Venture capitalist Joanna Rees, that's who. According to an excellent article in the Examiner published today, one that "broke down the voting history of the mayoral hopefuls," the Jason Lewis-approved candidate missed most city elections. Behold:
Rees, registered with no political party, missed 24 elections out of 37 since 1992, according to the data. Between 1992 and 2009, she failed to vote in at least one election every year.While Rees cast votes in at least four presidential elections, she failed to vote in several mayoral elections. She did not vote in three elections involving Willie Brown — one was a runoff election against Tom Ammiano — and she did not vote in either 2003 or 2007 when Gavin Newsom was elected mayor.
Rees was unapologetic with regard to a spotty voting record. Via a blog post, Rees said:
I have to accept the fact that the best one can do is learn from the past, take responsibility, and move forward."I have always actively participated in my community. No matter how busy I was with my professional life and my family I always volunteered. However, reflecting on my past I regret that I didn’t vote some years of my adult life. “When I was younger and building my career I didn’t feel that voting was as important as I do now. When I lived in New York City I felt as if it was insignificant in the big picture. When I was traveling for business and out of town on election day I didn’t think about filing an absentee ballot. I missed an opportunity and a right.”
Nerds with perfect/near-perfect voting records? Leland Yee. He voted in 39 out of 39 elections since 1992. Also, "Tony Hall and Dennis Herrera were nearly perfect."
John Avalos, the man's-man progressive candidate of choice, allegedly failed to vote in five elections between 1998 and 2000, "years in which he was heavily involved in the write-in mayoral election of Tom Ammiano and the supervisorial election of Gerardo Sandoval."
Yikes.
Avalos, however, claims that that's "crazy." He went on to deny not voting in those elections, citing apparent SNAFUs at the Department of Elections.
[Examiner]