An Insurrection, Of Sorts

While Marshall Kilduff praises Matt Gonzalez in today's SFGate.com ("The Gonzalez insurrection") for his "canny intelligence," and says he is "more careful and tractable than most think,” he really goes out of his way to characterize Gonzalez as an unlikely victor in next Tuesday’s election.

You might think that the gist of Kilduff's editorial would be neatly contained in its title: "The Gonzalez insurrection." (in·sur·rec·tion: n. The act or an instance of open revolt against civil authority or a constituted government.) Not really. He dismisses a few Gonzalez ideas as “crazy stuff” and says he worries bureaucrats because he isn’t a status quo public servant. Fine, but why chide Gonzalez for his "floppy hair and bad suits" and comment, "in personal terms, the guy is baffling. He doesn't help himself with the monotone delivery and a personality that's more pilot light than burning flame?"

I would love to hear what Kilduff thinks about Newsom's helmet hair, why he thinks Matt's suits are "bad," and why he thinks Matt's personality is flat, but his shallow personal attacks are irrelevant. I disagree with them, and they have nothing to do with Gonzalez's candidacy, or his qualifications for the job, but he’s entitled to his opinion. Hell, he’s even paid to provide it.

Where Kilduff loses me is when he says that Gavin Newsom is "reasonable, collegial and school-boy honest. He exudes the vision of an MBA, talking about best practices. He's a smart guy who has had every break, financially and politically." Maybe he didn’t see the debate last night? Newsom was less than collegial and did not appear to be so “school-boy honest.” As for his vision, I wasn’t impressed by his harping on having 21 policy papers. Maybe I missed something.

While grudgingly allowing that Gonzalez will get some votes, Kilduff seems to think that Gonzalez won't get elected and isn't really ready for prime time. This may be wishful thinking on his part.

The city may not be ready for a brash outsider like Gonzalez. He may need more allies, seasoning and law-making skill. But he's more than a fringe ideologue. He provides a door-kicking challenge and canny intelligence missing from City Hall. Don't be surprised when that brings him votes next Tuesday.

And to that, Mr. Kilduff, I say, don't be surprised when Matt Gonzalez gets enough votes to become San Francisco’s next mayor.

Incidentally, if you check out Marshall Kilduff's article, you may see Matt Gonzalez's banner ad. I'm glad it's up -- I was really getting sick of Newsom's banner.