The Gang That Can't Shoot Straight

So it now appears that the uninformed crew trying to recall Supervisor Sophie Maxwell not only can't get its facts straight but now this bunch of self styled "progressives" gives Mayor Gavin Newsom an opportunity to appoint another ally to the Board of Supervisors.

That the recall crew can't get its facts or targets straight is already beyond a doubt; they're running around blaming Maxwell for failures of departments that she has no direct authority over such as Muni, the Police, and the Planning Department and they're plainly lying about her stands on a variety of important issues.

First they say that Maxwell doesn't support the full cleanup of Hunters Point Shipyard but don't point out that she wrote and passed the HPS Community Cleanup Acceptance Act after approval of Proposition P on the November 2000 ballot. They go on to accuse Maxwell of neglecting the shutdown of the Hunters Points Power Plant but apparently ignore the extensive work of the office to push the California Independent System Operator to allow the HP Plant to close. Most recently they charged Maxwell with supporting expansion of the Southeast Sewage Treatment Plant. This is an issue very close to my heart - I've been working on it for the past seven years. The truth of the matter is that Maxwell personally worked with local activists - including myself - to persuade the PUC to create a new Clean Water Master Plan that specifically addresses long-standing environmental justice concerns through environmentally sustainable alternatives and her office took with lead with Supervisor Ammiano to develop the PUC Citizens Advisory Committee that will be key to the public planning process. Finally, they call Maxwell inaccessible - another groundless accusation. Grassroots activists have and continue to be instrumental with each of the above issues and nearly everything else happening in that office.

But now it turns out that they didn't bother reading SF law to see that a Supervisor's recall allows the Mayor to name the replacement. It is truly ironic that this group, a majority of which worked to elect Supervisor Gonzalez Mayor, may now give his victorious opponent an opportunity to solidify his grasp on power.

This is yet another example of why they're the gang that can't shoot straight.

Alex Lantsberg
India Basin/Hunters Point