Willie Brown: No real politician, and that includes Donald Trump, would admit defeat.
I have to chuckle over the uproar about Donald Trump’s refusal to say whether he’ll accept the results of the presidential election.
I never accepted any election results that didn’t go my way. I’ve had to live with bad results, but I never accepted or acknowledged them.
I lost my first run for the state Assembly in 1962 to longtime incumbent Ed Gaffney. I didn’t concede. Two days later I was back ringing doorbells and thanking people for having voted for me, whether they voted for me or not.
And I kept ringing doorbells for the next two years. Then I won the rematch by 4,000 votes.
Politicians never think they should lose. And when they do lose, they sincerely believe that the
reason was something besides what’s in the mirror.
As the odds of state Attorney General Kamala Harris being elected to the U.S. Senate grow, so does the list of people Gov. Jerry Brown might appoint as her replacement.
According to my best sources, the list includes Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley, super trial lawyer Joe Cotchett, openly gay appeals court Justice Jim Humes, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, and Los Angeles City Attorney Michael Feuer.
Closer to home are Brown’s chief of staff, Nancy McFadden — and even his wife, Anne Gust Brown, who was his chief counselor when Jerry himself was attorney general.
Backers of the latest petition to recall San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee have been cleared by city elections officials to start gathering signatures. Whether anyone actually starts to circulate petitions remains to be seen.
To qualify a recall for the ballot, proponents would have to gather 47,565 valid signatures of registered voters by March 20 — which also happens to be my birthday.
The mayor is nervous, and he’s already fundraising for a campaign.
A recall election would be a huge waste of city money. Lee doesn’t deserve to be fired.
Criticized, yes. Fired, no.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., rolled into town to boost Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee’s reelection run in the East Bay, and to add support for Harris’ Senate campaign.
By the way, it was Harris’ birthday week, and her friends did something practically every day. Monday it was a party at Epic Steak hosted by lobbyist and Sonoma County mover and shaker Darius Anderson. Tuesday it was Democratic fundraiser Hala Hijazi and Board of Supervisors President London Breed, hosting a fundraiser at the Clift Hotel.
Thursday afternoon, Harris hosted a fundraiser for herself at Boulevard, where she told the crowd it would be her last event in San Francisco — for this election.
Movie time: “The Accountant.” The real math in this Ben Affleck thriller about an autistic accountant/hit man for the mob is the body count. But if action movies are your game, it’s a fun way to pass an afternoon.
“The Birth of a Nation”: Another heartwrenching portrait of slavery in America. This time the focus is on the Nat Turner rebellion in 1831.
As with its Academy Award-winning predecessor “Twelve Years a Slave,” “Birth” really displays the atrocious conduct of the era and makes you realize how much the nation has been influenced by that horrible time.
Worth seeing. Probably alone.
“Deepwater Horizon”: This film about the Gulf of Mexico oil-rig blowout has some impressive stars, including Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell. But in the end, it’s not much more than a well-done docudrama.
The tale of the environmental catastrophe and BP’s responsibility for it is a worthy subject for a feature film. But even at an hour and 45 minutes, it drags. Go check out “Sully,” and you’ll see what a well-told human interest story looks like.
The Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, one of the Western Addition’s oldest and most revered social services agencies, is in the midst of a major building program. The goal is to construct 50 units of family housing at Presidio and Sutter.
Victor Makras and his wife, Farah, held a benefit for the project that drew Mayor Ed Lee, former Mayor Art Agnos and District Attorney George Gascón. The emcee was KRONKNBR sports talker Gary Radnich.
I counted 150 people. The event raised more than $300,000, and everyone was out of there in time to catch the presidential debate.
You may have heard there’s an election Nov. 8. You’re all invited to join me for lunch that day at John’s Grill.
I’m hosting, John is paying. And the naked Trump statue will be available for souvenir selfies.