Mayoral Race
After serving for four years, incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom will run against 13 other challengers. Some contenders include “Chicken” John Rinaldi, a San Francisco musician and performer, Josh Wolf, a freelance journalist and filmmaker who was jailed for refusing to turn in a collection of videotapes to a federal district court and George Monty Davis, who has been given many citations for practicing naked yoga in public.

Next to Newsom’s reported $1.8 million fund-raising efforts, only three candidates — Rinaldi, florist Harold Hoogasian and Safety Network Partnership program director Quintin Mecke — have raised anything significant: $18,053, $10,424, and $9,178, respectively. Because of his fundraising, Rinaldi is seen to be the most serious candidate so far.

Nonetheless, Rinaldi has stated on his Web site (voteforchicken.com) that he is anything but serious. “It could be worse,” he stated, “I could be as boring as some of the other candidates… or I could be wasting your time by trying to win. Every time you wipe your ass, think of voting for me for second place. It’s easy: Chicken John for #2!!!!”

While Newsom is generally the projected winner, the recent scandal has tarnished his reputation. On Feb. 1, 2007, Newsom admitted to an affair with his campaign manager’s wife, Ruby Rippey-Tourk.

Some students don’t think that the scandal would affect his performance as mayor or his campaign. “There are certainly some who are going to feel that he’s not qualified on moral grounds,” junior Scott Lee said. “But for the most part I think that most people feel his affair is besides the point. He’s shown himself to be a good leader and his personal affairs are his own. People should decide whether to vote for him because he did a good job, not because he received one.”

Proposition J
If passed, Proposition J would issue a policy statement by the voters that City Hall should work out a universal wireless internet plan for all San Franciscans. The city would hire a private company to build a free Wi-Fi internet system. Similar systems have already been implemented in a few other cities, including Philadelphia and Houston and would allow more San Franciscans to obtain easy access to the internet.

Some, however, are concerned that a corporate-owned wireless provider would be slow, allowing other companies to charge people for a faster connection. Others oppose the idea of having free internet access altogether. “This policy… can ultimately lead to an already-proposed city-owned-and-run Wi-Fi network, which is projected to cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars,” the San Francisco Young Republicans blog stated.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that earlier this year Newsom had already worked out a deal with Earthlink to set up free wireless connection, but the Board of Supervisors delayed approval of the deal until Earthlink announced a downsizing, which forced the company to pull out of the deal.

While Proposition J is just a policy initiative, meaning that change will not be immediate, it is an attempt by Newsom to urge the Board of Supervisors into approving similar deals with companies.

Supporters: Mayor Gavin Newsom
Opponents: San Francisco Young Republicans

Proposition H
If passed, Proposition H would reform parking laws in the city by prioritizing the construction of private parking lots or garages over public transit. The proposition is a response to complaints that parking is scarce in the city.

The proposition would reduce red tape through bypassing the city government to allow the construction of private garages, which is necessary because no public parking garages have been built in San Francisco since 2002, according to the San Francisco Republican Party.

Some disagree with this proposition because it might reverse the city’s “transit-first” policies. Proposition H would give an “absolute right to parking,” according to the Bay Guardian. This might eliminate MUNI stops and street trees to free up more parking spaces.

The San Francisco Bike Coalition points out that this proposition will add more driveways, which are often dangerous for pedestrians and bikers. The Bike Coalition also warns that Proposition H would increase downtown traffic by 400 to 600 percent, which would also depress housing prices in those areas.

Supporters: San Francisco Republican Party
Opponents: San Francisco, Democratic Party, SF Bike Coalition, Livable City

Proposition A
If passed, Proposition A would reform the MUNI system and address some voters’ complaints about unreliable mass transit by giving an additional $26 million to MUNI to supplement drivers’ salaries, attract more drivers, and expand the system. It would also give more power to the appointed Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which was created in 1999 to think of ways to reform MUNI. The MTA would also be required to create a Climate Action Plan to address the emissions of greenhouse gasses.

The Urban Planning and Research Association has raised questions about the proposition because it takes money away from parking and applies it to transit, which prevents money from being allocated on a case-by-case basis to build neighborhood parking garages.

Still, many maintain that this is a step in the right direction for transit reform and climate change control. Since Propositions A and H seem to enact contradictory policies, one favoring public transit, the other favoring private automobiles, if both propositions are passed, a provision in Proposition A will completely nullify Proposition H.

Supporters: San Francisco Democratic Party, SF Bike Coalition
Opponents: San Francisco Republican Party