A Rare Opportunity to Vote for Common Sense in San Francisco: Vote Non-Communists Into The DCCC

There's an election this Tuesday, June 8th, and way down the ballot is an obscure but important race that - if it goes the right way - could begin to swing this town away from the suicidal hard-left path it's been going on for the last decade.

San Francisco is a one-party state - much like Mexico under the PRI - and for the most part people here have given up on the idea that San Francisco's government is anything resembling a democracy. There is only one game in town, and that is the Democratic Party.

Only Party Members can vote in this important race, so if you are a Democrat and still have a semblance of a brain and/or a soul left after 10+ years of the Progressive Stalinism of the Board of Supervisors, then please make a vote against anarchy and for common sense.

Here's CW Nevius with the scoop...

Tuesday's election features contests with big-name politicians and national issues. In San Francisco, it also includes an obscure race for a nonpaid position few people know exists.

That's the important one - for Democratic County Central Committee.

If there are moderate San Francisco voters who support the Democratic Party but are turned off by political fringe issues like legalizing prostitution, now is the time to show up. (I will suggest some moderate candidates at the end of the column.)

Who is elected to the DCCC will have a domino effect that starts with the November election and the Board of Supervisors, influences the appointment/election of the next mayor, and - if a clever, but sneaky change to the rules passes - extends years into the future.

If you are running for supervisor in San Francisco and have the DCCC endorsement, you're in. According to 25-year DCCC member Arlo Hale Smith, since 1990 the committee has endorsed 43 candidates. Forty were elected.

"In a one-party town," said Smith, "the endorsement of the Democratic Committee is the tiebreaker - particularly in local elections where people don't pay attention."

DCCC Chair Aaron Peskin, the former president of the Board of Supervisors and a shrewd political wheeler-dealer, scoffs at that.

"My next order of business," he said, "is to call my friends and remind them that I am running. Because I'll bet two-thirds of them don't even know there's an election."

But the facts say otherwise.

"In the old days nobody spent $100 on the (DCCC) campaign, much less $1,000," said John Burton, current chair of the state Democratic Party.

Today, candidates for supervisor are exploiting a loophole that says there is no limit on individual contributions for DCCC.

For example, Rafael Mandelman, a progressive candidate for supervisor in District Eight, spent $28,102.17 on his DCCC race through May 22. His opponent, moderate Scott Wiener, spent $58,402.85 over the same period. Mandelman and Wiener can't use the money for their supervisor's race, but until the DCCC election they can use it to get out ads to promote their names.

But the real reason these races are so hotly contested is that if the Chris Daly-Peskin progressives can gain seats in the DCCC, they can control issues. And finally, there is a proposal by Daly to realign the DCCC, which now has 12 seats in both District 12 and District 13. He wants to add seats to politically progressive District 13 to give the far left an advantage for years to come.

"Personally," said Peskin, "that's not on my list of things to do."

But Wiener, who lost a bitter battle for chair in 2008, sees serious problems.

"This proposed rule change is designed to accomplish one thing . . . moving the DCCC even further to the hard left," Wiener said. "When the Democratic Party starts representing only one line of thinking . . . that will be a huge loss."

So, if you're happy with the far-left agenda, check out the Bay Guardian. (Progs with name recognition like Peskin, David Campos, David Chiu, and John Avalos are probably shoo-ins. Daly is not running.)

For those who'd like to see a swing to families, kids, and civility on the streets, here are some suggestions:

District 12: Bill Fazio, Matthew Tuchow, Mike Sullivan, Arlo Smith, John Shanley, Meagan Levitan, Alex Volberding, Mary Jung, Dan Dunnigan, Ron Dudum, Andrew Clark and Tom Hsieh.

District 13: Keith Baraka, Catherine Stefani, Stuart Smith, Scott Wiener, Calvin Louie, Joe Alioto Veronese, Owen O'Donnell, Linda Richardson, Leslie Katz, Chuck Hornbrook.

Just don't forget to vote.