Happy Birthday, Matt Gonzalez!
So late Friday we get an email reminder about a San Francisco People's Organization party at 111 Minna. You may have read about them in the Guardian a few weeks ago (though we won't blame you if you skipped it and chose to read about carless camping instead), or maybe are planning on attending their founding convention on Saturday. Well, little did we know that not only was it a chance for the city's progressive left to get together, it was also a chance for them to celebrate the birthday of the dreamiest president of the Board of Supervisors in recent memory (sorry, Kevin and Aaron).
Pictured is, of course, local lightning rod Chris Daly and his wife Sarah who, appropriately enough, is wearing SFist's "Mrs. Chris Daly" tee (buy one today). We'd like to let Sarah know that there are two other shirts in existence, and we understand that one was purchased by the editor of a local online publication and the other is possibly in the hands of a local magazine publisher. So Chris, don't worry, Sarah isn't your only fan!
After the jump: Smoking with H. Brown, Ross Mirkarimi remembers who we are, and Matty G gets to make a wish.
All photos by Min Jung Kim.
DJ Lovelee spun some house, Shailja Patel, Ise Lyfe and Jimmy Tran threw down with spoken word, and Stroll Patrol finished the evening with a reggae-punk flavor. Friend of SFist Jane Kim (pictured, above), whom we interviewed way back when we she was running for school board and we were still in blog-diapers, organized the event and MC'd. But folks were there to talk politics and gladhand, and it was tough to get people to shut up and pay attention to the performances or the speakers.
We took the talk outside with H. Brown, who introduced to at least a dozen people that are now a complete blur. Before Ross addressed the crowd, he chatted with volunteer Eddie Codel (pictured, below) and was totally blissed out after meeting Hillary Clinton as part of the World Environment Day festivities. Considering that her husband came out to stump for the mayoral candidate who, well, wasn't Ross's responsibility, we thought he'd be a bit less star-struck. But as we all know, the political landscape in our little city-state and national politics are two entirely different things, so we'll forgive him.
We'll admit that we didn't pay too terribly much attention to what Ross or Chris had to say -- most of it had to do with how awesome Matt Gonzalez was, and how the local left needed to draw on the energy of his campaign and stay cohesive. There was some talk about the efforts of law firm Gonzalez & Leigh to become a thorn in the side of city government, leveraging the courts to take departments to task via civil suits.
When it was Matt's turn to speak, he used the time to address the concerns expressed by some in the LGBT community who are still sore over what was perceived as undermining the Ammiano campaign and otherwise being inattentive to their needs (following up on a letter published in last week's Guardian), pointing out Michael Goldstein, former president of the Harvey Milk Club who was in the audience. He also urged the organization to be a watchdog, "giving props where they're due" to the mayor's administration, but holding Gavin accountable when his actions don't match his rhetoric.
Afterwards, Matt was presented with a cake, and we can only imagine what he wished for. Millions of dollars to fund a campaign for state or national office? A quiet life arguing court cases and hanging out at the Rickshaw Stop with his girlfriend? A new pair of patent leather Doc Martens to wear to the Black and White Ball? A sudden, nationwide recall of Gavin's favorite hair product? Of course, if he told anyone, it wouldn't come true, so we didn't harass him for a quote. The evening wrapped up with the reggae-punk sounds of Stroll Patrol, and for something allegedly thrown together in two short weeks, we thought that it was a great party.
Of course, we'd be happy to go to your birthday party too, Gavin!