My memory must be shot. Turns out the answer to today's trivia
question is 1980. Lee Dolson won a seat on the board of supes, at
which time all seats were at-large. He took 9th place among the 11
winning candidates. That was the last time a Republican was elected to
a city-wide office, as well as to the board at all.
That's interesting, I didn't know it had been so long since a Republican was elected in SF! Republican Annemarie Conroy was on the board in the early '90s, but when I checked, I found out she was appointed by Frank Jordan, not elected, and was in any case voted off the board in 1994 the first chance voters got.
I don't think police officers have one of the worst jobs in the city, at least from their point of view (personally you couldn't pay me enough to prosecute people for some of the laws they enforce.) According to a comparison of occupational hazards found at <http://www.menstuff.org/issues/byissue/dangerousjobs.htm>, what they do is less dangerous than fishing, driving a truck or taxi, or construction work, among other occupations. And I think they make better money than people in any of those jobs.
But of course it is better to come across as pro-freedom than anti-police, just as it's better to come across as pro-freedom than anti-government in general. But police are the front-line enforcement arm of government, and I don't think I'll get much argument if I assert that libertarians do believe government is the main problem we face as a society, so it's hard to be faithful to libertarian principles and not come across as at least somewhat anti-police. I guess the best we can do is to make clear that it's ultimately the system we oppose, not individuals who work for the system, whether it be John Ashcroft or your average cop on the street.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
My memory must be shot. Turns out the answer to today's trivia
question is 1980. Lee Dolson won a seat on the board of supes, at
which time all seats were at-large. He took 9th place among the 11
winning candidates. That was the last time a Republican was elected to
a city-wide office, as well as to the board at all.> Thanks Mike. I'm not sure I agree about the political climate. If
> I'm not mistaken, I thought there was a conservative presence in our
> elected officials until sometime in the late 80's or early 90's. I
> could be wrong, but I thought the city was a little more diverse
> (thought-wise) then than it is now.
>
> -Morey
>
> > Thanks, Morey. I like your proposal about mandating priorities, and
> > also the point about being pro-freedom rather than anti-cop.
> >
> > The strange thing about the idea of abolishing the vice squad was that
> > it was already tried, in 1980. Libertarians got it on the ballot, and,
> > to my amazement, it went down to a landslide defeat--when, if half the
> > gay men in San Francisco had voted for it, it would have won. Perhaps
> > we should find out what we can about why it failed. That was my first
> > year in SF, and I wasn't active in the Party; but Bart Lee, who I think
> > lurks on the lpsf-discuss list, was the author of the proposition, as I
> > recall; and he may have more insight. A lot can change in 25 years, but
> > it's not obvious to me that the political climate in the late '70s would
> > have been _less_ receptive to abolition of the vice squad.
> >
> > From: lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com
> > [mailto:lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Morey Straus
> > Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 10:32 AM
> > To: lpsf-activists@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: Re: [lpsf-activists] Re: Civil Liberties Initiative (Police
> > Accountability Ideas)
> >
> > I can't say I disagree with anything about this proposal, but I'd rather
> > see something perceived more as pro-freedom than anti-cop.
> >
> > Personally, I think the cops have about the worst job in the city.
> > It's high stress, dangerous work for medium pay. And when you do
> > something silly on your own time to blow off steam, the Mayor and Chief
> > can't wait to jump on you. That is why they are woefully short of
> > recruits, in spite of the newish policy of accepting applications from
> > outside the city.
> >
> > Someone brought up de-funding the vice unit at one of our meetings. I
> > like that idea more, even though it would be largely symbolic.
> >
> > While typing this, I had another idea that might be better. How about
> > mandating police priorities? So long as there are any open cases of
> > violent crime or theft, no resources shall be assigned to any other
> > investigations? Let them languish in an open state until the statute of
> > limitations runs out. That would actually turn the manpower shortage
> > into a positive.
> > -Morey
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> > ________________________________
> > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
> >
> > Visit your group "lpsf-discuss" on the web.
> >
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > lpsf-discuss-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
>
> --
> Live Free or Die
> http://freestateproject.org
>--
Live Free or Die
http://freestateproject.org
<image.tiff>
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
+ Visit your group "lpsf-discuss" on the web.
+ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lpsf-discuss-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com+ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
<image.tiff>
Dear Everyone;
Trivia time:
There actually were more Republicans in elected office when there was the original switch to District elections in the early 80's. In addition to Lee Dolson there was Ed Lawson for the Richmond and John Bardis the Upper Sunset were elected - John Molinari until he switched to Democrat was an elected Republican as well.
Earlier years saw John Barbagelata in the 70's and of course the 90's had Annemarie Conroy.
Ron Getty
SF Libertarian
Starchild <sfdreamer@...> wrote:
That's interesting, I didn't know it had been so long since a
Republican was elected in SF! Republican Annemarie Conroy was on the
board in the early '90s, but when I checked, I found out she was
appointed by Frank Jordan, not elected, and was in any case voted off
the board in 1994 the first chance voters got.
I don't think police officers have one of the worst jobs in the city,
at least from their point of view (personally you couldn't pay me
enough to prosecute people for some of the laws they enforce.)
According to a comparison of occupational hazards found at
, what they
do is less dangerous than fishing, driving a truck or taxi, or
construction work, among other occupations. And I think they make
better money than people in any of those jobs.
But of course it is better to come across as pro-freedom than
anti-police, just as it's better to come across as pro-freedom than
anti-government in general. But police are the front-line enforcement
arm of government, and I don't think I'll get much argument if I assert
that libertarians do believe government is the main problem we face as
a society, so it's hard to be faithful to libertarian principles and
not come across as at least somewhat anti-police. I guess the best we
can do is to make clear that it's ultimately the system we oppose, not
individuals who work for the system, whether it be John Ashcroft or
your average cop on the street.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
There was a Republican on the Bart board until recently. Those are elected positions.
Ron Getty <tradergroupe@...> wrote: Dear Everyone;
Trivia time:
There actually were more Republicans in elected office when there was the original switch to District elections in the early 80's. In addition to Lee Dolson there was Ed Lawson for the Richmond and John Bardis the Upper Sunset were elected - John Molinari until he switched to Democrat was an elected Republican as well.
Earlier years saw John Barbagelata in the 70's and of course the 90's had Annemarie Conroy.
Ron Getty
SF Libertarian
Starchild <sfdreamer@...> wrote:
That's interesting, I didn't know it had been so long since a
Republican was elected in SF! Republican Annemarie Conroy was on the
board in the early '90s, but when I checked, I found out she was
appointed by Frank Jordan, not elected, and was in any case voted off
the board in 1994 the first chance voters got.
I don't think police officers have one of the worst jobs in the city,
at least from their point of view (personally you couldn't pay me
enough to prosecute people for some of the laws they enforce.)
According to a comparison of occupational hazards found at
, what they
do is less dangerous than fishing, driving a truck or taxi, or
construction work, among other occupations. And I think they make
better money than people in any of those jobs.
But of course it is better to come across as pro-freedom than
anti-police, just as it's better to come across as pro-freedom than
anti-government in general. But police are the front-line enforcement
arm of government, and I don't think I'll get much argument if I assert
that libertarians do believe government is the main problem we face as
a society, so it's hard to be faithful to libertarian principles and
not come across as at least somewhat anti-police. I guess the best we
can do is to make clear that it's ultimately the system we oppose, not
individuals who work for the system, whether it be John Ashcroft or
your average cop on the street.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>