Big questions as a parade of politicians visits The Chronicle
The big question for interim San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell was why he aligned himself with progressives who were determined to undercut the chances of fellow centrist and acting Mayor London Breed in the June election. He was ready to take on that question, and a succession of follow-ups, in a meeting with The Chronicle’s editorial board Wednesday.
He started by recalling his December decision not to run for the office. He spoke about how a campaign would force him to spend too much time away from his three children, ages 5, 10 and 12, at a precious time in their lives. He talked about his desire to coach his son’s baseball team in the spring.
Hold on, Mr. Mayor. I had to ask: You forgo a campaign because it would deprive you of family time — an admirable expression of life priorities — yet you agree to move from the Board of Supervisors to the hyper-intensive job of mayor of San Francisco?
Farrell explained that had he run to fill the remaining term of the late Mayor Ed Lee, he not only would have had a seven-day-a-week campaign schedule through June, but, if he won, he would then be both governing and running for a full term in November 2019.
“That’s a wholly different proposition than being the mayor — as incredibly busy and wholly consuming asitis—fora period of half a year,” he said in our Facebook Live interview after the meeting.
Farrell directly addressed two suspicions about his appointment by the Board of Supervisors. He insisted that he made no deals with the progressives who orchestrated the scheme. He also dismissed speculation that his stint as interim mayor could be a way to raise his profile for the 2019 race.
He insisted he is never going to run for another elective office. He could not be more Shermanesque.
“This is it.”
Secretary of State Alex Padilla was another high-profile visitor to our editorial board last week.
He did not have any earthshaking announcements, just a nuts-and-bolts report of a secretary of state who is doing his job. His is not the most glamorous statewide office, but it is important to safeguarding the integrity of elections and easing the paperwork interface of business and government.
Padilla spoke about shifting business filings online, enhancing the cybersecurity of the state’s voting systems, a pilot project to open an 11-day voting window in five counties, a commitment to streamline voter information guides, his office’s other efforts to increase voter registration and participation and the increased California clout in the 2020 presidential primaries by moving the election to early March.
Newspapers across the state, including ours, already have praised him for his programs in making the campaign finance databases more efficient.
So he didn’t make news during the meeting. For a secretary of state, perhaps no news is good news. His immediate predecessor, Debra Bowen, drew attention for missing significant work time because of her struggle with a debilitating depression. Kevin Shelley resigned in 2005 in the face of allegations of fundraising improprieties, misuse of federal funds and a volcanic temper.
But that doesn’t mean Padilla didn’t generate a little excitement at Chronicle headquarters.
On his way out, Padilla entered the elevator at the same time as crack copy editor Linda Houser, who tagged him as the “most famous person” she had ever met in a lift. Houser observed that Padilla had “the handshake of a man running for re-election.” He is, naturally. She was prompted to pose the
question on Facebook: “Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met in an elevator?”
The anecdotes were abundant — and a lot of fun. Her friend, who answered “Jack Nicholson, Winona Ryder, Anthony Bourdain,” obviously hangs out in cooler circles that your average newsie. Politicians such as Jackie Speier, Adam Schiff and Gavin Newsom ought to be flattered, working as they are in a business where name recognition is the coin of the realm. Woody Allen, Mike Tyson and Carl Bernstein merited mention.
“Does Herb Caen count?” asked one of Houser’s friends. Not if you worked at The Chronicle when he did, as this colleague did.
I could not help but recall my favorite elevator encounter. It was with Derek Jeter, who just happened to be my teen daughter's favorite player at that moment in 2007. We were staying at a hotel in Laguna Beach and the Yankees were playing at Anaheim when he suddenly joined us.
My daughter Lisa’s eyes nearly exploded in disbelief. Jeter could not be more gracious when Lisa asked with a sly grin, “Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like Derek Jeter?” He smiled and said, “Yeah, my mom tells me that all the time.”
Lisa kept her cool until he got off the elevator and as it closed said: “Oh, my God, that was Derek Jeter!” From that moment until he retired, he was my favorite major leaguer, even though I had spent a lifetime disdaining the multi-titled and cash-entitled Yankees.
The lesson? A little cordiality on an elevator trip can make someone’s day, regardless of whether you’re famous or not.
Polls suggest Republicans will be hard pressed to have a gubernatorial candidate in the November election. The three Republicans are running well behind Democrats Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa, and only the top two finishers will advance to the general election. Can one of the Republicans rise to the runoff ? Here’s your chance to check out the GOP three: Travis Allen, John Cox and Doug Ose. I’ll be moderating a debate at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Club of San Francisco. The debate will be live-streamed on SFChronicle.com. Tickets are on sale through Eventbrite at http://bit.ly/2EnhX5l, and Chronicle subscribers can get a discount by entering the code GOPDEBATE
John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChron