DOUBLE DOWN ON MAYOR’S PICK

DOUBLE DOWN ON MAYOR’S PICK

One Asian Pacific American (APA) business leader willing to “double down” on mayor’s picks for Carmen Chu’s District 4 (Sunset) Supervisor successor as a contest between mayoral deputy spokesperson Francis Tsang and supervisor aide Katy Tang…SF realtors like all candidates still remaining in the appointment contest… Another potential appointee – Police Commissioner Suzy Loftus - highly praised from SF Board of Supervisors when they named January 4, 2011 as “Suzy Loftus Day” in a resolution by moderate former Supervisor Michaela Alioto-Pier of District 2 (Marina/Pacific Heights) and signed by Mayor Gavin Newsom…

Mayor could call the closest person to him – Francis Tsang (above) (Courtesy of Francis Tsang)

READ BETWEEN THE LINES: Daily political columnists two weekends ago named strong candidates for Chu’s job but had potential kiss-of-death labels: one has good chance of winning and is well liked by the left. That’s odd for columnists to say considering it runs contrary to Mayor Ed Lee’s centrist leanings and slanting right District 4. Arguably an APA progressive could win District 4 as did Norman Yee in neighboring and less conservative District 7 (West of Twin Peaks)…. Same pundits say other strong appointment candidate is unafraid to speak out. However that draws comparisons to Lee’s appointee Christina Olague who turned 180 by overturning mayor’s suspension of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi…And unmentioned names.  As they say, watch out for the quiet ones…

Supervisor-in-waiting Katy Tang (above) has already moved into Carmen Chu’s office. (Courtesy of Flicker)

ISLAND MINEFIELD: Stirring up Asian and APA divisive sentiment are former US Department of Commerce official Ro Khanna with Ignatius Ding and Peter Stanek of Global Alliance for Preserving the History of World War Two in Asia. They penned weekend San Jose Mercury op-ed calling on US to leverage China-Japan dispute over islands for closer relations with China. Khanna, chewing on running against Rep. Mike Honda (See “Potstickers” on 1/31/13 at tinyurl.com/a3zdcor) could alarm APAs sympathizing with Japan. Op-ed doesn’t address another island issue among China, Vietnam, Philippines but potentially stirs anti-Chinese feeling of Southeast Asian partisans…Stirring anti-Japanese feeling could hurt Honda, a Japanese American leading efforts calling for Japan to acknowledge and apologize for Asian comfort women….

SF College Board member Steve Ngo maybe ready to graduate to higher
office. (Courtesy of the Ngo Campaign)

GET TO KNOW NGO: With accreditation crisis deadline for City College on March 15, there’s opportunity for College Board member Steve Ngo. Former Minami-Tamaki (famed for overturning Korematsu v. US case) lawyer won a second term with highest, 103,000 votes, despite barbs by some faculty, labor and administrators for bluntness.  If Ngo navigates CCSF away from its fiscal cliff, there are two political futures for him. One as “lifer” like APA trustees Rodel Rodis and Lawrence Wong. Or, Richmond resident might eye District 1 (Richmond) supervisor seat of Eric Mar, terming out in 2016. Mar proved progressive could win bellwether Richmond where two of five residents are APA. However, peril is College Board trustees haven’t done well for supervisor as his colleaguesJohn Rizzo, Wong, Jackson, Mandelman and Anita Grier have found. Although four years away, Ngo will have to divine two potential APA candidates – former Recreation & Park Commissioner David Lee (lost to Mar in 2012) and Sandra Lee Fewer ofSchool Board…

SHELL SHOCK: Social media campaign stirred by IBEW Local 1245 to re-educate SF supervisors on job losses while estimates dramatically double for consumers using Shell Energy generated power thru SFPUC/CleanPowerSF. Questions raised about how “green” the power is…SF Supervisors likely to revote given final contract language and major changes in Shell arrangement. That will add to mayor and supervisor skepticism – especially among five APA legislators – about whether low income and English-limited customers can opt-out. Supervisor Olague defeat last Nov. partially attributed to her pro-Shell vote. Left leaning District 5 (Haight-Ashbury/Western Addition) voters had received mailer criticizing it as a pro-corporate and anti-environmental stance…

DIVIDE OR MULTIPLY: Intra-APA and intraparty Khanna-Honda battle could draw Democrats who can squeeze either out in June ’14 primary and eke out November victory. Honda’s 17th District is half APA, but only 30% of electorate is APA. They’re sliced and diced with contingents of Chinese (11% of all voters), Filipino (5%), Japanese (l%), Korean (1%), Vietnamese (7%), Indian Americans (5%)…

Supervisor Eric Mar (second from left) corrects Board of Supervisors President
David Chiu’s (second from right) “egghead” remarks.

