Unless you live under a rock, or don’t care (in either case, it’s unlikely that you’re reading this, I guess), you already know that Mayor Ed Lee is expected to formally announce his candidacy for SF Mayor today.
After months of hedging (it was June when he implied to Melissa Griffin that he might run), apparent Lee spokesperson Tony Winnicker (you might remember his as Gavin Newsom’s spokesperson, interesting, huh?) sent an email Sunday at 8:30 that simply said “Monday, August 8, 2011 9 AM: Mayor Ed Lee to make announcement about the San Francisco mayor’s race. City Hall, Department of Elections, Room 48.”
Yeah, not the place where you announce you’re NOT running, but hardly a surprise: the cat was well out of the proverbial bag last Thursday, when SFPD union head Gary Delagnes told Bay City News that Lee would be announcing his candidacy today.
So, to tide you over until 9 AM, when I expect we’ll all be unsurprised by Lee’s announcement (though wouldn’t it be fun if we were, like, if he announced he was Iron Man or Banksy or something?), here’s a roundup of everyone else’s coverage on today’s expected announcement.
SF Mayor Ed Lee changes mind, will seek full term [Chron]
The Chron got an interview with the mayor Sunday, in which he explains why he broke his promise not to run, and says he’ll be participating in a mayoral candidate’s debate tonight at the Castro. Also, some Supes that supported Lee’s appointment are PISSED.
S.F. Mayor Ed Lee’s move rankles some candidates [Chron]
How pissed? The Chron wrote a whole separate article on the Supes’ reactions. Chiu and Avalos, who are also running for mayor, as predictably disappointed. Farrell and Mar also won’t be endorsing him, they say. Mirkarimi and Wiener were non-committal.
Lee’s choice to run for mayor opens political floodgates [Ex]
“By entering the race and going back on a pledge not to run for a full term, he will set in motion a frenzied reassessment of his ideology and accomplishments.” If that’s not enough for you, former Supe turned bartender Chris Daly calls Lee “a dorky, Chinese Willie Brown.”
Lee off and running Monday, not on public’s dime [Chron]
Speaking of Brown, his Chronicle columnist colleagues Matier and Ross say that Lee won’t be taking any public funding to bankroll his campaign. [CitiReport] has some interesting speculation on how he might fund things, instead.
Lee to Enter Mayoral Race Monday Morning [BC]
“Sources said Pak held a final dinner to discuss Lee’s campaign at R&G Lounge Saturday night with a circle of his major fundraisers in Chinatown” But what did they order, Bay Citizen? Please tell me it was the chow fun, I loved R&G’s chow fun before I went veg. More ominously, “Calls made to Pak’s cellphone Sunday did not go through; a number she had used for years appeared to have been disconnected.”
Poll: Ed Lee popular, but short of majority to win [Chron]
Blah blah, Lee will be an instant frontrunner, but he won’t just be able to waltz on in.
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