SFist: "Gavin's Inappropriate Barroom Joke" Neither Joke Nor Inappropriate

PoKonrad

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 14:42:05 -0800

Strongly dislike the Mayor, here, but whether or not this was a smart move, I doubt it carried the intention it apparently suggests to some. The Mayor has on multiple occasions, to my knowledge, engaged in NON-CONSENSUAL ARM-DRAPING PHOTO OPS with both women & men. & no, I don't think there's any decent reason to think he flips. The man sucks—sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks—for his policies & for his pandering to the ancien régime. Can't we just pin him on that & call it a day?

guest

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 00:22:47 -0800

Hell, he spent $700,000 between January and June. He must have spent it on something. I guess. *snorr* *snrrrf* *snorr* -- Sal

GavinWatch

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:14:52 -0800

Cursed HTML! That last bit should read: Hell, he spent $700,000 between January and June. He must have spent it on something. As for the legality of adding information from petition signatures for campaign purposes, are there any election law experts who can weigh in on that? We're under the impression that that's standard practice for most campaigns. We remember the Kerry campaign adding information from voter registration forms to their database.

GavinWatch

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:52:30 -0800

Here's the Excelsior awkward shoulder hug video. (It happens about 20-30 minutes into the meeting if you want to track it down on SFGTV.) Before you all flip out again that this is boring and innocuous, we know, we know. We're only posting it to show that we do our best to remain truthful and factual when presenting our opinions. Of course we don't think this embrace is scandalous or anything, but we did think it was kind of inappropriate or condescending for Gavin to put his arm around a woman he doesn't know when she seems somewhat upset that she wasn't able to get a meeting with a city official. Like he's trying to cajole her into being happy and jokey like he is. It's part of a pattern of Gavin's behavior that's always bothered us, but that is hard to explain: his tendency to be chipper and irreverent in serious situations. The best example of this was the Bayview townhall meeting, when he was laughing and bantering with people who were describing life-and-death issues they were facing. Our ebonics video shows what we mean. Another example was his recent press conference when he attempted to take credit for police foot patrols, where he joked with reporters and showed off his new iPhone. We assume he means well and cares about the City, but this attitude trivializes the serious issues he's discussing and gives the impression that he's a Pacific Heights golden boy who isn't directly impacted by the City's problems. --------- We never got proof of Gavin's $5 a signature payments, but we heard about it from a couple of independent sources. That's why we qualified it as "word on the streets." Make of that what you will. As for Sal's question about why Gavin would pay $5 for signature that are worth 50 cents? Probably because he can use the total number of signatures to tout his "broad-based community support." Hell, he between January and June. He must have spent it on something. As for the legality of adding information from petition signatures for campaign purposes, are there any election law experts who can weigh in on that? We're under the impression that that's standard practice for most campaigns. We remember the Kerry campaign adding information from voter registration forms to their database.

guest

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 14:12:02 -0800

GavinWatch is the originator -- not the repeater -- of that $5/signature story. That was my assumption and a stupider made up story I don't think I've heard in a while. People know what in-lieu petitions are and what the signatures are worth. Why would a campaign pay $5 for a signature that is worth $0.50/ as an in-lieu offset against the department of elections filing fee? Duh. -- Sal

CRS

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 12:21:51 -0800

GavinWatch is the originator -- not the repeater -- of that $5/signature story. Sigs were all gathered by volunteers. ######### I was at the Excelsior Policy Forum or town hall or whatever, and never saw the incident GavinWatch mentions "...he put his arm awkwardly around an older woman who didn't seem very comfortable with it." Can you please upload it to YouTube? ######## halli [23]: Names gathered by petition absolutely cannot be used in any way. And of course he didn't look so hot... he can't do or say anything without it being completely misconstrued by haters. As Greg [8] sez, there's nothing to see here. Move on.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:46:31 -0800

Word on the street is that he was offering $5 a signature to the professional signature wranglers, which is an unheard of price in the business. ... which goes to show what "word on the street" is worth. -- Sal

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:37:27 -0800

Thanks, but I stole the line from Jack Nicholson's character in As Good As It Gets: "I think people who speak in metaphors should shampoo my crotch." Unfortunately, I now use the phrase every day.

