Politics

Voting Inside Hua Zang Si Buddhist Temple

In what could be the greatest proof of San Francisco's status as a truly awesome and zen-like place to be a voter (unless you live in District 5—sorry guys), hundreds of D9 residents were given the divine privilege of voting in the middle of Hua Zang Si Buddhist temple at 22nd and Capp.  You know the place:

Have you been in there yet?  You really should.  And I mean it—even if your polling place is in a school or hair salon or somewhere bullshit like that.  Churches are generally frightening places full of hatred and bad crackers, but Hua Zang Si is nothing like that.  It even has a storied history that predates the earthquake and involves heroic efforts by the Buddhists to spare the building from being converted into condos:

The impressive building that houses Hua Zang Si was constructed shortly after 1900 as St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Built in a Gothic Revival style, the church served the local German immigrant community who worked at the tanneries and breweries along Precita Creek. The building narrowly escaped the fires that followed the great earthquake of 1906.

By the close of the 20th century, the European immigrant families that remained in San Francisco had mostly moved to the west of the city and the neighborhood welcomed a growing Latino community instead. In 1992, the congregation that met in St. John's Church voted to move to a church around the corner, which would be named St. Mary and St. Martha Lutheran Church.

The old Lutheran church was deconsecrated and became a private residence. Plans were underway to turn it into condominiums when the United International World Buddhism Association purchased it and the adjoining parish residence for $2.5 million in 2002. The church building was left intact but given a dramatic makeover with red paint, Chinese-style doors, and a fully remodeled interior.

The basement, where we voted, is an impressive enough space.  However, the second floor still contains the Church's original organ pipes and stained glass windows and also houses a 21-foot tall Amitabha Buddha statue that was imported from Taiwan, which one of Temple's volunteers said was the largest Buddha statue in all of North America.  In other words? It's an impressive amalgamation of various religions and cultures.

They're open to the public from 9am-6pm daily and seem more than thrilled to show people around.

Mission Bicycle Lights Up in Support of Obama

Election season is almost behind us, and this bummer cycle leaves us nostalgic for the fun and spirited enthusiasm of 2008.  What happened to all the beautiful artwork?  Horrible songs from the likes of will.i.am?  A Barack Obama who seemed to give a shit about winning?  Really, it's sad when the most exciting thing about a presidential campaign are the borderline racist blathering from a $3 Billion hairpiece on top of human garbage.

Thankfully, Mission Bicycle managed to find some of that 2008 fire late last week and built a rear wheel that lights up Valencia in support of Obama.

Behold:

Jefferson, the manager over at the shop, admits that taking a stand in official support of Obama “doesn't sound like much of a risk.” But as a shop that ships their bikes across the country, “we will for sure lose a few red fans over [it].”

(Besides, shouldn't we be happy that they're proudly flaunting their political positions, rather being sketchy and secretive over it?)

MonkeyLetric created the technology behind the lights (but, sadly, the Obama version is not for sale at this time) and the filming was done by local filmmaker Luis Peña.  And should the video not be enough for you, the wheel is running up in their front window through election day.

(And don't forget to vote tomorrow!)

Today in District 5 News: Does London Breed Know Where D5 Is?

Debatable! Uptown Almanac's office at 19th & Valencia have been receiving mailers from District 5 candidate London Breed every single day for the last two weeks. Listen, we care about the kids of D5 as much as any other District 9 resident, but the quantity and frequency of these mailings is a litte excessive.

Some possible explanations:

  • London Breed doesn't know where District 5 is.
  • London Breed has lots of excess campaign funds with which to spread her message about the entire city.
  • Some intern is about to get suuuper fired for improper mail merging.

Cursing, Fondling, & Voting for Wife Beaters: The District 5 Clown Car

Since the election of Supervisor in District 9 is pretty much a done deal (until David Campos attempts to elevate himself to State Assembly) Mission dwellers eager for entertainment should pay attention to the shit-show happening in District 5.

Until very recently, the race to become the heir to the seat once occupied by Matt Gonzalez and Ross Mirkarimi - the most lefty district in San Francisco - was a toss up. It still is, but for entirely different reasons.

Seven weeks ago Christina Olague (appointed by Mayor Ed Lee to fill Mirkarimi’s seat after he was elected Sheriff) had the lead at 13% in the race over 7 opponents – but only because 49% of respondents never ever heard of them.

Ron Conway

Olague had to make a “difficult” choice. She voted as Supervisor to reinstate Ross Mirkarimi as Sheriff in order to gain traction in District 5. Following that dramatic development, D5 voters don’t know what to think about Olague. She was the darling of the Ed Lee/Rose Pak/Willie Brown ménage a trios. Now Ed Lee won’t speak with her!

