David Chiu Has 'Good Shot' at Mayor, Political Rivals Admit
Categories: Politics
We can never forget former Supervisor Chris Daly's famous tongue lashing after Supervisor David Chiu broke ranks with his left-leaning colleagues to get Mayor Ed Lee appointed earlier this year. It was then that Daly publicly vowed to haunt Chiu and his fellow "moderates." Although Daly would have to technically be dead to haunt.
Yet it seems that it's Chiu who is doing all of the agitating. After jumping into the mayor's race yesterday afternoon, his political adversaries had to shake it off and admit that the guy has an excellent chance at becoming our next mayor.
"I think he has a good shot," said Supervisor John Avalos, who describes Chiu as a questionable progressive. "He has all these people from the Obama campaign coming in to help him."
Other high-ranking progressives have told SF Weekly off the record that they believe Chiu will be a front runner in this race.
Does that notion irk Avalos and his like-minded colleagues who pointedly blamed Chiu, the board president, for the downfall of the left-leaning majority on the Board of Supervisors?
Yes. Yes, it does.
Progressives pointedly blame Chiu for pulling the rug out from beneath them after he purportedly worked in cahoots with former Mayor Gavin Newsom to install Lee.
After that, Chiu managed to get reelected as the board president, and then he subsequently reorganized the committees, removing the more progressive Avalos as the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and instead appointed Supervisor Carmen Chu.
"Is he a moderate or is he a progressive?" Avalos asks. "A lot of people wonder where he stands on things and that makes them uneasy."
It's also what makes him easy to embrace, according to Chiu's campaign strategist, David Latterman. The fact that Chiu is not firmly planted as a moderate or a progressive makes him more appealing for a citywide office like mayor.
In other words, the fact that he is neither Daly nor Newsom is a good thing.
"The far left is being left behind," Latterman said. "If they aren't willing to work with a good liberal democrat, then that's on them."
He then punctuated his statement with a final remark "We need competency, not ideology."
Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF
Yet it seems that it's Chiu who is doing all of the agitating. After jumping into the mayor's race yesterday afternoon, his political adversaries had to shake it off and admit that the guy has an excellent chance at becoming our next mayor.
"I think he has a good shot," said Supervisor John Avalos, who describes Chiu as a questionable progressive. "He has all these people from the Obama campaign coming in to help him."
Other high-ranking progressives have told SF Weekly off the record that they believe Chiu will be a front runner in this race.
Does that notion irk Avalos and his like-minded colleagues who pointedly blamed Chiu, the board president, for the downfall of the left-leaning majority on the Board of Supervisors?
Yes. Yes, it does.
Progressives pointedly blame Chiu for pulling the rug out from beneath them after he purportedly worked in cahoots with former Mayor Gavin Newsom to install Lee.
After that, Chiu managed to get reelected as the board president, and then he subsequently reorganized the committees, removing the more progressive Avalos as the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and instead appointed Supervisor Carmen Chu.
"Is he a moderate or is he a progressive?" Avalos asks. "A lot of people wonder where he stands on things and that makes them uneasy."
It's also what makes him easy to embrace, according to Chiu's campaign strategist, David Latterman. The fact that Chiu is not firmly planted as a moderate or a progressive makes him more appealing for a citywide office like mayor.
In other words, the fact that he is neither Daly nor Newsom is a good thing.
"The far left is being left behind," Latterman said. "If they aren't willing to work with a good liberal democrat, then that's on them."
He then punctuated his statement with a final remark "We need competency, not ideology."
Follow us on Twitter at @SFWeekly and @TheSnitchSF
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