Suz

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:19:04 -0800

"_____ can shampoo my crotch" is now my favorite phrase and has made today totally worthwhile. Also; yeah, totally.

mariconsoy

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:16:26 -0800

24, Please make a video of the event and share. You might as well use a henna shampoo to bring out some pube luster.

Brock Keeling

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:05:32 -0800

"GavinWatch can shampoo my crotch." Hee!

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:00:22 -0800

GavinWatch can shampoo my crotch. Useless fucking goddamned parasites.

halli

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:02:43 -0800

I saw him at Moby Dick (probably the same day). I didn't sign the petition because I figured it was a cheap attempt to get my address for the campaign (not that I'm not already inundated with mail). Gavin in person in the unforgiving sunlight of a San Francisco late afternoon didn't look so hot to me. The boyish charm is fading. But he did have a spiff blue tie. In context, I'm sure that's not the worst thing that has ever happened in the Cafe, and it's almost certainly not the worst thing that Gavin has done. It's not like we didn't know that Gavin has always been part of the Marina frat boy party circuit from the get go. It's not news, I don't think; inappropriate, probably. News, I think not.

GavinWatch

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:40:45 -0800

Oh, and in answer to Sal's question, we don't know how many signatures Gavin got, be we're assuming he made it to 10,000. Word on the street is that he was offering $5 a signature to the professional signature wranglers, which is an unheard of price in the business.

GavinWatch

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:32:24 -0800

Man, tough crowd. We're sorry if this little story doesn't live up to the expectations for Gavin's scandalous behavior. What can we say, the man has set the bar high. (ba-dum dum, crash) We know this isn't a crime or a major scandal or anything, we just think it's an interesting little insight into Gavin's character. Come on, for a 39 year old Mayor with an alcohol problem and a history of dating a 20 year old to joke about carding a couple of young women? It's just one of those little things about Gavin that makes some of us go "eww." We've also noticed that throwing his arms around the ladies seems to be a big part of Gavin's schtick. For the most part it seems to work well for him. Gavin's charm and good looks are the only way we can reconcile the contradiction between his sky-high approval ratings and his inability to translate that popularity into success for the candidates and ballot measures he endorses. But sometimes, putting your arms around women you don't know maybe isn't the smoothest move. We've also heard from a young woman who got the Gavin arm treatment while protesting one of his photo-ops. She thought it was inappropriate. At the Excelsior town hall, he put his arm awkwardly around an older woman who didn't seem very comfortable with it. Again, we're not saying this is front page news. But we're in the business of keeping an eye on this guy, and we thought this story gave a little insight into the kind of guy Gavin is. That's all.

mariconsoy

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:55:19 -0800

I don't know I'm wasting 30 seconds of my life posting on such a moronic issue. If the mayor asked to see my ID I'd immediately reach into my pants, feel around with my hands and whip out my ID for him so he could grab it and hold it close to his face.

Brock Keeling

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:42:37 -0800

Thanks, Beth!

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:14:37 -0800

Newsom probably needed to see "you guys ID" because you need to be a registered San Francisco voter (yes, and live in San Francisco too!) to sign the PETITION IN LIEU OF CANDIDATE FILING FEE. Enough signatures and the candidate doesn't need to pay the election filing fee. Did he get enough signatures in time? The deadline, iirc, was last week. Anyone know? -- Sal

Jas

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:58:06 -0800

Some people can't even take a compliment from the freakin' mayor without getting all indignant about it. As for "poor taste" or jokes involving alcohol or underage whatever, they're drinking at the goddamm Cafe, right? How offended could they really get?

