Mayor Ed Lee, Candidates Use Cesar Chavez Day as a Chance to Schmooze

By Lauren Smiley Fri., Apr. 1 2011 at 7:00 AM

We wish we were flies buzzing around them.

Politicos rolled out of bed early Thursday morning to make an appearance at the 8 a.m. Cesar Chavez Day breakfast in the Mission. They munched on $60 plates of eggs, frijoles, and tortillas to benefit the upcoming Cesar Chavez Parade & Festival next month, while Mayor Ed Lee waxed optimism on all things Latino.

But before the festivities got started, Supervisor Jane Kim had to have a word with the mayor. A very close word, it appears. Is that how Twitter deals are done?

Eating for the Latino vote

Meanwhile, mayoral candidates Bevan Dufty and Supervisor David Chiu were all smiles. What are they so happy about?

Dufty was quick to note that he'd picked up two tortillas while the the more petite Chiu had only taken one. Is that Dufty's way of trying to garner the Latino vote?

Dufty's tie seemed to be throwing a fiesta of its own. But we digress.

Anyway, when Mayor Lee took the mic, he talked about the growing Latino population in the city: "Eleven percent is now 15 percent -- people must pay attention to that," he said. A hearty applause followed.

Although, it's worth noting that Asians eclipse Latinos, comprising 33 percent of the city's population.

Speaking of Latinos in power, where were Supervisors David Campos and John Avalos?

We must point out that this fine day of food and unity was also a fine day for schmoozing.

I'm listening, really.

The venue was teeming with wannabe mayors, including City Attorney Dennis Herrera who was seen carrying on a conversation with Jim Salinas, with Local 22, the carpenters' union.

Well, sort of.

Salinas, who was tight with Cesar Chavez, or at least he poses with him on Facebook, might as well been talking to a brick wall. Is Herrera even listening to him or has he spotted someone more, ahem, politically potent across the room?

The one who isn't running for mayor.

But wait, it's not all elected leaders present. City Treasurer Jose Cisneros, who was appointed by former Mayor Gavin Newsom, made an appearance, which truly makes it a power breakfast. And don't think Mayor Lee didn't take note of that.

"There's so many good friends and people I see on a daily and weekly basis. It just makes me happy now that we are well-connected in this city, but of course we have to do more," Lee said.

A conversation that needs to happen

Of course, no Latino power breakfast would be complete without the city's former top cop and now District Attorney George Gascón. Here's Gascón (sorry about the bad angle) talking with Superior Court Judge Gerardo Sandoval, the one who threw out the most recent drug case that Gascón's office had filed this week, citing police misconduct.

How awkward was that conversation? Especially after Gascón publicly said that the judge's decision was imprudent, to put it politely.

Well, what can you expect ... politics are kinda like sororities -- with so many egos in one room you are bound to run up against some drama.

All photos by Francisco Barradas, courtesy of El Tecolote

Tags:

Bevan Dufty, Cesar Chavez Day, David Chiu, Dennis Herrera, Ed Lee, George Gascón, Gerardo Sandoval, Jane Kim, Jose Cisneros, mayoral campaign

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Jim Salinas Sr

You mean I am not politically potent? When did that happen?

Benito

THIS MOMENTOUS DAY!

Not one day in anyone’s life is an uneventful day, no day without profound meaning, no matter how dull and boring it might seem, no matter whether you are a seamstress or a queen, a shoeshine boy or a movie star, a renowned philosopher or a Down’s syndrome child.

Because in every day of your life, there are opportunities to perform little kindnesses for others, both by conscious acts of will and unconscious example.

Each smallest act of kindness – even just words of hope when they are needed, the remembrance of a birthday, a compliment that engenders a smile – reverberates across great distances and spans of time, affecting lives unknown to the one whose generous spirit was the source of this good echo, because kindness is passed on and grows each time it’s passed, until a simple courtesy becomes an act of selfless courage years later and far away.

Likewise, each small meanness, each thoughtless expression of hatred, each envious and bitter act, regardless of how petty, can inspire others, and is therefore the seed that ultimately produces evil fruit, poisoning people whom you have never met and never will.

All human lives are so profoundly and intricately entwined – those dead, those living, those generations yet to come – that the fate of all is the fate of each, and the hope of humanity rests in every heart and in every pair of hands.

Therefore, after every failure, we are obliged to strive again for success, and when faced with the end of one thing, we must build something new and better in the ashes, just as from pain and grief, we must weave hope, for each of us is a thread critical to the strength – the very survival – of the human tapestry.

Every hour in every life contains such often-unrecognized potential to affect the world that the great days for which we, in our dissatisfaction, so often yearn are already with us; all great days and thrilling possibilities are combined always in THIS MOMENTOUS DAY!

Excerpt from Dean Koontz’s book, “From the Corner of His Eye”.

It embodies the idea of how the smallest of acts can have such a profound effect on each of our lives.

Go with God, until we see you again, Cesar Estrada Chavez, thank you.

Patricio

Does Kim hail from family money or something? Her wardrome seems more extensive than Anna Wintour's. Hard to believe a supervisor salary covers the cost of all those threads and leaves enough money for rent and food.

h. brown

Great shots,

You take those, Lauren? If so, you're a terrible photographer but your instincts are right-on. Catching Gascon and Sandoval talking was a coup. Maybe Gerardo was giving George some hints on how to win an election. Sandoval's never lost and been in some pretty tough campaigns.

Or, maybe they were talking about videos? George's foot soldier and Acting Top Cop, Jeff Godown has been in the press telling people that they can't believe what they're seeing with their own eyes ("Videos don't show everything."). What didn't the videos show, Jeff? Did you mean that the officers had erections when they burst into the SRO rooms? It's true that wouldn't have necessarily shown up in a video unless the officer had a really really big one.

The obvious caption for the Kim/Lee shot was Kim saying: "OK, my endorsement for Mayor is up for auction and I do pretty good at auctions.".

Dennis Herrera trying to get away from Jim Salinas can be explained by the fact that no one running for Mayor wants to be seen talking to a former commissioner who left Planning under a cloud and accusations that he took a $20,000 bribe.

My own fave was the shot of Chiu and Dufty holding platters of food and responding to the shout from the crowd that in a few hours those tortillas would be piles of crap, just like their respective mayoral hopes.

Great work to even be there. Congrats to the Weekly for sending you.

Go Giants!