Mayor’s ratings plummet as voter discontent grows
There was one one glaring omission in the new Chamber of Commerce poll on the state of San Francisco — Mayor Ed Lee’s approval ratings.
The chamber declined to release the figures on the business-friendly mayor, but sources privy to the numbers say Lee’s job rating has tanked since his re-election in November.
For the first time, a majority of respondents disapprove of the job Lee is doing. His approval number is down in the low 40s, and the percentage who say they “strongly approve” of his performance has dropped to single digits.
The mayor’s personal likeability numbers have also taken a big hit, with voters equally
split, 45-45 percent, on whether they like him. In 2014, twice as many voters had a favorable opinion of Lee as not.
“Mayor Lee is not a typical politician, and the last few months especially have been rough, so it’s no surprise that polls would reflect that right now,” said mayoral adviser Tony Winnicker.
Lee himself was out of the country on a trade trip when the poll was released last week and was not available for comment.
According to the phone poll of 504 registered voters, taken by David Binder Research from Feb. 18 to 22, dissatisfaction with the mayor appears to be fueled by growing concerns over homelessness and the city’s affordability.
Add in worsening traffic congestion, crime and everincreasing rents, and you have 51 percent of respondents saying San Francisco is headed in the wrong direction — the highest number since the depths of the recession in 2010. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
Lee’s drop may also be linked to a number of direct hits his administration has taken in recent months. They include the accusations of payto-play politics that emerged during the criminal prosecution of Chinatown gangster Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, fallout from the Mario Woods police shooting, the cost of hosting the Super Bowl and the homeless tent encampments that were allowed to spring up along Division Street.
Lee kept a low profile in the months leading up to his November re-election, when voters were still on his side. But his decision to stay out of the limelight in the months since — in part because every time he appears in public, he’s heckled by antipolice demonstrators — appears to be taking a toll.
“It’s a contest between today’s challenges versus the perfect city that voters imagine we should have,” Winnicker said.
The mayor isn’t the only one at City Hall whose numbers have tumbled. Approval for the Board of Supervisors is at 40 percent — a drop of 13 percentage points from a year ago.
California gold: “Look outside. Hell has frozen over. California matters” — so said Hoover Institution research fellow and longtime Republican operative Bill Whalen as he added up the delegate count from the recent GOP primaries.
After decades of the state being an afterthought when it comes to presidential nominations, the 172 GOP delegate slots up for grabs in the June primary could put Donald Trump over the top.
Or, if California Republicans decide they like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz or Ohio Gov. John Kasich more than the billionaire businessman, the state’s results could ensure a floor fight at the Republican convention in Cleveland in July.
“All three candidates are starting to make moves,” with some familiar faces at the helm, said GOP state Chairman Jim Brulte.
Kasich has millionaire tech investor and former state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner working the state.
Cruz has former GOP state Chairman Ron Nehring and his statewide network of conservative contacts in his corner.
Trump has professional Tea Partier and 2003 gubernatorial recall architect Ted Costa.
All sides appear to be gearing up for a multiballot fight at the convention.
“The big question being asked (of prospective delegates) is, ‘Will you stay supportive of the candidate?’ ” said GOP state Vice Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon.
Welcome to the machine: San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin is saddling up with a posse of fellow progressives — including state Democratic Party Chair John Burton and former Assemblyman Tom Ammiano — to take back the Democratic County Central Committee from the moderates friendly to Mayor Ed Lee.
The central committee is a behind-the-scenes political powerhouse. The group hands out official Democratic Party endorsements on candidates and ballot measures, and can raise unlimited donations from developers and unions.
Besides Burton and Ammiano, Peskin has lined up fellow Supervisors Jane Kim, David Campos, Eric Mar and Norman Yee to run on his slate in the June 7 election. Also on the Peskin team: former Supervisors Sophie Maxwell and Bevan Dufty and activist Jon (No Wall on the Waterfront) Golinger.
The more Lee-friendly moderate slate includes Supervisors Scott Wiener, London Breed and Malia Cohen, and former Supervisor Angela Alioto.
“What you are seeing is the rebirth of the political machine,” said Tom Hsieh Jr., a political consultant who is part of the moderate faction that now controls the committee.
Actually, it’s more like a fight over who gets control of the existing machine. San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross