THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2024
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Hits and misses, flyers and bullseyes
by Mike Ege
Editor in Chief, The Voice of San Francisco
It’s less than two weeks to Election Day in San Francisco, and the fur is flying! Just like the campaign flyers that are likely overflowing from your mailbox, the texts and emails that have your phone buzzing constantly, the slow-motion King-of-the-Hill of new campaign posters in the windows of your favorite cafe, and the reports of new polls proclaiming a new frontrunner in the mayor’s race (by a fraction of the margin of error, of course).
It’s enough to have you wanting to somehow bury your head in the foam of your morning latte, but you know you’ll just have to power through it. We’re here to help.
The race for Supervisor in the Richmond is entering a protracted lightning round as labor groups and supporters of incumbent Connie Chan drop big bucks on mailers and posters attacking frontrunner Marjan Philhour, and in at least one case, it appears they may have cut some ethical corners moving those bucks around. Meanwhile, Chan pivots her rhetoric closer to Philhour’s at the race’s final debate. Get the details on one of the city’s most contentious races here.
We also head into the race for mayor, with part 2 of Susan Dyer Reynolds’ report on Daniel Lurie’s spending millions of his family fortune on a 24/7 campaign highlighting allegations of corruption against rival Mark Farrell. The problem: the campaign barely mentions the decades of grift and cronyism that City Family members have perpetrated, been complicit in, or overlooked. There’s a reason why. Click here to find out.
Now that outgoing Superintendent of Schools Matt Wayne has fallen on his sword, City Hall has brought in their own point person— the longtime head of the city’s Department of Children, Youth, and their Families, Maria Su. She’ll be facing six significant challenges in her new job as Superintendent right away. John Trasviña has the details.
In transit news, SFMTA has been getting a lot of flak lately on several fronts, but one place where progress is being made is with Muni Metro. Directors finally approved a contract to upgrade the system’s train control system. Jerold Chinn reports.
Returning to flyers, John Rothmann says the quiet part out loud about what they’re saying. He also wonders whether the massive amount of money spent by one contender in the mayor’s race calls for some changes or at least some lessons learned.
Need help divining those flyers? Don’t forget our cheat sheet for local propositions!
Check out links to our latest content below, or just bookmark our homepage to see the latest.
Top News
REYNOLDS RAP
Lurie’s nonstop negative Farrell campaign ignores Breed’s big corruption problems
Could Daniel Lurie hand Mayor London Breed another term? Second of a two-part series
Last week, Reynolds Rap deconstructed mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie’s negative campaign against contender Mark Farrell, and how Lurie’s own ties to City Hall dealings reduce his campaign’s “bombshell” to more of a damp squib. In part 2, we examine how the campaign ignores years of ongoing “pay-to-play” politics under previous administrations, which continue to get swept under the rug under incumbent mayor London Breed. […]
ELECTION 2024
Spending, rhetoric enter high gear in Westside supervisors race
The race to represent the Richmond enters the home stretch, campaign spending surges, with attack mailers aimed at frontrunner Marjan Philhour hitting voter mailboxes. Meanwhile, incumbent Connie Chan seemed to move closer to the challenger on the issues.
by Mike Ege
EDUCATION
Six crises await new S.F. schools superintendent Maria Su
In 2014, addressing the problems of our schools, Su described a student’s “civil right to succeed” and the schools’ responsibility not just to graduate students but to prepare them with the skills necessary to succeed. She concluded, “I have to believe it is possible.” She now has that chance as the incoming superintendent of schools.
Quote of the week
“…we need a supervisor who is going to represent everyone in this neighborhood and understand that we’re going to disagree on things, and that’s O.K.; we can’t go on with an us-against-them-mentality when we’re not meeting the basics of public safety, we’re not meeting the basics around housing, shelter, and food security.”
—Marjan Philhour, District 1 supervisor candidate
Nomi toon
ICYMI
HOUSING
Update: From DMV to housing
“We will continue to use all our tools to create more affordable housing throughout California — including by converting underutilized state property into homes,” said Governor Newsom.
TRANSIT
Muni Metro to finally say goodbye to floppy disks
Dan Howard, who is in charge of the project for the SFMTA, said that it was critical to replace the 30-year-old computer system that is five generations behind current technology.
by Jerold Chinn
A&E
‘Hallyu! The Korean Wave’ brings a pop-culture phenomenon to the Asian Art Museum
he unprecedented global pop-culture phenomenon known as K-pop has influenced cinema, drama, fashion, and beauty.
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EVENTS
Out and About
What to do this weekend
By Lynette Majer
Managing Editor, The Voice of San Francisco
San Francisco loves Halloween. The city has a long history of its celebration, so it’s no surprise that October is replete with revelry. It could be said that every day is Halloween in San Francisco: One needn’t venture far to see someone dressed in what could pass for a costume, and there’s always some type of celebration to be found.
Thursday, Oct. 24
This year’s Terror Vault immersive haunt, Fatal Abduction, at the San Francisco Mint involves an alien invasion of shape-shifting dinosaur-like “reptoids,” which have infiltrated the government and are escalating climate change to make the Earth more inhabitable for themselves while wiping out humankind — and it’s up to you to stop them. Through Nov. 3. Tickets from $60.
Take your pick from several ghostly mystery tours offered by San Francisco Ghosts including Gold and Ghouls, Vintage Murder and Mystery True Crime Tour; Ghosts Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl; and more. Ongoing. Tickets from $25.
Enjoy a concert of the music (no film) from The Nightmare Before Christmas at Nightmare in Concert at Grace Cathedral. Tickets from $25.
The 20-year old, seven-member S.F. Jazz Collective was originally formed to embrace influences outside of jazz history. This year they have composed new material inspired by the de Young Museum’s exhibition About Place, which features 42 works by over 30 Bay Area artists and explores how the artists relate to their environments by place, whether as the land, as heritage, as imaginary, or as belonging. Through Sunday. Tickets from $25.
Friday, Oct. 25
Find plenty of activities for the whole family at Scaregrove in Stern Grove with carnival rides, hauntings, food trucks, live entertainment, and more. Free admission.
Sip themed cocktails while roaming throughout the venue and encountering “strange specters,” “eerie secrets,” and live entertainment at the House of Spirits: A Haunted Cocktail Soirée. Through Nov. 2. Tickets from $73.
Here’s an unforgettable movie night: Floating Features, a bay cruise on the Red and White Fleet’s hybrid electric vessel Enhydra while watching a movie; tonight it’s Wes Craven’s Scream. Tickets from $38.
The Haas- Lilienthal House looks like the perfect mansion for Nightmare House on Franklin Street, where guests are greeted by “a depraved family and their disgruntled staff” for “a night of unspeakable evil” combining psychological horror with immersive theatrical storytelling. Think I’ll sit this one out. Through Nov. 2. Tickets from $59.
Listen up! Our podcasts
- John Rothmann: Lessons learned in this Mayoral campaign and should we change the system the future?
- John Rothmann: Political flyers- How do you know what is true when you receive the literature?
- Introduction to the SFUSD new leadership with John Rothmann
- Matt Wayne is out! What’s next for the SFUSD?
- Plus more (and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible or everywhere else you get your favorite podcasts)
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