October 9, 2003

San Francisco Mayoral Hopefuls Address Community Leaders

San Francisco -  In the face of the imminent changing of the guard facing San Francisco, the Bay Area Armenian National Committee organized a Candidates' Forum for the mayoral candidates who are running in the upcoming November 4, 2003 election.  The election will mark the end of an era for the City and the Armenian-American community of the Bay Area, as Mayor Willie Brown's second term comes to an end.  Mayor Brown has been a staunch and vociferous supporter of Armenian-American concerns throughout his tenure. 

Representatives of two dozen Armenian-American organizations and various community leaders were invited to the forum which was held on Thursday, September 18 at Vasbouragan Hall in San Francisco. During the forum, the participants had the opportunity to meet and discuss the issues confronting the City with some of the leading candidates:  Former Supervisor Angela Alioto, Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Treasurer Susan Leal, and former Police Chief Tony Ribera.  A separate meeting was held with the frontrunner, Supervisor Gavin Newsom, on Saturday, September 27.

Over the years, most of the candidates have had familiar relations with the Armenian-American community.  San Francisco Treasurer Susan Leal has demonstrated her support to the community, most notably during the political and legal battle over the Mount Davidson Cross in 1997, when as a supervisor, she withstood opposition to the Armenian community's bid to acquire Mt. Davidson Cross to save it from destruction and use it as a memorial to Armenian Genocide victims.  When asked about the possibility of adding Armenian-Americans to the list of minority groups that are protected under the City's public contracting law, she was the lone candidate to express reluctance to support such an undertaking, explaining that the legal challenges to the city's minority business enterprise (MBE) law would make it politically unwise to tamper with the existing law. 

Former Supervisor Angela Alioto, an accomplished civil rights attorney, recounted her own ties and support to the community and told those gathered that its expectations from the candidates' likelihood to act upon entering office should be based on their track record in the past.  Supervisor Alioto, a San Francisco native and daughter of former Mayor Joe Alioto, had been supportive and accessible to the Armenian-American community during her eight years as supervisor.

Tony Ribera, a former Chief of the San Francisco Police Department, and the lone Republican candidate in the race spent much of his time criticizing the current administration of Mayor Willie Brown.  Responding to questions about the lack of affordable housing in San Francisco, Ribera says he did not want to see the "Manhattanization" of the city resulting from additional housing. He spoke about the need for cutting City spending and making the city more business-friendly.

Supervisor Tom Ammiano, whose populist write-in candidacy posed an unlikely challenge to Mayor Brown four years ago, was the final candidate to address the forum.  Once perceived as an ultra-liberal challenger to City's political insiders, he gradually developed an identity as a bridge-builder during his four years as Board President.  While his track record on issues of importance to the Armenian-American community is solid, dating back to his days as School Board President, many attendees were surprised by the fact that he seemed much more moderate and compromising than they had believed him to be.

On Saturday, September 27, many of the same community members gathered at the ANC's San Francisco office to meet with the frontrunner in the mayoral race, Supervisor Gavin Newsom, who had been unable to attend the previous forum.  Newsom, who has been supportive yet cautious during his tenure as a supervisor, articulated his understanding of the issues important to the Armenian-American community and his support.  He spoke for close to an hour about his plans to help alleviate San Francisco's homelessness problem, lack of affordable housing and importance for awarding minority and local business contracts in the city.

Mayor Brown will leave office in January, 2004, after having served nearly 40 years in public office - almost 32 years as a State Assemblyman, including 15 years as Assembly Speaker, and the past eight years as Mayor of San Francisco.