SF Chron columnist Ken Garcia lays it out: "Why San Francisco Has Really Gone to Pot."

...San Francisco's ongoing experiment with pot clubs underscores one of the city's lingering problems, one that negatively affects the overall quality of life and makes it appear that Cheech-and-Chong movies are models for public policy. The town's uber-lefty politics have created a dynamic of such permissiveness that basic standards and oversight don't exist, or are lightly regarded or ignored altogether.

..the city's streets...in too many areas, have the grimy feel of a third-world country. Equating lawlessness with civil liberty has been a hallmark of the left- leaning San Francisco for decades, as has the constant disconnect between the city's weak policies and their effect.

"It's like everyone is concerned with infringing someone's rights,'' said longtime city resident Dennis Cruz. "Meanwhile, the place looks like a dump.''

A host of issues, ranging from prostitution to dog ownership to litter, has had a regrettable impact on life here and the tolerance for it is waning. Sex clubs that are magnets for human traffickers abound -- officials estimate thousands of underage girls are involved. Loose dogs have made some parks off-limits for families. The filthy streets have become an obsession for a succession of mayors.

The town's laissez-faire approach to such problems has been tolerated here, but as Mayors Rudy Giuliani showed in New York and Richard Daley is proving in Chicago, the best way to transform a city is to steer it, soundly, from the center. For Mayor Gavin Newsom to shake up the status quo in San Francisco, he will have to show his centrist resolve.

...There is no ideology involved in providing clean streets, safe parks and neighborhoods free of illicit drug or sex activities. Cracking down on crime is hardly an anti-progressive philosophy, even though in San Francisco it's often closer to a crack-up.

Too much of anything is a bad thing. Including freedom, irresponsibly exercised. I had my own "broken windows" moment the other night. I was on the front deck of my home with my son, and we were looking through his telescope at the moon. Two young men in a tricked-out white pimpmobile screeched up to the curb, and one got out to urinate against the neighbor's landscape rocks right across the street. I found this to be offensive, anti-social behavior, certainly deserving of a calm objection or admonishment on my part.

The driver got out, so I had a look at him for a moment. I realized, much to my own chagrin, that I had better not say a thing, or even look too hard. For all I knew, these could be idiot gang-bangers with guns. I turned away, not wanting to end up on anyone's hit list. They'd sure remember where I lived if I said anything. No. Not smart.

In the larger scheme of things, a random pissing doesn't really add up to much, I suppose. But multiplied many times over, by attempted break-ins in our (nice, but not too fancy) neighborhood, by litter-leaving passers-by, by anemic police staffing levels and slow response times, and by sorry public schools, the middle-class taxpayer gets the shaft.

All the more reason for an urban Republican agenda for Seattle. I shared the idea briefly this morning during my conversation with Kirby Wilber on KVI-AM 570. (I had been invited to discuss my "Blue City Conservatives" piece in the Seattle Weekly).

Here's the thought, admittedly in nascent form: representatives of the GOP (state legislative) district organizations in Seattle, plus GOP-leaning Seattle business people and other interested parties should join together in a formal effort to draw up a Republican Party urban isuses agenda for Seattle.

It should address district elections for city council; school choice (resuscitating the campaign for charter schools, but with more vocal support from minorities); financial reforms, teacher merit pay and higher curriculum standards in Seattle public schools; increased police staffing without additional taxes; small business and economic development concerns; and especially, a coherent regional transportation plan which meets city needs for more transit and an improved Alaskan Way Viaduct, meets suburban needs for better road capacity, and prescribes some creative, bold funding methods to boot.

Such an effort would give the party increased visibility and viability in Seattle, where - goodness knows - there are more Republicans, and unaffiliated moderates and conservatives than folks outside our fair city might possibly imagine. A GOP urban agenda for Seattle would be a great first step toward attracting quality candidates for the city council and Seattle seats in the state legislature.

Here's the question that has to be answered, and compellingly, for Republicans to mount the necessary comeback in Seattle. What does the GOP stand for, to supportive and potentially supportive Seattle-ites? Right now, the answer is: David Irons (candidate for King County Executive), Insert Name Here for U.S. Senate in '06, Dino Rossi (for Governor in '08), and George Bush. Fine folks all, in my book, even Insert Name Here (Safeco Insurance CEO and former Slade Gorton chief of staff Mike McGavick, maybe?).

But GOP politics in Seattle has to get more local, on the issues.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at June 17, 2005 12:54 PM

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