Dear Everyone;
The SF Chronicle story on the District 8 supervisors campaign quotes Starchild.
Ron Getty
SF Libertarian
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/12/BAG61LNLN01.DTL&type=printable
CAMPAIGN 2006: San Francisco
Counterculture challenges Dufty in District 8 supervisor election
- Charlie Goodyear, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, October 12, 2006
In San Francisco's District 8, which serves as the heart of gay life in the city, Supervisor Bevan Dufty is running for re-election against two challengers from the counterculture who worry that the party may be coming to an end in one of the quirkier parts of town.
"I moved to San Francisco because it's interesting and fun," said candidate Alix Rosenthal, a lawyer and Burning Man festival enthusiast. "There are forces in the city that are trying to quell that."
To hear Rosenthal tell it, District 8 is in danger of becoming too sedate, too rich and too homogenous to sustain a reputation for tolerance and exuberance that identifies San Francisco to the rest of the country.
She blames Dufty, a new father, in part for the shift, pointing to his support for stricter regulation of the Castro's raucous yearly Halloween celebration and his political alliance with Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is often labeled a conservative by the city's political left.
Asked if this election is pitting "party people" against older residents of District 8 who might now want to live a quieter life, Rosenthal said, "I think that's a good analysis. As far as how Halloween goes or how a street fair happens, he and I have staked out different sides of the argument."
Of Dufty, she said, "He wants fewer parties."
Another challenger, a professional escort, exotic dancer and porn star known as Starchild is running on a decidedly alternative Libertarian platform and said candidates like him don't get enough media attention.
Currently facing prostitution charges in Fremont after a police sting last year, Starchild is urging the city to abandon its ban on handguns, saying, "Armed gays don't get bashed."
He also thinks dogs should be allowed off-leash in city parks and, among other positions, wants to legalize prostitution, believes skateboarding and in-line skating should be allowed throughout San Francisco, and is pushing for a cap on city employee salaries at $99,000.
Of Dufty, he said: "He's not going to make any radical changes for the better or the worse."
He agrees with Rosenthal that during the supervisor's tenure, "The character of the district has changed somewhat. It is less free-spirited."
But those complaints ring false to Dufty, who held a baby shower before his daughter was born at which margaritas were served in baby bottles. Dufty said his constituents are as likely to see him enjoying the Castro's vibrant nightlife as running five miles to stay healthy in middle age.
"You'd be hard-pressed to find a 51-year-old gay man who is more engaged with the kaleidoscope of queer life in San Francisco," he said.
Since first winning election to the Board of Supervisors in 2002, Dufty has earned a reputation for being especially responsive to constituent needs. "As a candidate, my motto was 'all about the neighborhood,' and I've been true to that approach," he said.
Dufty points to his push for more bicycle lanes, a gay and lesbian museum, and $3.5 million in federal funds to solve transit, pedestrian and parking problems in the district's Glen Park neighborhood as among his recent accomplishments as a supervisor.
But Rosenthal said Dufty has focused too much on responding to problems in the district rather than introducing legislation that might prevent them in the first place.
"What he's good at is fixing problems after they've happened," she said. "What he's not good at is predicting problems, developing a vision and implementing that vision to prevent those problems in the first place."
Rosenthal said she was pushed by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and other activists to run against Dufty after he voted this year against a pilot program that would have closed part of Golden Gate Park to car traffic on Saturdays and opposed legislation that would have restricted new parking spaces in the city's downtown core.
"He voted against it because the mayor asked him to," Rosenthal said of Dufty's opposition to the "Healthy Saturdays" proposal for Golden Gate Park. Dufty's vote ensured that the board did not have a veto-proof piece of legislation, allowing Newsom to strike it down.
Asked to respond, Dufty said he's voted in ways that have both helped and hurt Newsom, reflecting what the supervisor called a "pragmatic" nonideological approach to governing.
Dufty believes his role is to build consensus among his colleagues on the board, eight of whom have endorsed his re-election campaign.
"My colleagues respect me, the way I am approachable and my intent on working with each of them," he added.
As for the knock that he doesn't push his own legislative agenda often enough, Dufty answered, "There's a criticism that I don't introduce legislation. But a lot of my constituents think there is too much legislation flying around this building. They are more interested in who can get results, which is a lot harder."
District 8 at a glance
Number of registered voters: Approximately 59,000
Voter ethnic breakdown: 73 percent white; 9 percent Asian; 3 percent African American; 11 percent Latino or Hispanic.
Home ownership: 66 percent of households are occupied by renters, reflecting the fourth-lowest district home ownership percentage in the city.
Per capita income: $49,392
Source: Board of Supervisors' Office of the Legislative Analyst; San Francisco Department of Elections
E-mail Charlie Goodyear at cgoodyear@....