SERPENTINE LOVE: At Jane Morrison Lunar New Year 24^th annual $5,000 bash for Chinese Newcomer Service Center, Supervisor Eric Mar, debuting his girlfriend at inaugural SF Board of Supervisors meeting in January (See “Potstickers” on 1/10/13 attinyurl.com/bbedxnb), quoting Chinese consular official: “Guys will be more romantic this year” with Mar adding, “I’ll be checking in with the guys in the room”…

NANCY & HARRIET UNITED: Former AsianWeek co-political columnist (predating @SFPotstickers) Norm Ishimoto lives on sturdy Golden Gate Heights, even though his abode starts with the year and ends with day city shook and burned in ‘06…Co-columnist wife Harriet – after working years for Rep. Nancy Pelosi – ended up finally in her congressional district in 2012, thanks to California Citizens Redistricting Commission, who tucked @SFPotstickers one block into House Speaker-in-waiting’s district and off Rep.Jackie Speier’s turf. Just shows art of redistricting never abides by axiom that a straight line is shortest distance between two points…

Emcee Aaron Peskin, host Jane Morrison, Chinese Newcomer Service
Center Board President Peter Lam who is presented with a cake by Board of
Equalization member Betty Yee. State Senator Mark Leno (right) discusses
state of California budget.

WHAT, NO RED ENVELOPES?: Bash emcee and minister without political portfolio Aaron Peskin reminding CNSC donors that he didn’t need to bring certificate of honor as long as he brought the bacon to Stockton Street non-profit…PAYBACK NOT AN ITCH:Emeritus SF Board of Supervisor President and Democratic Party Chair – based on his headcount of supportive supervisors – expected Director Carlos Quan-Serrano and Board President Peter Lam will get some “add back” money from city budget this summer…Carlos is from El Salvador via grandpa. Hence, Quan-Serrano adapted as Chinese family surname…

IN LENO WE TRUST: Introduced by Peskin as “Chair of the Budget Committee Mark Leno who’s still Chair of the Budget Committee – it’s just a little bigger budget”…Mark is chair of State Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee picking at Governor Jerry Brown’s $97.6 billion plan for 2013-14. Leno once pecked at SF chump change of $4-5 billion as supervisor….“We have a lot of rebuilding to do,” said Leno after $50 billion in infrastructure cuts as well as education slashes, more crowded classrooms and court system on “life support.” No word on whether women in black – buddy Superior Court Judges Lillian Sing and Julie Tang – will have courtroom timeshare…

LET THEM EAT CAKE: State Board of Equalization member and State Treasurer candidate Betty Yee called CNSC a “showcase” serving hundreds of thousands and more with coming passage of immigration reform in Washington DC. Yee, a SF Parkside cashier kid in her family laundry biz, won’t get axed a la Marie Antoinette for serving up cake “compliments of your tax officials” and without objection from Budgetmeister Leno or District 5 Supervisor London Breed. Besides, she said, “I came to eat” after sermonizing on putting public housing and jobs first…

VISITING HOURS: Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones appointed healthcare advocate and Dr. Paul Song of LA as department’s first Visiting Fellow for next six months…And while working and attending meetings and briefings with Jones and senior staff, he’ll have to cut out of being Visiting Fellow to visit his first child, a girl, delivered by journalist Lisa Ling…

SCRAMBLED BUT SUNNY SIDE UP: Retired teacher and SF Democratic Party county comm’s Hene Kelly tossed verbal apple at Board of Supervisor President David Chiu, as she chastised him to “work on your groceries”…Corporal punishment nearly reintroduced as double Harvard grad Chiu anointed 93-year-old and Grande Dame of SF Democratic Party Jane Morrison as “honorary member of the Chinese community…We refer to Jane as a banana. She might be white on the outside, but she’s yellow on the inside”…HARDBOILED: Actually “reverse banana” with Supervisor Mar amendment to call her an egg… Jane’s of hard white shell and yolky yellow variety as opposed to Filipino balut and too young to be Chinese century year old amber-black-gray sulphury pidan …

WRAP AND ROLL: Campaign manager-treasurer to SF progressives, Esther Marks taking heat by staying in the kitchen of SRO CNSC fete on Woodland Av. The “Chief Chef” rotating in dirty dishes and rotating out platters of scrumptious Beijing duck wraps with hoisin sauce, freshly wrap, rolled and peanut sauce slathered Vietnamese goi cuon (spring rolls), steamy bowls of won ton and AsianWeek Foundation’s Ted Fang chicken wrap on Lincoln, Washington and Michael Jordan’s birthday weekend…

MISS ME?: Email Samson Wong at potsticker@prodigy.net and  follow him at Twitter @SFPotstickers…