talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

When we lived in San Francisco I bemoaned the city's politics. Although we had met with disappointment when trying to buy a home, I started to think someone was watching out for me as the dot-com era turned into a big dot-bomb, and as the city let opportunities walk--and run--away. Meanwhile, the city's homeless problem grew shockingly worse. Had we been property owners, I would have cried at the thought of having my property taxes flushed down the municipal toilet.

Today may be the start of a new era: with 98% of precincts reporting as I type this, Gavin Newsom has been elected major in the run-off election, and Kamala Harris has unseated Terence Hallinan as District Attorney. (Results and links via the SFGate.)

I had long ago grown tired of being told SF and the Bay Area generally was the greatest place on earth. Several years ago, during our first stint in the city, I stopped watching one of the local news channels because it constantly promoted itself as "the greatest place for news in the greatest place on earth." I mean, if you have to keep telling me how great something is, that only suggests to me that it really isn't so great. If it were, perhaps you wouldn't have to work so hard to convince me. I thought that was a shame, because the Bay Area, broadly speaking, is a part of California with great resources. Perhaps this signals the beginning of a new era for San Francisco, a city which deserves much better management than it's had in recent years. I hope so, and I'll stay tuned.