Dear Friends,

I am not in the habit of sending out group-emails, but because I feel so passionately about the upcoming mayoral election, I'm making an exception.

I believe that Matt Gonzalez's candidacy embodies a vision of the San Francisco in which I want to live:

I'm not going to tell you that Matt Gonzalez can deliver all of this, but by supporting him, I think we've got a shot at it.

I strongly encourage you to vote for him. In the letter that follows, I've tried to explain in broad terms why I support Gonzalez so strongly. If you'd like a more detailed discussion of the candidates (where I back up my arguments with examples and sources), please visit the web site I've created: http://www.crubellier.com/MattGonzalez.

We need a new political culture in San Francisco. For the last eight years lucrative city contracts, patronage jobs, and political favors have been doled out to friends (and ex-girlfriends) of the Mayor. Gavin Newsom is Willie Brown's heir apparent, a product of the same political machine who has spent his career supporting Brown, and a Supervisor who has consistently backed Brown's patronage appointments. I am not optimistic that a Newsom Administration will represent any change to our political culture at all.

A Gonzalez Administration will. I want a mayor with high ethical standards who is committed to empowering all of San Francisco, including those of us who are not his friends, who are not rich and powerful, and who won't do him any political favors. During his entire tenure on the Board, Gonzalez has fought on behalf of regular San Franciscans to make sure that we have equal access to power and city resources. In particular, he has defended the rights of renters, while his opponent has been a staunch ally of landlords. Gonzalez also has sought to shift power away from the Mayor's office to the Board of Supervisors, a body which is considerably more accountable to us than the Mayor is.

Matt Gonzalez has been an advocate for the middle-class, but he has also been willing to champion the rights of San Franciscans who haven't had a voice in politics: low wage workers, immigrant laborers, homeless people. He wrote Proposition L, which we just approved, which raises the minimum wage to $8.50. While his opponent has tried to use homeless for political gain by proposing callous and ineffective measures, Gonzalez's own proposals approach the problem with seriousness and compassion.

Some of Gonzalez's most vocal critics come from the downtown business community, who are by and large supporting Newsom. As a businessman, Newsom is comfortable having downtown as the custodians of our city's future. Matt Gonzalez is not hostile to the downtown business community, but unlike his opponent, he does not believe that they should determine the direction of our city. In particular, Gonzalez wants to ensure that the voice of small business owners is also heard at City Hall. He recognizes that the business community has an essential role to play in creating a healthier, more livable city, but he also believes that San Franciscans as a whole, and not just a small and politically-connected group, must decide the direction we
take.

Matt Gonzalez understands that the cultural richness of San Francisco is worth both celebrating and defending. During the dot-com boom, he advocated on behalf of artists and small businesses facing eviction. Not only is he personally involved in the arts (he's served on the board of Intersection for the Arts and hosts a monthly art opening at City Hall), but he has specifically cited the need to support the arts, and especially smaller arts groups, as a way to bolster San Francisco's economy. All of us in San Francisco benefit from the cultural diversity of the city's many neighborhoods. Matt Gonzalez has supported strict controls on "box stores" like Home Depot and Walmart as a way to preserve that diversity; Gavin Newsom has opposed those controls.

Matt Gonzalez is a pragmatist who fights for his strongly held beliefs. He has been attacked as an ideologue who is out of step with the rest of San Francisco, but this is unfair and untrue, as his impressive record shows. It saddens me that someone who is a champion of the rights of the disenfranchised is attacked as an extremist: fighting for the underdog doesn't make you some kind of lunatic. The reality is that Matt Gonzalez has consistently demonstrated his ability to work collaboratively and effectively, even with colleagues whose politics run counter to his own. He has worked extremely well with the rest of the Board of Supervisors who elected him their President in a tight race. It was under his leadership that the Supervisors passed a city budget without raising taxes despite a $350 million shortfall. He has a close and productive relationship with Tony Hall, the most conservative member of the Board. And he gets things done: in addition to the minimum wage legislation, he also authored Proposition H, approved by the voters, which should assist with the long overdo reform of the San Francisco Police Department.

As a member of the Green Party, Gonzalez has been a Green Supervisor in both name and deed. The Sierra Club has endorsed him and has given him an 'A+' rating on environmental issues; Gavin Newsom received a 'D.' Gonzalez has the support of the San Francisco Bike Coalition and endorses completing the citywide bike lane network.

For me, it comes to down to is this: I trust that Matt Gonzalez will be on my side when he's in the Mayor's office, that my interests and the interests of regular working San Franciscans will be foremost in his mind. I can't say the same about Gavin Newsom.

For those of you who are interested in reading a more detailed discussion of the two candidates, I encourage you to visit: http://www.crubellier.com/MattGonzalez, where I back up everything I've written above.

I hope that you will join with me in supporting Matt Gonzalez. Thank you for your time and please vote on Tuesday, December 9th.

Best regards,
Francis