The Gavin and Jake Show Comes to the Richmond AKA “The Geary BRT /Anti Sex Act Meeting”

Looking for some fun on a Saturday afternoon but low on cash? Then go to your local neighborhood Town Hall meeting with your Supervisor and Mayor Newsom. Never have I been more informed and more entertained all at once.
There was an interesting presentation about the first steps to study a Geary BRT and the Mayor and Supervisor Jake McGoldrick had Nate Ford of Muni and, well, just about every department head to answer questions on Geary BRT, and well, just about anything else (such as the coyotes that are apparently living and getting it on in Golden Gate Park – who knew?)
Say what you will about our Mayor and Supervisors, but Gavin Newsom and McGoldrick handled the crowd like a couple of pros. Both handled some serious questions (as well as some really weird ones) adeptly and Newsom was not afraid to put department heads on the spot when asked about timelines to fix things.
And both kept their cool when this one lady was upset about drug dealing and “sex acts” in Golden Gate Park (and who kept yelling “don’t forget about the sex acts!” – yikes!) while the Mayor directed her to talk with an SFPD captain at the meeting so they could clear out the weirdoes from the park.
Overall they did their best to accommodate everyone in the 2 hour time period, and the Mayor and Supervisor McGoldrick’s staffers were all very thorough and organized. And, oh yeah, they had a ton of free stuff, donated by local businesses – good coffee, water, snacks of all sorts, and whatnot. Community groups also had tables for all sorts of local initiatives. Very cool.
Mason Powell and I both were surprised at just how organized the whole thing was. We stopped at Trad’r Sam for a drink, then went home. All in all a pleasant way to spend the day with our City leaders and citizens.
PS: While our Mayor and Mr. McGoldrick were celebrating the neighborhoods of “the Avenues,” our allegedly local paper, the Guardian, was doing its best to dis our brothers and sisters in the Sunset and the Richmond with this weird post in their new blog. I didn’t realize if I didn’t live in the Haight or SOMA or the Mission I was a nerd “way out there” in the boonies.
I have no problem with the .02% of SF who goes to Burning Man – hey, everyone has their interests, and that’s totally cool. But it is telling that it is Mayor Newsom who is the one supporting the neighborhoods, and the Guardian is playing the role of adolescent, hipster choose-up-siders.