from http://www.sftu.org/
Sup. Gavin Newsom's record on the Board of Supervisors is that of
a corporate, downtown developer, and landlord puppet. Nearly every
neighborhood or tenant group which appears before the Board of Supervisors
can count on Newsom voting against them and with his corporate and
real estate donors and handlers every time. Newsom's votes have
clearly reflected a Supervisor out of touch with neighborhood interests
and strongly supportive of the Residential Builder's Association
(RBA), developers, landlords and corporate interests of every kind.
Newsom himself is a developer of "live/work" units and a landlord
who has evicted tenants for no-fault reasons. Any other candidate
would be much better than Newsom. Newsom does not support rent control
and will work to repeal it! He gets a lot of good press (especially
on Channel 2 because Ross McGowan is an investor in Newsom's businesses),
spends a lot of money, looks good and has good corporate and political
handlers. But the bottom line is that he votes against the average
person, neighborhood interests, renters, and voters of San Francisco
nearly every opportunity he gets and in favor of the corporate development,
business and real estate interests.
NEWSOM'S ANTI-NEIGHBORHOOD AND
ANTI-TENANT VOTES
July 22, 2003 Voted against proposal to strengthen
rent control by giving tenants more seats on the SF Rent Board.
November, 2002 One of 2 Supervisors (Hall) to support massive condominium
conversion and rent control repeal measure (Prop R) on the November
2002 ballot.
October 7, 2002 One of 3 Supervisors (Hall, Maxwell)
to rubber-stamp all of Willie Brown's nominations to the Planning
Commission and Board of Permit Appeals.
March, 2002 Prohibited from
voting on limits to new "live/work" units because he is a developer
of "live/work" units. April 15, 2002 Voted against controls on "big
box" projects, like Ikea or Home Depot. Specifically voted against
neighborhood notice and approval requirements. March 18, 2002 Opposed
requiring developers to include affordable housing in their developments
(Inclusionary Housing Ordinance). February 11, 2002 One of 2 Supervisors
(Hall) to vote against additional protections for tenants, especially
senior tenants, from evictions and pass-through of capital improvements.
August 20, 2001 Again voted against requiring developers to include
more affordable housing. (He and Hall opposed resolution to Planning
Commission).
July 23, 2001 Voted against public power. He and Hall
voted to prevent the voters from deciding on the ballot whether
or not we should have public power. July 9, 2001 Voted against limiting
evictions for condo conversions. One of 3 Supervisors (Hall, Yee)
to vote in support of the Mayor's veto of Tenant protection Legislation.
April 2, 2001 Voted to allow evictions of seniors under the Ellis
Act. One of 3 Supervisors (Hall, Yee) voting against a resolution
urging the State Legislature to amend the Ellis Act to prevent the
eviction of senior tenants under Ellis. February 20, 2001 Voted
against a temporary ban on rent increases for capital improvements.
SOME EARLIER NEWSOM VOTES (Compared to Bay Guardian Positions) (Prior
To 2001, Newsomóa landlord was prohibited from voting on most landlord/tenant
measures. In 2001, the conflict of interest law was changed, allowing
him to vote. During this time he could not vote on a measure to
limit OMI evictions of senior, disabled and terminally ill tenants,
but indicated if he could he would vote against those protections.
