"Staying the course" with Breed and Conway

Ron Conway

From a SF Chronicle editorial:

One reasonable remedy would be for the board to appoint Breed as interim mayor, which would require her to step down from her supervisor’s seat — and she then would be allowed to appoint her successor, so the ideological balance of the board could remain intact. Without question, Breed will have her hands full adjusting to her expanded role as mayor, but she will have a considerable legion of appointed aides and career bureaucrats to keep the government rolling.

"Ideological balance"?  This refers to the great myth of San Francisco politics, that there are significant policy differences between a "moderate" faction and a "progressive" faction of the Democratic Party in the city.

If there are significant differences on important issues between London Breed and so-called progressive Aaron "Highrise" Peskin, I'm not aware of them (See Peskin and Christensen: Not a dimesworth of difference).

London Breed

Breed was a blank slate before being elected after a campaign during which actual issues weren't much discussed, a feature of the awful Ranked Choice Voting system. As a consequence, she was quickly co-opted on policy by City Hall and city departments (see also London Breed: President of the Board of Supervisors).

From the Examiner the other day:

A day before Leno filed, Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu announced Sunday she would not run and on Monday morning Assemblymember David Chiu announced he also wouldn’t run. That means there will be no well-known Chinese-American candidate in the contest.

That's why Breed proposed renaming Portsmouth Square after Ed Lee, a crude attempt to get votes in Chinatown.

More from the Examiner:

Both Chiu and Chu are considered more moderate, as is Breed, which helps Breed position herself as the go-to moderate candidate. Breed had early on picked up the support of former Mayor Willie Brown, who helped Lee become mayor, and the support of Ron Conway, a Silicon Valley angel investor and Lee’s prominent backer who encouraged making it easier for technology companies to flourish in San Francisco.

Ron Conway supposedly supports Breed so that the tech industry will continue to dominate San Francisco. 

From the Examiner:

Conway has much stake in the election. Past administrations have fostered a friendly environment for the tech industry. It doesn’t take the latest app to figure out Conway fears progressives could end San Francisco’s tech romance.

There's no evidence that the pseudo-progressives on the board of supervisors have any such intention.

From the SF Chronicle back in 2012:

Silicon Valley angel investor Ron Conway's family spent nearly $100,000 to defeat incumbent Supervisor Christina Olague in District Five. But even though the election is over, the San Francisco mover and shaker hasn't stopped spending in the district, to the benefit of victorious challenger London Breed.

Breed's campaign filings show that Ron and his wife, Gayle; sons Daniel, Ronny and Christopher; and daughter-in-law Michele each made the maximum contribution of $500 for a total of $3,000, starting on Nov. 10, four days after the election...

Opponents criticized Breed for the contributions she received from landlord and real estate interests. She said her campaign is not in debt and that she didn't ask the Conways for money. "Just because someone gives you money doesn't mean they control you or own you," Breed said.

Typically obtuse comment by Breed. She didn't have to ask for the money, since Conway knew exactly what he was paying for with his contribution. 

For more on Conway's negative influence on local politics, click on "Ron Conway" below.

See also The imaginary "balance" on the board of supervisors and Another post-mortem on the District 5 election.