Attacks on Ed Lee Purportedly Coordinated -- But Will They Work?

By Joe Eskenazi Thu., Sep. 22 2011 at 11:45 AM

Categories: Politics

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You can take a whack at Ed Lee, but there's no guarantee it'll work out for you

By now, everyone who cares to know about such things has heard that Dennis Herrera accused Mayor Ed Lee of being bankrolled by Republicans, and Lee's people spoon-fed the media a rebuttal that Herrera took cash from those very same Republicans. Granted, Herrera received tens of thousands of dollars, while Lee may rake in millions -- but those are the kinds of quibbling details that don't make for chewable political soundbites. Let's not bicker and argue over who killed who!

Rather than focus on the "substance" of the salvos being directed Lee's way, what's more interesting is that they're happening at all. SF Weekly has heard rumblings that these multi-candidate attacks are coordinated -- apparently it's no coincidence that Herrera and Leland Yee are firing broadsides at the front-running incumbent on an alternating basis.

Our calls to the Yee and Herrera campaigns have not yet been returned.

Frontal assaults on Lee did not appeal to every mayoral candidate. Small wonder, that -- going negative on the mayor in this manner is a somewhat puzzling move. Beating on Lee like a piñata may dislodge some candy. But there's no guarantee that the person doing the beating will be the beneficiary of the sweets.

Recent history suggests the opposite. Supporters of Rafael Mandelman went negative on Scott Wiener in the last race for District 8 supervisor. But a number of voters dislodged from Wiener appear to have cast their ballots for Rebecca Prozan instead. Again, he who wields the stick may not pocket the candy. In fact, voters often don't appreciate stick-wielding politicians -- going negative hasn't been the traditional route to success in this city.

Of course, candidates know this. What does it mean? One person in the know put it this way: "Candidates not named Ed Lee are desperate. And some are willing to go for broke."

Update, 2:15 p.m.: Asked if the attacks on Lee are coordinated, Yee's campaign consultant, Jim Stearns, noted "not much in campaigning is random, except for people's reactions."

He claimed, however, that the decision to come out swinging wasn't much of a decision: "I'm hoping Michela Alioto-Pier and David Chiu and John Avalos will start doing the same. Anyone who's looking at the campaign numbers right now, unfortunately for us, in an instant runoff situation with eight to 10 candidates, 30 percent practically equals 50 percent."

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