Watching City Hall #371 (5-16-05)

"He's not fast enough to get out of his own way."

(the original Michael Moore)

I honestly thought that I was the dumbest, most unstable and reckless son of a bitch operating on the battlefield of the local political scene. Then, along came POA (Police Officers Association) boss, Gary Delagnes and suddenly, I'm a distant second (O'Donoghue is, of course, third).

I mean, have you been reading the shit that this guy lays down? I swear to all the gods that this bastard is the second coming of Dan White. He is positively unbelievable. Here's a sample of what he laid down at the last meeting of the Police Commission:

"You talk alot here with your little circle of friends around you.
Let's see how you act when you get out in the real world."

'President' Delagnes leaned forward at the podium and glared as he made the preceding comment. The move accomplished two things. First, it closed the 20 or so feet between Delagnes and Commission member, Peter Keane to whom the words were addressed. Second, it created a huge bulge which clearly outlined the gun the POA chief had holstered on his hip. It was a credible death threat and I honestly thought that Delagnes' next move might be to draw his weapon and shoot Keane. It would not have surprised me one bit. A rogue cop like Delagnes did exactly that a couple of floors down not that long ago.

Acting Commission Chair, Gail Orr-Smith ignores ape cop

Maybe it's because Commissioner Smith was once a cop herself. Whatever, Maxwell appointee Smith made no move during Delagnes' attack upon Keane to rein in the cowboy. On the back two rows of the hearing room were 20 or so undercover narcotics cops (fully armed) who applauded wildly at the nazi cop's ranting. Two huge Sheriff's deputies stood motionless, outnumbered and outgunned by an over 10 to 1 ratio. This was particularly distressing because Smith is a black woman, chosen for appointment by a black woman and the hearing was mostly a forum for other black women accusing the cops of murdering their men (I disagree with that one but that's another matter).

Keane maintained an even gaze with the baboon and never flinched. Smith looked at her desktop throughout the entire attack and strummed her pen a bit. Every other commissioner with the exception of Joe Alioto looked stunned. He matched Keane's iron gaze at the red-faced maniac screaming before them. Delagnes took their inaction as a free pass to follow up the death threat with and attack upon civilian control of the police force: "That's why we don't trust civilian oversight of the police force!"                        

"It's all a set-up to to slander the department. Like 'Fajitagate' was!!"

The heavily armed cops in the rear roared their approval of this call. Imagine that. A police force that does not have to answer to the public or their elected representatives. A police force dominated by red-necked suburban Republican goons operating independent of civilian authority. A force of 2,300 who answer only to Gary Delagnes.

I telephoned the mayor's office the next day and did one of my own special diatribes. Two weeks after Newsom released a set of rules designed to maintain decorum in public assemblies controlled by his appointees, they all cringe and become enablers to a fascist mutiny. "We are aware of the situation." That was a guy named Lieberman (I think anyway, I was drunk and I'm not good with names anyway). I'm sure that means that Michela Alioto-Pier will introduce a resolution at tomorrow's Board meeting censuring Delagnes and his thugs and Commissioner Smith for allowing the attack. Let me close this out.

Imagine if the RBA members we've all come to love and respect over the past years were allowed to bring fire arms into the building. Do you like that thought? Frankly, we'd be lots safer with them armed than with an angry force of POA gorillas roaming the chambers and dominating an outgunned team of sheriff's deputies. ... Let's do something we should have done years ago. Let's disarm the cops who enter City Hall. It is the prudent thing to do. They are not your friends. They do not share your values. They wish you ill. On behalf of the membership that recently re-elected him, Delagnes has attacked every single member of the Police Commission and the mayor. Let's level the playing field. Or, failing that, let's allow members of the Coalition of the Homeless to carry guns too. It's only fair. The tape of the first commission hearing with those rules in effect will rank in value right up there with the Zarapruda film.

Honor roll

It's not all bad. Pressure from Newsom and the supes and a host of skreetching nannies like me have cops back on the pavement and back on the buses. I've heard from every section of the City that 'da cops are back' ... this is a very good thing. I talked to Deputy Chief, Greg Suhr at a break and he swore that Chief Fong's assertion that over 600 police walked beats each shift was true but that it just doesn't look that way because cops in cruisers are only required to walk a single block. Well, aren't they the brave little warriors. And, they are on the buses but only required to ride a single block. Less exposure to danger for them. More for you. Help us out there, Gavin. And Heather. Make the cruiser cops walk for an hour, then do a daily log entry with the names of people they met whom they weren't trying to arrest. All in all, good week as a starter. There were other good things.

A couple of pavement cops (OK, they were in a cruiser) said they'd look into a missing 'STOP HERE ON RED' sign a couple of weeks ago (6th & Market) and the sign appeared yesterday. It have been Daly, of course, cause I left a message for him on the situation. Or, it could have been DPT head, Boyd Yee whom I emailed the same information (he did not acknowledge receipt). Whoever 'got it done', thanks. I just hope it was the cops cause they need some decent press from any direction.

