A Novel Solution: Bastard Politicians of Every Stripe Should Leak Confidential Memos to SF Weekly -- Which Has No Political Axes to Grind

​It's odd to read a newspaper editorial arguing that there are some things in city government  that the people and the fourth estate ought not to know. And yet, despite many caveats claiming otherwise, that appears to be what this editorial from the Bay Guardian is asserting.

In short, the Guardian bemoans that Mayor Gavin Newsom has supposedly greased the skids of evil Republicans' lawsuit machines by leaking a confidential city attorney's memo regarding Supervisor David Campos' proposed sanctuary policy to the Chronicle. The editorial offers the necessary platitudes about opposing government secrecy and supporting noble whistleblowers. Yet it all boils down to this: Gavin Newsom is playing hardball to kill legislation the Guardian favors -- and therefore he is bad and so was this leak. Had the mayor leaked confidential documents that hamstrung legislation the Guardian opposed, the paper would not have penned this editorial.  

It seems that the Guardian is mixing two arguments: moral and professional. Investigations are under way as to whether leaking this confidential memo violated the law (and, as SF Weekly wrote earlier, we have our doubts as to how strenuous those investigations will be). If the mayor and/or his staff broke the rules, they ought to be made to answer for it.

On the other hand, you don't need an investigation to determine that leaking a confidential memo such as this is a morally questionable thing to do. But being a bastard is not a crime -- or even all that unusual in city government. The Guardian and others are certainly entitled to argue that leaking this memo was a nasty and vindictive thing for Newsom to (allegedly) do. But it's a tough sell to claim a journalist clutching a memo outlining key weaknesses of a proposed vital city policy isn't in possession of Capital-N News that's deeply relevant to the people of San Francisco.  

So we at SF Weekly have a novel suggestion to those who'd dispense with sensitive -- but vitally relevant -- documents. Send 'em to us! Unlike the Guardian, we do not demand every potential story pass a political litmus test or gather facts with the goal of pushing for a particular worldview. And unlike the Chronicle, we haven't taken money or awards from nativist groups about our controversial immigration stories. We have no overarching political axe to grind in this city.

We understand that you can be a bastard and still be a good -- or bad -- politician.