Why?
Clearly a question on the minds of most San Franciscans watching coverage of the mother who has apparently thrown her children off Pier 7 on the waterfront.
But this morning, something else makes me wonder why: press briefings by the chiefs of SF police and fire make complete sense (pause for moment of Go-Girls pride that they are both women). Coast Guard? Yeah, naturally. But why Mayor Gavin Newsom? I generally support the Mayor on both policy and political decisions - he’s savvy, and whether you like his substantive policies or not, you have to credit his political accumen.
But while this is a horrible, unthinkable, souless crime, that comes with a whole load of uncomfortable social issues (a 23 year old mother of 3 from 6 yrs to 16 months in age to begin with is a concern, let alone what happens in a community to leave someone feeling as though they have no options), it doesn’t seem to rise to the level of mayoral press conference. I don’t think it is inappropriate by any means, I just don’t get it. Fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, widespread violence, city-wide events - even neighborhood wide events - but this seems sad on a completely different level, one desperately quiet, personal, and frightening. Sometimes I need the calm voice of leadership to get me though it - but here, Heather Fong handles it fine, doesn’t she?
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Good point. BTW I don’t think Mayor Newsom actually has very good political acumen. He’s slick and a bit dramatic at times, but not really that savvy. One of his biggest challenges remains giving people a sense that he’s actually doing his job, and also doing what he said he was going to do about homelessness, and other problems he addressed during his campaign. Him conducting a press conference regarding this horrible, but to your point, proportionally small event, highlights this disconnect in his governing style, and is a sign of the weakness of his administration. Of course, history may reveal that the real reason Mayor Newsom has trouble conveying his accomplishments is that he really didn’t accomplish much (except issuing same sex marriages licenses, a major event which he didn’t actually promise to do during his campaign) and proved a lackluster mayor and political leader — Though I think he’s a good guy and means well, this may become his fate.