Mayoral debate induces sleep

At a sparsely attended debate held at SF State Sunday, four mayoral candidates discussed issues ranging from rent control and pollution in Lake Merced to their tendency to put an audience to sleep.

The debate, sponsored by neighborhood tenants' rights associations, took place in Knuth Hall. The candidates included former Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg, former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, former Human Rights Commission member Ben Hom and longtime neighborhood activist Joel Ventresca.

The candidates addressed the issue of rent control several times during the meeting.

Ventresca, who calls himself "the only real progressive in the mayor's race," said the current Rent Board, which arbitrates rental disputes, is biased toward the landlord. Achtenberg agreed, saying the board is comprised of people who reflect Mayor Frank Jordan's viewpoints.

Most of the candidates said that if elected, neighborhood relations would be a central part of their administrations.

Brown said that under his mayorship, his office would be open every Saturday for drop-in visits by the public. Achtenberg said her office would appoint 46 different neighborhood ambassadors to represent the city's communities.

There were some moments of levity during the debate. During a discussion on pollution in Lake Merced -- which all the candidates opposed -- Hom suggested that Brown, who enjoys golf, might be in favor of using Lake Merced water to maintain a nearby golf course.

Brown responded that he did not like golf, and suggested Hom had confused him with Arnold Palmer.

He also referred to himself several times in the third person exclaiming "Vote for Hom, baby!" (a take-off on the San Francisco Giants slogan of the late 1980s).

He implored the audience to vote for him because he was "the only candidate without a job."

Toward the end of the debate, Achtenberg took notice of the dwindling attendance and said the candidates had "succeeded in putting the audience to sleep for the 67th consecutive time."

One elderly woman in the audience came prepared, however. Midway through the debate, the alarm clock she brought successfully awakened her and several other members of the audience.

[ Golden Gater Online October 17, 1995 ]

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