Recalling 12 tumultuous months

Progressive power play

San Francisco has its third mayor in two months, the result of a stunning vote hatched by progressives to oust a moderate rival as the race to fill the top job gets under way.

For shock value, rough politics and cynicism, it’s a scenario that’s hard to top. London Breed, who filled in after Ed Lee’s sudden death in December, is out, due to a six-vote bloc that’s installing Mark Farrell, who passes for conservative in a liberal town.

Jan. 25

Massacre in Parkland, Fla.

Thoughts and prayers are not enough.

The 1989 Cleveland Elementary School shooting led California to impose the nation’s first ban on assault weapons. In 1994, after more gun devastation, Congress passed a national assault weapons ban, but it expired in 2004, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has been unable so far to reinstate it.

It is an American outrage that steps as sensible as closing loopholes on background checks or preventing suspected terrorists from purchasing guns are stymied in Congress. And so, once again, a nation endures the heartache and the furor inflicted by a deranged individual with weaponry that does not belong on our streets.

Feb. 15

Breed for mayor

One candidate stands out for both her commitment to address the concerns she shares with her opponents and her willingness to listen to competing arguments and come up with adjustments that achieve a progressive ideal in a more workable and reasonable manner. This sensibility is one of the most important attributes in a mayor, and the candidate who most demonstrates it is London Breed, president of the Board of Supervisors.

April 15

The border ‘crisis’

Prioritizing the deportations of dangerous people — as opposed to mothers fleeing gang warfare — is the right thing to do and the best strategy for public safety.

Instead, we now have a manufactured border crisis of the Trump administration’s own making, promises to incarcerate many more migrants for an indefinite amount of time, and thousands of innocent children who may not see their parents anytime soon.

June 21