[Sosfbay-discuss] Hack Du Jour: San Francisco's Ed Jew

Wed Sep 26 21:42:31 PDT 2007

Dear Green Friends, 

The
California Democratic Party hack du jour is San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew. 

San
Francisco Supervisor Suspended Amid Misconduct Accusations

by John
M. Glionna

Los
Angeles Times

September
26, 2007

SAN
FRANCISCO -- Signaling that it was time to end an embarrassing public
distraction, Mayor Gavin Newsom suspended Supervisor Ed Jew on Tuesday for
alleged misconduct that included soliciting bribes and lying about his place of
residence.

The
first-year supervisor, who has been under state and federal investigation,
maintains his innocence and has refused to step down. Newsom's action forces a
city Ethics Commission hearing, which could set the stage for the Board of
Supervisors to vote to remove Jew from office.

Jew,
47, was served at his Chinatown flower shop with a seven-page outline of the
alleged ethics violations, which include filing falsified documents claiming he
lived in the Sunset District, which he represents, a requirement for holding
office. Jew faces state felony perjury and fraud charges for allegedly lying to
city officials about his home address.

Newsom's
outline of Jew's alleged violations also mentions a federal investigation into
whether Jew sought payment of as much as $80,000 in cash in exchange for
helping to secure business permits for a group of immigrant-owned tapioca drink
shops in his district. Last week, federal prosecutors charged him with one
count of fraud.

Jew's
attorney, Steven Gruel, did not return calls Tuesday.

Does
anybody remember the 2003 election for Mayor if San Francisco?

It was
cliff-hanger between Democrat Gavin Newsom and Green Party candidate Matt
Gonzales. This was three years after the Democrats let Bush and the Republicans
steal the 2000 election in Florida and just weeks after the really awful,
clueless Democratic Governor Gray Davis went down in flames in the recall
election that brought Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to power.  The desperate Democrats had to prove they
could beat somebody, so they brought in their heavy hitters, Al Gore, and even
Bill Clinton (on a private jet paid for by one of Newsom's wealthy
contributors) to prop up their pretty candidate in what was supposed to be a
nonpartisan election.  The 2-party über
alles intellectuals screaming and crying how it would be "crazy" to
elect a Ralph Nader "greenie-weenie" as mayor of a major city.  

On
Election Day, Gonzalez won more Democratic votes than Newsom, while Newsom won
the Republican vote. At the end of the day Newsom only garnered 53 percent of
the vote to Gonzalez's 47 percent.

Sure
enough, we have seen a lot of crazy stuff these last four years... from
Republicans and Democrats.  

Ed Jew:
Personal and Political Biography 

Posted
on the Web Site for District 4 Supervisor Ed Jew 

http://www.edjew.net/bio.htm   

Ed Jew
is a 3rd generation San Franciscan, born in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1960.
He became active in the Chinese Community at a young age, and has followed in
his grandfather's footsteps as a leader in many local community causes.  

The Jew
family came to San Francisco in the early 1900s and has played a prominent role
in the local Chinese community for the better part of the past century.  Ed's grandfather, James Jew, arrived in San
Francisco in 1913.  He opened an
employment agency in 1925, and in 1927 he opened the Canton Flower Shop, which
Ed and his wife Lisa continue to operate today.

Ed
attended San Francisco's public schools, graduated from McAteer High, attended
City College and earned a degree in economics from San Francisco State
University.  He received his MBA from
Golden Gate University in 1984. Gifted with a knack for business, Ed bought his
first piece of real estate in San Francisco at the age of 21.  He has founded various small business
enterprises throughout his professional career.  Besides his family's flower shop, he is also the President of
Howard Mock Jew, Inc., a local taxi company.

So
what, exactly is Mr. Jew's political philosophy? 

Ed Jew
has worked successfully with the Democratic and Republican parties in San
Francisco, recently serving as campaign coordinator for the Leland Yee for
Assembly campaign.  He is a board member
of the Chinese American Democratic Club and is a Democrat, but has also worked
with the California Chinese American Republican Association and the Republican
County Central Committee.

Oh
goody!  He's bipartisan
("post-partisan"?). Must be a "good guy."  Right? 

Now,
here is where the bio gets really cute. 
It says our hero is interesting in public education because he and his
wife are raising their kid in the Sunset District 

Ed and
Lisa are raising their 8 year old daughter in the Sunset District.  Ed has been a leader in the neighborhood
schools movement, successfully challenging the School District in court last
year to change the public school bussing policy.  Ed believes that schools will improve when parents take an active
role in their children's education, and that is impossible if children spend
hours every day being transported across town instead of learning in their own
neighborhoods.    

For
those who don't know, the old "neighborhood schools" rap refers to a
desegregation plan to remedy decades of separate and grossly unequal schools
for Blacks and Latinos.  Anyway, turns
out Mr. Jew and his family may have actually been living in a house in the City
of Burlingame.  And it is also alleged
his "knack for business" included soliciting bribes. 

Mayor
Newsom's Record 

San
Francisco Greens have posted an article summarizing how things have been going
in the City by the Bay under Mayor Newsom. 

View
from the North

http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1603

09/09/07

by S.
M. Peters

. . .Meanwhile,
over at Newsom Inc., it's a good bet that the mayor's reelection team popped
open the champagne on Aug. 1 when they heard the news that former Board of
Supervisors President and Green Party hero Matt Gonzalez, who nearly defeated
Newsom in the 2003 mayoral race, ultimately decided not to challenge him in a
rematch this year. 

Despite
Newsom's efforts at tarring passionate, outspoken supervisor Chris Daly all
year, Gonzalez was surely the one he feared most. The one whose issues he has
appropriated from day one-from gay marriage, increasing minimum wage, to tidal
energy-and who would have beaten him in 2003 under fairer circumstances. 

Gonzalez
(or Daly) would have called Newsom to task on his extremely mixed record as
mayor these past four years: the city's shocking homicide rate (already up 20
percent from last year), the ongoing mess that is Muni [the public
transportation system, the city's lack of affordable housing, Newsom's snubbing
of the will of the voters and inability to work with their elected
representatives, the city supervisors, and the general AWOL quality of Newsom's
leadership, which even former Newsom supporters are unhappy about...

The
problem is not that Ed Jew is "too liberal" or "too
conservative."  The problem is he
is an amoral "yuppie" with no principles at all.  Remember, this is the milieu that produced
Sen. Diane Feinstein and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  

Does anybody consider the national implications of this never-ending parade of sleazy goings-on in Los Angeles and the Bay Area -- two of the most Democratic "Blue" areas of the entire United States?  There is a lot of hand-wringing these days about the failure of the
Democratic Congress to stop the Bush agenda. 
I have a theory that before boys and girls grow up to be lousy members
of Congress they were first lousy legislators in their local communities.  

We need
the Green Party. 

Read
This Online at: http://www.greencommons.org/node/801

________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com
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