If money was the only thing that mattered in winning elections, deputy city attorney Scott Wiener would be headed straight to the District 8 supervisor seat this November.
The candidate raised $55,638 in the period from July through September, just short of the combined total of his three opponents.
Rafael Mandelman, public law and affordable housing attorney, stepped up his fundraising efforts, taking in $35,112 since July. Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Prozan raised $14,540, but her total contributions for the year are more than Mandelman’s. Bill Hemenger, who works for Oracle, trails the four in raising money, with just $6,875 last quarter.
More money doesn’t automatically win elections, as evidenced by California’s governor’s race, where Meg Whitman has outspent Jerry Brown more than 10 to 1, yet the latest poll shows them locked in a tie.
But the campaign finance disclosures released October 5 reveal much about the candidates’ campaigns and who is supporting them.
Top fundraiser Wiener is financed heavily by realtors, property managers and real estate developers. Those real estate interests gave him $14,125 this quarter. That doesn’t include the many architects and builders who also threw money at his campaign.
He also has the financial backing of Senator Dianne Feinstein, who contributed $500.
Mandelman, who picked up the endorsement of the San Francisco Democratic Party, has labor help, with $1,850 in his campaign disclosure coming from unions and organizers. District 11 supervisor John Avalos has given him $150 and former supervisor and current chair of the Democratic County Central Committee Aaron Peskin added $500 to his campaign.
Prozan has a long list of endorsements from local elected officials and city employees, and received $500 from state assemblywoman Fiona Ma and $500 more from Barbara Kaufman, director of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Bay Area regional office.
Even local races have campaign managers and consultants, though the staff of these campaigns are making between $1,000 and $3,000 per month — far short of Jerry Brown’s manager, who earns $15,000 a month, and Meg Whitman’s, who makes $90,000.
Mandelman paid $33,692 during this reporting period to Lester Connect, a San Francisco-based voter communications firm that does direct mailing.
Prozan’s campaign hired Hope Road Consulting, and so far has paid over $11,319 for its campaign strategy services.
Wiener’s campaign went with Erwin & Muir, paying $13,360 for consulting services, and $5,000 more to Fall Line Analytics, which specializes in voter demographics and targeting.
The scary part about Weiner is Gillian Gillet. This woman has single-handedly shoved through the city’s agencies her own personal agenda,to wit: eliminate cars from San Francisco. She is responsible (along with a VERY little, but very vocal neighborhood support)for eliminating the lane from Guerrero Street in order to make commuter traffic even worse in the hopes that people will just give up and “ride bikes or take public transportation rather than drive into the city.” Like it’s that simple. Like, I’m over 30 years old and don’t ride a bike every day anymore; like, I don’t live in an area served by public transport; like, it would take 2 hours each way to commute by bus but that’s the only choice I have if I can’t use my car…And how ’bout that bike lane she added – bikers know better than to use it, it’s so unsafe. Sure looks pretty tho’…Why the city lets her,(and provides funding for) a private citizen with an axe to grind, enact traffic changes, I have no idea. I have heard she has had relationships with key decision-makers which would make some sense. But in attending some of her meetings it was clear that it was only a handful of neighbors who want their streets to be car-free (literally)who supported her in her zeal. Yet we all now live with her agenda. But now she’s got her hooks into Scott Weiner. Look out District 8 – and all of San Francisco
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Letters to the Editor
Published 10/14/2010
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Supports Prozan in D8
I am supporting Rebecca Prozan for District 8 supervisor as a “straight E” candidate – effective, efficient, energetic – who happens to be a woman. I will feel very proud to see this district, which includes the Castro, represented by a woman supervisor for the first time. And I am concerned about the volume of independent downtown committees spending lots of money mailing us fliers for the candidate you endorsed first, Scott Wiener. For me, it’s simply time for the boys to support a great gal.
Charlie Spiegel
San Francisco
Think twice before voting for Wiener
Residents of the Castro should think twice before casting a vote for Scott Wiener. Given the recent string of suicides by LGBTQ youth it is unconscionable that anyone could support a law that would subject homeless LGBTQ youth to more harassment and discrimination. That is exactly what the Proposition L, the proposed sit/lie ordinance, would do, and Scott Wiener supports it. Time and again, Wiener supports big business and big landlords, and they support him back. It’s time to bring Harvey Milk’s progressive legacy of support and advocacy for LGBTQ youth back to the Castro. Do not vote for Scott Wiener.
Scott Wiener is a terrific candidate with deep roots in District 8, a solid history of getting things done in the district (the LGBT Center, Castro Community on Patrol), integrity and the courage to make difficult decisions. He was the only D8 candidate to publicly support the proposed Pavement to Parks project in Noe Valley; and he has publicly supported Proposition “G”, Muni Reform, since the beginning when we were out on street corners collecting over 40,000 signatures to put it on the ballot.
Rafael all way. Honest, good ethics, for the people