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:25:31 -0800

isnt it the right of everyone in power to probe for a blowjob? Come on. this is old school! Go Gavin. These girls are most likely early 20 professional Marina chicks who want everyone to think they are a lot more desirable than they really are who would have gone home with Gavin in a second if he pushed for it, but would rather inflate their egos by being indignant about nothing.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:17:53 -0800

I think many of our best historical politicans and leaders of state have all been drinkers.... from Jefferson and Franklin to Churchill.... and I am sure they had casual conversations like any other human being.... which in the world of blogs would be judeged as "appropriate or inappropriate"... this is just more witch-hunt bullshit.... and from Gavin Watch?????.... get some credible sources you dipshits.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:15:01 -0800

I've lived right around the corner from the Cafe for 4 years now and it's amazing how many cops hang around there on busy nights. Lately, there have been two unmarked police cars there Thursday to Monday. That's not the case at the 4 different clubs where I work. I work in niteclubs, and I like nitelife, but the Cafe sucks, mainly because the door staff there doesn't seem to care about patrons making noise when leaving the premises or when people yell at passers-by from the "smoking deck". By the way, since when is it cool for a club with LOUD music to have OPEN windows? Things have improved recently in terms of noise, but it seems weird that the Mayor would hang around there, especially because it DOES seem to attract mainly people from outside the City. It strikes me that the owners of the Cafe must have some *special* connections...

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:14:16 -0800

I'd heard about him getting some at the Loading Dock years and years ago, but The Cafe..? Thats a trashy twink bridge & tunnel bar, I started feeling old going there in my late 20s even.

City Dweller

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:11:37 -0800

Ohmygawd ohmygawd! At City Hall this morning Gavin passed me as I was going down the stairs and he was coming up the stairs alone (yes! without bodyguards!)and he said, really, honest, he really said this, he said "Hello." Just out of the blue like that. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I'll leave it to you ever-so-wise posters to decide whether or not that was appropriate, but I'm definitely starting my own blog! Maybe I'll even post pictures of him with...gasp...gay people...and maybe Chinese people...possibly even...if I'm feeling daring and want to incite controversy...possibly, just possibly with Caucasians.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:01:01 -0800

Everyone gets roofied at the Cafe, probably happened to the Gav.

Beth Spotswood

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:54:45 -0800

Kids, kids. There's a million pictures of Gavin rocking the Castro right here. Enjoy their gay, gay glory: http://www.flickr.com/photos/newsom2007/sets/72157601143336708/

Ciaran

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:52:36 -0800

It was so much more interesting when Gavin was on the sauce :(

Greg

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:52:34 -0800

oh my GOD you have to be kidding me....this is making a giant himalayan mountain out of a pebble on the street....this is like saying "OMG, Mayor Newsom is a horrible axe murderer because he smiled and said hello to a person...ooh call the blogs!" nothing to see here....nothing at all....move along...

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:52:29 -0800

From where I sit in New York, his remarks sound very inappropriate and undignified for a mayor - especially given his escapades with alcohol and dates who are underage drinkers. I would want my mayor to act more like a grownup - not a frat boy.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:48:15 -0800

Ummm... What was the Gav doing at the Cafe? Anyone?

Deborah

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:47:18 -0800

I'm more disturbed by the mayor allegedly uttering the words "you guys' IDS." Gross. That's so New Jersey.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:34:26 -0800

I'd love it if Newsom publicly said something about these Nelson Muntz-style bloggers who are just hovering over him, waiting to report that he stepped on gum or something.

markorkram

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:33:46 -0800

I'm with you and I'm no Gavin lover. As mentioned previously, I've been around the guy plenty of times and you know, he always seems a little drunk. He's just not very good at dealing with people. Gavin is no Bill Clinton.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:27:29 -0800

This was probably Mr. BridgeAndTunnels one and only brush with fame in his entire life. He probably drove back to Walnut Creek and masturbated at least 20 times thinking about how much of a star he was now that he's been in contact with a bona fide nationally recognized politician.

guest

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:26:23 -0800

Seriously. What do you expect from the bridge and tunnel trash that inhabits The Cafe?