District 8 Election

     When Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to win elective office in California in 1977 by winning over its electorate—a story retold in the Academy Award-winning “Milk,” District 8 became the most famous local electoral district in America. The Board of Supervisors district encompasses the predominantly gay Castro district, along with Noe Valley, Duboce Triangle, Glen Park, Diamond Heights, Dolores Park and other neighborhoods in the geographic center of the city.
     More than three decades later, sexual orientation is now a non-issue in the district, as well as citywide. Indeed, most of the candidates in the November 2 election are gay, and it’s only outside the tolerant boundaries of San Francisco that sexual identification is still a wedge issue. Instead, the topics debated among the district’s contenders now are rather mundane: business development, public safety and transit.
     Still, it’s a key district to watch because it could swing the Board’s majority one way or the other, with the moderate/progressive split possibly dependent on the outcome. That may be why it’s so fiercely contested, compared to the other four districts where there’s a seat up for grabs. In one of the most politically active neighborhoods in the city, if not the country, you’d expect no less.
     Here are the three main contenders vying for the seat now held by termed-out Bevan Dufty:
     RAFAEL MANDELMAN: This affordable housing and land-use attorney, with degrees from Harvard, Yale and Berkeley, is known for his advocacy for tenants’ rights and his coalition-building efforts among progressive activists. He appears to be the choice of the city’s progressive heavyweights. See www.rafaelmandelman.com.
     REBECCA PROZAN: This assistant D.A. is hoping to become the first woman elected in the district. She has campaigned and worked for current D.A. Kamala Harris and former mayor Willie Brown. Women’s rights and gay rights are issues that animate her work and she has close ties to the Obama administration. See www.rebeccaprozan.com.
     SCOTT WIENER: This deputy city attorney, a Fulbright Scholar and Harvard Law graduate, is considered the most moderate of the three chief contenders. He has long supported sustainable business growth and improvements in public safety and the transportation infrastructure. See www.scott2010.com.
     Also running are pro-business candidate William Hemenger (who quit his job at Oracle to run for the seat), therapist James Boeger and escort/exotic dancer Starchild. Only in San Francisco would you get to see an exotic dancer wrestling with issues like public transit policy.
     HelloSanFrancisco tip: Absentee ballots can be requested from the San Francisco Dept. of Elections at http://www.sfgov2.org/index.aspx?page=861.

- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.