Lantos Out, Yee And Who Else?
January 14, 2008
When a congressional seat last opened up in San Francisco, a multiple candidate round-robin ensued. Rep. Sala Burton — of the famed “Burton Machine” that included Phil, John, Robert, Kimiko Burton-Cruz and her husband, Emilio Cruz — passed away in 1987. But on her deathbed, Sala anointed her successor in Democratic Party activist Nancy Pelosi, who beat back Supervisors Harry Britt, Doris Ward, Bill Maher and Carol Ruth Silver in a special election. Pelosi won the 8th District with 35 percent of the vote, edging out Britt with 31 percent. The retirement of the 12th District’s Tom Lantos on Jan. 2 because of health has opened up the field for an APA candidate. Furthermore, like 1987, multiple candidates could splinter votes and make 18,000 APA Democrats potential kingmakers this June in a district with a strong Chinese, Filipino, Samoan and Tongan American presence …
WHO’S POSSIBLE?: Ex-state Senator Jackie Speier was already running, and her successor, state Senator Leland Yee, was considering a serious run. And it doesn’t preclude major names from contemplating a once-in-a-generation congressional opening: Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Board of Equalization Chair Betty Yee, College Board member and AsianWeek contributor Rodel Rodis (who toyed with running for state Assembly in 2006), Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, School Board President Norman Yee. San Mateo Democrats like Assemblyman Gene Mullin and even South San Francisco Councilwoman Karyl Matsumoto shouldn’t be ruled out … The Yees or Ma could become the second Chinese American in Congress, after David Wu of Oregon …
BANANA SPLIT: Multiple APA candidates could truly divide APA votes. In 2006, Yee became state senator over former San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin and former state Assemblyman Lou “The Enforcer” Papan. Yee won the APA vote, but a significant number of S.F. APA leaders (like those bolting successful Assembly candidate Mary Hayashi in 2006) sided with Nevin — including then-Supervisor Fiona Ma, former Deputy Superintendent of schools Henry Der, Norman Yee, Rodel Rodis, BART Director James Fang and Phil Ting. Yee received the support of S.F. School Board members Eric Mar, Eddie Chin, District Attorney Kamala Harris and Betty Yee. In a Yee congressional bid, Friends of Educational Opportunities in Chinatown will come out strongly against Yee for his strong opposition to the City College Chinatown campus.
Reach Samson Wong at (415) 321-5886 or swong@asianweek.com.
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Are you sure Mayor Gavin Newsom lives in the 12th District. The last I checked, he doesn’t.