Chairman Mao once said “Women hold up half the sky.” In San Francisco, that seems particularly true. In two weeks, Mayor Gavin Newsom has appointed four women to major posts: Heather Hiles, school board; Heather Fong, interim police chief; Joanne Hayes-White, fire chief; and Michela Alioto-Pier, supervisor.
Newsom also indirectly ratified Arlene Ackerman’s standing as school superintendent and one of the highest African American female executives. The Hiles appointment solidified a 4-3 majority of pro-Ackerman school board supporters. A minority had threatened to topple Ackerman last year.
Gender Gap: The mayor’s four appointments and his support for Ackerman will likely bolster Newsom’s standing among women in a Democrat-majority city. According to a Voter Contact Services breakdown of city Democrats, women enjoy a distinct advantage and comprise 53 percent of the local, registered party.
Newsom’s appeal to female Democrats continues a strategy from last year when he prominently displayed the endorsements of the city’s top three female, elected officials: House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and state Sen. Jackie Speier.
Their endorsements helped soften perceptions that Newsom lacked compassion toward the homeless. In particular, the left and rival mayoral candidates characterized Newsom as a downtown, rightwing homeless-basher. That depiction wasn’t surprising, considering he had closely identified with a politically risky, tough-love homeless agenda — converting cash benefits to in-kind homeless services under Care Not Cash (Prop. N) in 2002 and spearheading last year’s Aggressive Panhandling Ban (Prop. M).
A Chinese American Voters Education Committee (CAVEC) exit poll showed a gender gap with regard to Prop. M. Men enthusiastically supported Newsom’s Prop. M, 62-38 percent, but female support was a lukewarm 55-45 percent. The measure won with 60 percent support.
At the same time, Newsom’s mayoral opponents churned out homeless proposals to compete as kinder and gentler programs. In the same CAVEC poll, women overwhelmingly supported mayoral candidate Angela Alioto’s Prop. J to legally segregate and protect the disabled, seniors and families in homeless shelters. Women supported J with 66 percent of the vote. Men only supported it with 54 percent of the vote. The measure won with 59 percent of the vote.
These gender gaps hurt Newsom and prevented him from an outright victory for mayor in November. (Newsom led 42-20 over Matt Gonzalez.) And he just narrowly beat Gonzalez, 53-47, in the December runoff. The 60 percent support for his homeless measures never translated into a 60 percent vote for his mayoral candidacy.
Soften Newsom’s Image: Newsom’s four appointments represent an attempt to soften his get-tough, anti-homeless image. The mayor’s female appointments serve a purpose similar to Howard Dean’s last-minute gambit in the Iowa presidential caucuses last week. With Dean slipping in the polls, his reclusive doctor-wife showed up on the eve of the caucuses to campaign with him and to soften his bearish, grunting image. Still, the former Vermont governor eventually lost the Iowa caucuses.
Newsom’s appointments could preclude female challengers in the 2007 mayor’s race.
Who can challenge him? Board of Equalization Chairwoman Carole Migden (now running for state senate) could pose a formidable challenge. She could unite gays, liberals and progressives and she could tap into the women’s vote.
While too early to forecast, Kamala Harris’s success as the first APA, African American and female district attorney could launch a promising future for other offices, including mayor.
Also waiting in the wings for the mayor’s seat or the state legislature is Assessor-Recorder Mabel Teng. Her political ascension to mayor will depend on her performance as a municipal executive. She will have to evaluate the assessor-recorder office as a launching pad for higher office. Her colleague, Treasurer-Tax Collector Susan Leal, failed miserably last year for mayor.
F.O.B. — Females on Board: In the short-term, the Newsom appointments could help galvanize the women’s vote to wrest control of the male-dominated, anti-Newsom Board of Supervisors. To play to the gender gap, Newsom has appointed the board’s third woman, Michela Alioto-Pier, who has to run for election this November.
On the same ballot, Newsom could try unseating incumbent Supervisor Jake McGoldrick in District 1 (Richmond) by supporting state Democratic Party Vice Chair Alicia Wang. She’s potentially a formidable candidate: a teacher, a Chinese American homeowner in a district with a substantial APA vote and the political director of her teacher’s union.
Newsom may also endorse neighborhood activist Rebecca Silverberg, who supported him for mayor, or former commissioner Myrna Lim if they take on Gerardo Sandoval (also pro-Gonzalez) in District 11 (Excelsior).