self-sufficient contributors to society?
This is a muddled, agenda-laden question. “Continuum of care” was the name of the unsuccessful way SF was dealing with homelessness before Care Not Cash, which I support. I also support Mayor Newsom’s other initiatives on homelessness, like supportive housing, Homeward Bound, and Project Homeless Connect.

11. Do you support the many lifesaving programs of the Violence against Women Act (VAWA), including the educational and preventative programs, especially for those who are at higher risk for sexual and domestic violence?
Probably, but I’m not familiar with the programs you refer to.

12. Do you support repeal of the Ellis Act?

No, I don’t think it’s necessary to repeal the Ellis Act to protect people from unfair evictions.

13. Do you support or oppose the following local measures on the November 2008 ballot?

a. SF General Bond
Support

b. Affordable Housing Fund
Oppose

c. Clean Energy Act
Oppose

d. JROTC in SF Schools
Support

14. Do you support or oppose the following statewide ballot measures on the November 2008 ballot?

a. Proposition 1 – High Speed Rail
Support

b. Proposition 4 – Parental Consent/Restriction on Teen Choice
Oppose

c. Proposition 5 – Nonviolent Offender Reforms
I’m not familiar with this proposition.

d. Proposition 8 – Same Sex Marriage Ban
Oppose

Thank you for your time. We look forward to seeing you on August 9, 2008.