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Indybay Feature

Newsom’s Eviction Protection Veto Will Undermine his Political Credibility

by Randy Shaw, Beyond Chron (reposted)
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has recently been touring the country touting himself as a fighting Democrat who stands up for the Party’s ideals. Newsom argues that Democrats must “make voters enthusiastic again," and promotes social justice, “green” policies, and workers rights. But in San Francisco, Mayor Newsom’s alliance with the real estate industry has led him to consistently oppose measures that protect core Democratic Party constituencies. After vetoing two tenant protection bills earlier this year, Newsom is now expected to veto legislation the Board will pass today to prevent speculators who evict vulnerable tenants from converting the building to condominiums. The importance of “standing up” for the rights of real estate speculators to profit from evicting senior and disabled tenants is not something we hear from the Mayor on the campaign trail. The Mayor’s veto of the tenant protection measure would conclusively show that he puts the interests of real estate speculators ahead of the working families, elderly and middle-class residents whose interests he—and the San Francisco Democratic Party--- claim to support.
As Ellis Act evictions strike fear into vulnerable residents throughout San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom has responded by vetoing two pieces of legislation designed to alleviate the problem. Now it appears that the Mayor is set to veto the most important legislation of all, Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s measure to deny condo conversions where senior and disabled tenants have been evicted without fault.

The Board of Supervisors will pass the Peskin legislation today, and after a second reading next week the measure goes to the Mayor. Optimism that Newsom would sign the measure has faded, and the Mayor is now expected to issue his third veto of tenant protection legislation this year.

Not since Frank Jordan has a San Francisco Mayor been so unconcerned with tenant displacement, and the human cost of 89- year old tenants being forced out of their longtime homes. And Jordan presided during a period of few speculator evictions due to a stagnant real estate market; the former police chief never confronted the type of eviction crisis now occurring on Gavin Newsom’s watch.

Former Mayor Willie Brown remained cozy with real estate interests throughout this mayoralty, but this did not stop him from actively supporting and signing landmark tenant protection measures during his first term. Brown saw tenants suffering from a growing epidemic of senior evictions and acted boldly to reduce this threat.

Read More
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3258#more
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by a TG person
Please check out that link. Discrimination in housing is rampant in San Francisco and out of control.
I guess the only way it will stop is of the Mayor is evicted.
Dear Mayor Newson: Please step down. You can't control crime. You have increased housing discrimination, and NOW you want to hire more workers, when were supposed to be having financial problems. It is apparent you a liar and a corrupt politician. It is only a matter of time before we the people rebel.
Mr. Election Fraud, the organized crime pro-gambling thug known as former "mayor" Willie Brown, was a lifelong legislator for the anti-rent control, anti-tenant real estate lobby, which is how he became a millionaire. Willie Brown and his hand-picked supervisors were so anti-tenant we had to put pro-tenant measures on the ballot to get them to pass. Willie Brown did nothing for tenants as mayor; he attacked tenants and in fact, ran on an anti-rent control platform for his second term, and lost to Tom Ammiano. Brown only took office by election fraud, perpetrated by the same election fraud team that perpetrated his precious 49er Stadium Swindle election of June 3, 1997. For more on this election fraud, see
http://www.brasscheck.com/stadium

His protege, Nazi Newsom, committed the same election fraud with the same election fraud team, to take office, even though Matt Gonzalez won the mayor's race of 2003. This election fraud team includes, but is not limited to, the Democratic Central Committee, the Republican Central Committee, the Chamber of Commerce, the San Francisco Police Department, Cecil Williams and Glide Church, Amos Brown and 3rd Baptist Church, Nation of Islam, A. Phillip Randolph Institute, SLUG, TURF, Housing Authority, and Walden House.

The Democratic Party, like the Republican Party, is a capitalist party, funded by the same corporations as the Republican Party. The only reason for its existence is to keep the Reds & Greens out of office by singing labor's/tenant's tune while campaigning so the workingclass votes Democrat instead of Red (Peace & Freedom) or Green, and then when in office, carry out the same agenda as the Republican Party. This is called a con game, the good cop/bad cop routine, the carrot and the stick insult.

It is long overdue that Randy Shaw and everyone else who claims to support tenants stop falling for this insulting game which by definition destroys tenants' ability to fight and win, leave the Democratic Party and never vote for any Democrat at any level of office. This is the same Democratic Party whose candidates for governor and all federal offices, as well as others, proudly support the death penalty and prisons; support more war in Iraq; and support the US military base to protext US oil profits in the Middle East known as Israel, just like the Republican Party. These reactionary positions are all to guarantee maximum profits for the capitalist class, the primary goal of both parties. By definition, that is anti-workingclass, anti-tenant.

Clearly, Nazi Newsom plans to commit election fraud again. To defeat him, we need an overwhelming vote for a pro-tenant candidate, either Green or Red, and someone who is willing to go to court to fight the election fraud. By the time of the next mayor's race, in November 2007, we should have 2 Green supervisors. Hopefully, one of them will run for mayor. With each succeeding day, as the American economy sinks to the bottom of the sea, the Democrats' ability to survive election fraud becomes less possible. We need an 80% vote for the pro-tenant candidate to send the Democrats out of town for good, and good riddance to them.
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