Prop L was slammed by the SF Democratic County Central Committee last night, via an almost-unanimous vote against endorsing the measure to "restore transportation balance" for motorists. The DCCC's endorsements hold a lot of sway, and its resounding "no" vote on the measure was a key litmus test to see whether the Republican-backed measure would garner any sympathy from SF's political establishment.
All but one of the DCCC's 32 members, which include six supervisors and a full roster of veteran SF office holders, voted against or abstained from endorsing the proposition. The only "yes" vote came from Carole Migden, formerly a senator, assemblywoman, and city supervisor. Current office holders who voted against it include Supervisors Malia Cohen, David Campos, Eric Mar, Scott Wiener, John Avalos, and David Chiu, as well as Senator Mark Leno. Supervisor London Breed also opposes it.
Cohen and Campos, who have criticized parking meter expansions and developments without parking, hadn't made their positions on Prop L known until now. The only supervisors who have yet to weigh in are Katy Tang, Norman Yee, and Mark Farrell.
Mayor Ed Lee hasn't spoken up on Prop L either, although it's funded by one of his major campaign backers, tech billionaire Sean Parker.
The DCCC joins a quickly growing roster (listed below) of endorsements from influential people and organizations in SF. The DCCC also endorsed Prop A, the $500 million transportation bond measure, and Prop B, Supervisor Wiener's measure to tie funding for Muni and safer streets to population growth.
No one from the public spoke in favor of Prop L at the DCCC meeting, but a dozen or so slammed it.
"If you have to drive, if you want to drive, if you find yourself behind the wheel, your best friend is the person who took Muni -- not your parking place," said one man. "San Francisco's going to probably grow by about 200,000 people in the next 25 years. We don't want half of those people, or any percent of those people, in cars."
Here's the full list of endorsements so far from the "No on L" campaign website:
Elected Leaders
Mark Leno, State SenatorDavid Chiu, President San Francisco Board of SupervisorsEric Mar, San Francisco Board of SupervisorsJane Kim, San Francisco Board of SupervisorsScott Wiener San Francisco Board of SupervisorsJohn Avalos, San Francisco Board of SupervisorsDavid Campos, San Francisco Board of SupervisorsAlix Rosenthal, Vice-Chair, Democratic County Central CommitteeRafael Mandelman, Democratic County Central CommitteeHene Kelly, Democratic County Central CommitteeKelly Welsh Dwyer, Democratic County Central CommitteeMatt Haney, Board of EducationTom Radulovich, BART Board of Directors
Organizations:
CC PuedeSan Francisco League of Conservation VotersThe San Francisco Building & Construction Trades CouncilPotrero Hill Democratic ClubNew Avenues Democratic ClubWalk SFLivable CitySF Bicycle CoalitionSF Transit Riders
Individuals (* affiliations listed for identification purposes only):
Christina Olague, President, Latino Democratic Club*Nicholas Josefowitz, former SF Commission on the Environment*Bruce Agid, South Beach/Rincon/Mission Bay Neighborhood Association Board Member and Transportation Rep.*Patrick Valentino, Vice President, South Beach | Mission Bay Business AssociationWinston Parsons, Chairperson, GoGearyMónica Negra Mojina Guerra, Youth Program CoordinatorPaul Hogarth, Tenderloin ResidentPeter Gallotta, Geary Citizens' Advisory Council*Fran Taylor, CC Puede co-chairAliza Paz, Resident