Really?

Yeah, this smells like shittiest of shitty political theater, but the players of the kabuki persist with their faux outrage. A rich, obnoxious, walrus has stepped forward to impose his wallet and opinions on San Francisco voters. Ron Conway and his wife are funding a mysterious campaign to make Christina Olgaue seem like a pariah and a wife beater for casting her campaign saving vote for Mirkarimi.

Because of Ross Mirkarimi’s shitty marriage every poser in San Francisco city government is dry-humping non-profit Domestic Violence groups and those organizations are more than happy to let them. It makes for great publicity.

As an added bonus, the fawning also makes it easy to sacrifice an endorsed progressive candidate in the district race!

Julian Davis/Facebook

Olague’s competitor Julian Davis was the darling of progressive SF politics until SF Weekly ran a story about his penchant for non-consensual finger banging. To make matters worse, that story came out right after the Mirkarimi vote. Liberal politicians and publications were pulling their endorsements from Davis so fast he must have had rug burn.

One month ago everybody wanted Olague to lose. Her skin was remarkably thin, as was witnessed at a debate in late September when she had a testy exchange with Davis and stormed off the stage (only to return 43 seconds later). Now those left-leaners are lining up behind Olague under a new mantra: “Anybody but Breed!”

Breed. London Breed! Ms. Breed has been active in the Western Addition her entire life and has raised a bajillion dollars and has the endorsement of Kamala Harris as well as many real estate interests and who also maybe thought she should have been appointed by Ed Lee to replace Mirkarimi in D5 instead of Olague.

Also – Breed has a wonderfully foul mouth that should pull on the heartstrings of any SF voter:

You think I give a fuck about a Willie Brown at the end of the day when it comes to my community and the shit that people like Rose Pak and Willie Brown continue to do and try to controls things?”

That rant cost Ms. Breed the endorsement of Dianne Feinstein, which is just about the best endorsement anyone in District 5 could get! Yet she is now the candidate-non-grata as Davis is kicked to the curb and Olague is being held aloft.

What about the others?

There are FIVE other candidates competing in the district that generate far less drama, controversy and conflict.

Thea Selby/Campaign Photo

Thea Selby and John Rizzo are both familiar names in the neighborhood and their campaigns should not be overlooked especially considering the capricious nature of ranked choice voting.

Selby has managed to raise enough funds to be the third best financed in the race. Plus she has endorsements from SF Examiner and the SF Bay Guardian (two publications that now share ownership). Selby has been a resident and business owner in the Lower Haight and would be the only mother serving on the Board of Supervisors if she were elected. She has GREAT hair.

John Rizzo has been serving as President of the Community College Board of Trustees for years, which is impressive public service…except that it’s a bit of an albatross too. San Francisco City College is circling the drain and while that’s not entirely his doing it’s a bit hard to not be tainted by the association. Still, Rizzo has liberal credentials and support if a difficult PR situation.

Andrew Resignato and Hope Johnson are both passionate competitors and sorely underfunded making it very hard to compete in what has become a big money – and big headline grabbing – campaign. Johnson is a fierce advocate for open government (which is really what THIS district election should be all about). Resignato has built a career working in public health. He is a musician and he wears a thumb ring.

Hope Johnson

Johnson and Resignato combined forces under the title of “The People’s Ticket” and they have a strategy to compete in the ranked choice race that shows they are interested in winning.

There was a candidate named Daniel Everett that showed up at a few debates – a young, handsome, attorney that defends indigent people accused of crime – but he has seemingly gone AWOL. Look for his picture on a milk carton!

The top three candidates in the District 5 race seem to have more negatives than positives right now and yet the local media continues to focus on them as either being a has been (“I think Julian Davis is finished”), a could have been (Christina Olague), or a shouldn’t be (“Anybody but London Breed”)—instead of giving more than a passing mention to the other candidates.

Without a last minute surge of cash the five candidates need to compete for attention via drama and hysterics if they want to get some airtime.

Perhaps John Rizzo should take a shower with a couple local DJs. Thea Selby may want to consider revealing an out of wedlock birth with one of her campaign aides to gain some traction.

Maybe Resignato, Johnson and Everett should think about expanding The People’s Ticket into a nudist campaign??

Pics or it didn’t happen!!

Start-up Founder: The Flavor of the Mission "Probably Won't Be That Interesting in 5 Years"

It's that time again—another day, another video about gentrification.  It can get tiring, we know.  But this one fascinated us.

Why?  Well, for starters, it's not shot with a cellphone. But more curiously, it's weird to hear a start-uppy guy—speculative after a nurturing breakfast at Craftsman & Wolves—say the Mission won't be that interesting down the road.

