Spy Plane Crew Returns to U.S. (in National News) The Naz 8 Megaplex: Bollywood flicks, popcorn and plenty of naan (in Bay Area News) Go Your Own Way: Freelancing and independent contract work (in Business) Hot'n'Sour Dish: Japan's Ringu rings eerie bells (in A&E) Emil Amok: Superpowers and superstars, Filipino-crucifixion-style (in Opinion)

Divide and Conquer

By Samson Wong

THE COMEBACK KID: After nearly a hundred days, signs of erosion in Board President Tom Ammiano’s board majority may be starting as the mayor puts back together the base that re-elected him in 1999. That base includes Asian Americans, African Americans, homeowners, Republicans, conservatives, moderates, white Democrats and businesses. Today, the mayor is on the short end of a seven-to-four board split at best — counting on centrists Gavin Newsom, Mark Leno and Leland Yee, along with conservative Tony Hall on some issues.

Those steps may be exemplified in the contrasts between Supervisors Jake McGoldrick and Chris Daly, who both won on an anti-Brown platform last winter. Much ado has been made about Daly: first, the dustup with Yee over a symbolic resolution honoring Labor Secretary Elaine Chao; then, the near physical confrontation between him and the mayor recently; and a verbal joust with Amos Brown over the proposed board’s takeover of the Housing Authority.

Throughout all that, Daly has been cast as hostile to Chinese and African American interests. Chinese Americans, Republicans,and a Chronicle editorial jumped on him for “small-minded bigotry” over the Chao resolution. And then, African Americans expressed their dismay over Matt Gonzalez’s attempt to wrest control of the Housing Authority away from the mayor. (Former Supervisor Brown allegedly told Daly to “go to hell” after Brown challenged the appropriateness of Daly’s board protest, and boasted that he could bring more blacks to the protest.)

With reapportionment, Daly may end up with a district that shifts north into Aaron Peskin’s District 3 with more hostile voters — affluent residents, Chinese, gays and African American voters already in his existing District 6. That could bring him trouble in 2002, when he’s the only anti-Brown supervisor up for re-election, making him a likely target for defeat.

RAKE THE JAKE: Using the Daly skirmish a week earlier, the mayor might be isolating the confrontational supervisors from the more collegial supervisors. For example, Jake McGoldrick hosted a press conference in a Richmond District Chinese restaurant with the mayor last Thursday, April 5. There, the two discussed a spate of restaurant arson fires in the presence of neighborhood and Asian community reporters.

That friendliness was apparent two nights earlier with McGoldrick meeting with the Harvey Milk GLBT Democratic Club on Tony Hall’s live-work legislation, which would reclassify live/work lofts as housing and mandate developers to pay the appropriate fees, moving out of the moratorium declared a few months ago.

“We wanted to show we were moving forward [on live/work] and show we can dialogue with the mayor’s office,” said McGoldrick, who tried to assure Milk members that the legislation was “not final… it’s a framework.”

But he was called to the carpet for his sponsorship of the legislation.

Milk formally opposed this live/work proposal. Ironically, McGoldrick’s aide is Jerry Threet, also president of the Milk Club.

“[The legislation] comes across like a done deal,” said affordable housing advocate Robert Haaland, noting a majority had already endorsed it before a proposed Ammiano live-work task force could review it. If McGoldrick, Sophie Maxwell, Leland Yee, Aaron Peskin, Tony Hall and Gerardo Sandoval remain sponsors of live-work, it may be a sign of cracks in Ammiano’s majority.

PRAGMATISTS VS. HARDLINERS: It will be interesting to see how Ammiano’s majority holds together as they handle the business tax settlement proposal to pay nearly $69 million in refunds to the city’s largest corporations and up to $11 million in interest through a “judgment bond.” The board also stands to lose another $30-40 million annually with the cancellation of the gross receipts taxes.

Gonzalez, Sandoval and Daly would rather pursue to win the lawsuit in court outright, or negotiate a lower settlement. Meanwhile, Peskin, Leno, Hall, Maxwell and Yee were willing to “swallow the bitter pill” by sponsoring Monday’s settlement offer, avoiding a liability of $300 to $800 million. The Board decided to wait another week to make this momentous decision.

Regardless of the decision, the board will have to compensate for lost business taxes due to the litigation. If the board hard-liners prevail in continuing the court fight, that sends a signal to corporate and to small businesses that Daly, Gonzalez and Ammiano are in control. You can be sure small business owners, of whom over forty-percent are Asian Americans, would take notice. And that may trigger a campaign against business “unfriendly” supervisors next year.

“I would be in favor of a new (business) tax scheme that would generate more revenue,” said Matt Gonzalez at the recent Milk Club meeting.

Gonzalez and his colleagues will need to make up the settlement loss, revenue declines from Hetch Hetchy, and an economic slowdown. In addition, they may take revenge on the corporations that sued and forced them to cut the budget and break promises made to folks such as the “People’s Budget Collaborative.” Any new tax might require a public vote, which will likely mobilize local business.

SO FRY ME: E-mail your comments to samson@sfindependent.com or potsticker@prodigy.net. Calls also accepted at 415-359-2899.