Kudos to Mayor Newsom for bringing the Police Commission back on the air so that we are able to watch the POA coup develop. 'Guten Tag, Herr Delagnes!'

Sean Wilsey meets 'Venture Philanthropy'

Now, I don't normally defend 'Swells'. I mean, they have their own army, navy, air force and police force. I'm going to make an exception in the case of this Wilsey kid who wrote a book condemning his family for raising him to be a spoiled, drug addicted punk.

OK, I'm jealous. My parents were God fearing peasants and I had to develop into my decadent self without the benefit of early role models. And, ... young Wilsey should have realized that his various parents meant well. I mean, who the hell expects rich people to be responsible or sober or obligated to any restrictions upon their right to murder, rape & pillage? Teaching him to drink, pop pills and send his domestic problems overseas was just preparing him to be just like them. But, back to the point.

It's all about me. But, you knew that. What caught my attention in Leah Garchik's story in last friday's Chron was that the San Francisco Art Institute had withdrawn permission for a party young Wilsey's mom (Pat Montandon) ... a party she wanted to throw for him at the institute.

I'm guessing that some very wealthy person who makes 'strings free', tax-deductible contributions to the Art institute pulled a couple of strings. ... Oddly, same thing happened to me a couple of years ago at the Community Music Center on Capp street.

Y'all know that I run for supervisor somewhere every 2 years for grist for my grizzly grind. I throw one party to raise the entry fee for the race & spend nothing else. Two cycles back, I ran against Gavin Newsom in the 2nd District. My party was at the Capp street center. Neska was the top of the bill and I easily made the needed cash. I'd gotten wind of the space from the Green party who regularly use the facilities. They have a 10' perfectly tuned Steinway grand which was essential to my composer/pianist friend.

I invited all candidates running around the City to the 'Jam before the Storm' (something like that, I forget). The evening of the party I started to get reports that the Newsom camp was telling people not to attend my party. I just sort of laughed it off. Christ, I have less chance than movie indians against movie cowboys in these things. I've never gotten up to 1% (I think I'm not a very likeable guy). Anyway, 2 years later, I tried to rent the space for my party to fund my run in District 5.

They refused to rent to me. First, they said they didn't rent to political organizations. I noted that this was bullshit since they regularly rented to the Greens. The lady hemmed and hawed and refused to allow me to seat Neska behind that big grand piano one more time. I'm betting that their decision was helped along by a generous 'no strings attached', tax free venture philanthropist. Don't take it badly kid. Take it from me. It's a compliment. Love and hate are 2 sides of the same coin and the next best thing to being famous in this town is being infamous. Now, be a dear and go write something bad about me.

"I want to buy a soccer team."
(Jens' reply for beer-run specifics)

"The light duty cops who work for us abuse the civilian workers
and we've complained about it for years and nothing has ever been done."
(Shop steward for OCC - Office of Citizen Complaints)

"Boyd was no choir boy. He had a rap sheet longer than the Bay Bridge."
(Steve Currier, OMI activist)

"h. brown disrespects the dead"
(entry on 'The Wall' - see sfusualsuspects.com for link)

"I love you but I don't love you."
(Rachel clarifies things)

This is getting longish, so I'll try and do a wrap quick as I can. Jens really doesn't want to buy a soccer team. Turned out he wanted a 12 pack of Natural Ice, 6 sodas, a pint of bourbon (pour moi) and a pack of Newport 100's in the box (for his girlfriend, Leona). ... Currier represents his viewpoint very well and without fear. Steve was talking about the police shooting that led to the brutal performance by Delagnes before the Police Commission. Just to keep you confused, although I detest Delagnes and his tactics, I agree with both he and Currier that the shooting itself was justified on the basis of the evidence presented. ... I've seen this same sad Shop steward fm OCC complain to the Police Commission several times and the commissioners always just look at him blankly. Obviously, they need to hear from all parties concerned. Can't you see the irony? If the cops have cop thugs bullying the employees of the agency charged with investigating cops and doing it on the job, who investigates them!?! It just makes sense that there should be absolutely no SFPD personnel working in the OCC. ... To da 'Wall'. I read you boys and girls daily and love your exchanges. I did not mean to disrespect Ted Millikin. He was my friend. I am simply not a good enough writer. I will try harder. What I do is try and tweak and twist political journalism in an attempt to create a genre in a kind of unique San Francisco pastiche. Ted's obit was a lame attempt by a weak writer to create a kind of like Peter Arneson thing, only in script. Remember that Arneson was the guy who did the bust of the murdered Moscone and placed startling details like a gun and whatever into the base. It should have been placed in the City Hall rotunda. 100 years from now, it would be the most popular bust. ... And Rachel? It took 3 years for Eileen Left to outgrow me. It took Rachel a week.

keep all this to yourself