That's not to say we haven't heard that line before either, because people have been claiming the Mission would be lame in 5 years since the 80s.  And that fear has been coming up to the surface a lot lately (for some of the funniest thoughts on this, former neighborhood comic Chris Garcia has been working on a pretty solid bit about Apple Storification of Valencia restaurants).  However, when it comes time for finger-pointing, tech is oft on the receiving end, not the other way around.

[Turnstyle]

What Will Happen to District 9 if David Campos Moves to Sacramento in 2014?

Photo by San Francisco LGBT Community Center

It's been an open secret for over a year that Mission/Bernal Supervisor David Campos intends to run for the California State Assembly in 2014, attempting to follow the footsteps former District 9 Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who will be termed-out of his Assembly seat next cycle.

Campos has been steadily building up his campaign operation this year, despite running unopposed for a second term as Supervisor.  Campos has reportedly raised $79,823 this election cycle, almost triple the $28,330 he raised in his hotly contested 2008 campaign. He even brought on political consultant Jim Stearns—who runs Ammiano's Assembly campaigns—to help manage his uncontested Supervisor race.  Stearns himself admits to Mission Local the campaign is little more than a PR campaign designed to “expand his base”:

A strong campaign is also a way for Campos to promote himself and his accomplishments. “He wants to communicate some of the things he’s got done and some of the things he wants to do,” says Jim Stearns, Campos’ consultant on both campaigns and president of Stearns Consulting.

Inspiring and organizing volunteers has been one of Campos’ strengths as a politician from the first campaign, says Stearns. A large part of the fundraising effort is an attempt to “expand his base” throughout the Mission and the city at large, especially given the recent addition of part of the Portola neighborhood to the district.

However, for all the fawning reportage Mission Local does on our Supervisor, they neglect to hold him accountable for the likely fallout of his own ambition.

One only has to look at the mess in District 5 to get a preview of what could very-well happen here.  If Campos is elected to higher office, then Mayor Ed Lee will be responsible for appointing someone to fill the seat.  But unlike the 10 months District 5 Lee-appointee Christina Olague had with her constituents before an election, Lee's appointee in District 9 would have nearly two years to build roots and establish credibility—providing a solid incumbent advantage going into the election.

Considering how many of Olague's votes are out of step with her predecessor's—and therefore her constituent's—views, one can only imagine what an Ed Lee appointee would mean for the future of District 9's proud progressive bent.

Many wonks are unsure who Lee might pick to lead District 9 forward, but the smart money is on Gillian Gillett, former legislative aid to Supervisor Scott Wiener and Ed Lee's Director of Transportation Policy.  Alternatively, but seemingly less likely, Mayor Lee could have someone from outside the District move in over the next year or two, thus allowing him to appoint whomever he wishes.

How does Campos feel about the future of his District?  Since he's running unopposed, we're left to assume it's the canned response for which he's famous—no comment.

What is "Whitey Hipster Gentrification"?

We're seeing these elegant, no-frills, Helvetica-less Arial-full stickers all around town—in the Pop's bathroom, on the front door of Hangr 16, outside Casa Sanchez, on Bender's compost bin, covering the front door of art studios, decorating posters for the new RZA movie… hell, they're even on Baker Beach's trash cans.  Which leads us to wonder: from taquerias to cute bubble butt nude beaches, is there anything left that can't be blamed for gentrification?

We're assuming the answer is “no”, but the folks at Bender's deny their men's bathroom fits the label:

The Buck Loses Its Lease

The Buck Tavern, the mid-Market progressive hangout and all around killer bar owned by Chris Daly, has lost its lease and will be closing up at the end of the month.

Daly himself posted the announcement with a nautical-themed Halloween party announcementt, scheduled for Oct. 31st:

We've lost our lease, so let's set sail!

Being cryptic as always, Daly isn't really explaining what is happening, but posted two comments:

Even though we lost our lease, we like to think that we're embarking upon an even more epic journey. (Don't forget your nautical attire.)

And:

If you asked me last week, I would have told you that we were selling. Today, all I can say for sure is 10/31 is our last day. Oh, and we're going to have a great party that night! (And of course, wear your nautical attire, because this ship is sailing!)

Basically, he's really pushing this “on a boat” thing, even though that video is, like, so four years ago.  Is this some sort of dig at the America's Cup (probably) and the city's eclectic community being pushed out (maybe)?  Either way, the Buck is done, and that probably means one less dive serving decently cheap food.

And where are we supposed to watch the election returns now?

[Photo by Jon Phillips | via Patrick Conners]

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