San Francisco Chronicle endorses Katie Porter

[Auggie]

Saturday, May 16, 2016

Their headline starts with "Two California governor candidates stand far above the field. Here’s our pick."

Porter deserves your vote, says the Chronicle. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is the other stand out.

Excerpt:

At her core, Porter is a wonk with an independent streak and a holistic view of governance and leadership. She has an evidence-based, multitiered plan to bring down housing construction costs by 20% that experts say is actually feasible. And, importantly, she has a pragmatic view of how to work with the Legislature and statewide stakeholders to effectuate her plans.

SNIP

This kind of political savvy will be necessary to take on groups like the building trade unions, who Porter correctly — and singularly among candidates — has called out for blocking or inserting poison pills into crucial housing efforts. She also rightly recognized that the next governor will have to do heavy lifting to rectify California’s home insurance crisis, noting the political incentive is to “hold down rates at the expense of having a functional market.”

Porter has the standing to do this, thanks to her well-earned reputation as a progressive consumer advocate. Yet she’s not hostile to the business community.

SNIP

Unlike our current governor, we believe Porter would be laser-focused on Californians, not on her next job. Her combination of policy smarts, political courage and independence puts her in the best position to pursue the evidence-based solutions California needs to thrive.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/katie-porter-governor-california-22208808.php

Regarding Mahan, they wrote "Matt Mahan has done an excellent job stewarding California’s third-largest city toward sensible solutions on homelessness by aggressively building interim housing to get people off the streets and connected with services. Importantly, he has done so while convincing his city’s wealthiest districts to take on their share of the burden. This model can and should be scaled to the rest of the state" and "His nuanced 15-point plan for unlocking housing production in California is also unrivaled in its granularity."

As for Xavier Becerra, the editorial board wrote "Ultimately, Becerra seems more interested in chasing votes than offering honest solutions" and "Becerra isn’t particularly fluent in several key policy arenas. When the editorial board asked for specific details about his housing agenda, such as how the state should regulate expensive inclusionary zoning mandates, he had few answers."

(Bacerra flubbed his initial interview with the editorial board a few weeks ago -- he was either under rehearsed, unprepared, or genuinely ignorant).

And finally ... The board addressed the threat of a dual Republican ticket with "Hilton has been slowly consolidating conservative support while Bianco fades. At least one Democrat is sure to make the general election."

Leap of faith?

[lapfog_1]

1. newspaper endorsements don't mean that much anymore.

Porter will be in the next presidential administration as Sec Tres or Sec Labor.

Mahan is backed by the Tech Broligarchy... I don't trust them at all.

[Tumbulu]

3. Who do you trust?

Something about Steyer really irritates me. I was leaning towards Becerra. I am really unsure who to vote for among the democrats. But do not want to have republicans only on the ticket.

[Tumbulu]

2. I wonder how much this endorsement will move any needles

What do you think of it?

[Auggie]

6. My initial choice was Swalwell. Then Porter. Then Bacerra, as his numbers surged.

Like many here, I'm voting for the front-runner to ensure two republicans are kept off the ballot.

Speaking off needles, the Chronicle's telling interview with Bacerra, which ran weeks ago, didn't seem to move one either. As usual with voters, so much comes down to name recognition, perceived authenticity, and comfort (my opinion).

Still pole watching. I'll hand-deliver my ballot on election day if necessary.

[karin_sj]

4. NOOOOOOOO!!

Not Mahan! He was a council member and didn't serve out his term to become mayor. He's been mayor for three years and now thinks he should be governor. For many reasons, he's been a terrible mayor: proudly putting Flock cameras everywhere, using money the voters clearly specified for homeless permanent housing for temporary housing, etc., etc. He as received a ton of donations from rich tech bros like Sergey Brin and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, "who has maxed out legal contributions to Mahan's 2026 campaign."

I don't think Porter has much of a chance of winning. Many people I know are waiting to see who the front runner is before they vote. I'm leaning towards either Beccerra or Steyer. I can't believe that so many Democrats put their hat in the ring and that so many who have no chance in hell of winning (yes, you, Mahan) won't withdraw. This is a huge problem. It would be disastrous to have a republican as governor, yet alone a Trump suck-up like both of the Repuke candidates are.

[IcyPeas]

8. Full endorsement of... Rick Caruso too

Caruso wanted to be Mayor of LA... changed parties just before he decided to run and said he was a Democrat now. I don't trust him either. He's been a republican his whole life. When I saw Mahan on tv walking around with him it was a red flag for me. I'm not 100% behind any of our candidates unfortunately...

Interview with Mahan and Caruso:

[usonian]

5. The two weakest candidates.

Makes you wonder.

I am leaning towards Becerra, mainly for the guttersniping attacks by Steyer and the GOP.

Everything changes, and today's slick answer may be tomorrow's goof. Think: AI data centers. Who had answers two years ago?

Musk, Bezos, Altman and Ellison.

[Auggie]

7. Endorsements were made following interviews with the Editorial Board

They're based on candidates answers to issues of importance to Californians, not popularity.

Interviews have been published over the past several weeks/months.

[msongs]

9. newspaper uses divide and conquer strategy?