The Murk runs for sheriff

C.W. Nevius on Ross Mirkarimi's campaign for sheriff:

In a strange way Mirkarimi's asset---he's the best known name in the race---is working against him. That's the take from political consultant Jim Ross, who has no connection to the sheriff's race. "He's been around politics for a long time, he's got the endorsement of Mike Hennessey," Ross said. "He should be walking away with this. Why isn't he? I think he tries to portray himself as tough on crime in the district, but he's not always lived up to that in votes on the Board of Supervisors."

That's putting it mildly. Mirkarimi has a poor record on defending cops that are attacked and/or killed in the line of duty. The Murk's problem is that the closer people look at his record overall, the worse he looks.

As a former candidate for District 5 Supervisor myself, I've followed his career on the Board of Supervisors, and I started this blog only a month after Mirkarimi was elected supervisor. My first post was about the supervisor-elect's appearance at a Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council meeting on the proposed widening of MLK Blvd. to the entrance to the new parking garage under the Concourse in Golden Gate Park. Mirkarimi displayed some of the traits that have typified his record as supervisor since: he pandered to HANC members who opposed the garage while showing that he wasn't well-informed on the issue.

I notice that his campaign website's lengthy list of endorsements doesn't include the Bicycle Coalition or Leah Shahum. Similarly, during the 2008 campaign, Mirkarimi's website didn't mention his steadfast support for everything the SFBC wanted to do to our streets, though he was the go-to guy for the Coalition as a supervisor---he even supports Critical Mass. Interesting that, like his Green Party membership---he abandoned the Green Party before the campaign---Mirkarimi apparently sees the bicycle issue as a potential political liability, not an asset.