3196

As governor of literally one of the largest countries in the world economically, whoever is governor of California is always a viable candidate. California is extremely diverse, no matter how liberal the outside may see it. By 2024 Newsom will be viable. He is pro-environment, and he has shown an ability to handle a crises and to work with people. That may all change, 2024 is a few years off, but don’t count him out.
And SF may not be your cup of tea, but there is a shitload of money to be made there, and to be donated from there. Silicon Valley can pay for a candidate.

3197

I could not believe that was a thing but it really was a thing!

SnapCrap is no longer around, however, and a search on the App Store brings up SF311.

3198

I hear the entire state of California is just San Francisco.

There aren’t like 3 bigger cities and it doesn’t make up like 2% of the state’s population.
Also I hear governors are mayors, much like members of Congress.

3199

Great points all. I see his track record as Mayor of San Francisco as a liability though. For example, the downtown restaurant debacle.

SF gave big companies tax breaks to move their offices downtown in an effort to revitalize the area. Then the city moved to ban company cafeterias once they realized the workers weren’t leaving their offices except to get in and out of the area.

Or threatening to ban motorized scooters which many commuters utilize to cover gaps in public transportation.

Of course these will be 8-10 year old events by 2024 so maybe I’m over-indexing on them.

3200

The vast majority of the human waste on SF streets exists mainly in the sad, sheltered minds of Fox News watchers. I’m in SF walking through the streets at least a couple times a week, and I’ve yet to see any more than a normal amount of city filth.

There is a highly concentrated downtown corridor where there are a lot of “street” people along with the associated blight. That comes with the territory of being a major city. I’m sure from the paradise of San Marcos it all looks just terrifying, but it’s not any worse than any downtown corridor in any major city, outside of the fevered imaginations of the conservative press.

3201

Nearly every time I talk about Northern California, I remind people there are miles and miles North of San Fran… And then when I talk about Southern California, I have to say, no no i mean really south like San Diego not LA. But hey I live in a state where most people seem stretched to name more than one city, if they’re not a sports fan.

This whole thing is kind of a silly and pointless exercise though. Biden is the nominee… end of story. We can worry about other elections for president after this one.

3202

The Dems will blame Bernie, learn nothing and forget nothing if that happens. If that happens I think the Dems will be so fatally flawed as a party and Republicans so entrenched, it will be time to burn America to the ground.

I hope Biden wins, because that alternative is so terrible, but if Biden loses, I don’t see the Dems winning anything meaningful in my lifetime without a revolution. A Biden loss will prove that Democratic centrism and their ideas of electability will have failed completely in my eyes.

(again, I don’t wish this- but if Biden does lose, the Dem leadership will have to be burned to the ground)

3204

You should probably go to San Francisco sometime, and see for yourself what it’s like.

I assure you it’s not what Fox tells you.

3205

There is also an app for San Francisco weather. Does that mean that SF has the worst weather in America?

3206

It’s San Francisco. It entirely depends on which neighborhood you are in.

(this works for both poop and weather)

3207

I’ve lived in or near San Francisco for 6-7 years over three stints. 2006-2010, 2012-2014, and now in San Jose since early 2019.

Downtown SF has definitely gotten worse with regards to the homeless and their detritus, including shit, on the sidewalk. If seeing that sort of thing is new to you, you will be grossed out.

I can certainly understand why someone from a flyover state vacationing in San Francisco would suggest that the streets are awash in filth, but there’s also the right-wing context that requires California to be a liberal cesspool and everything wrong with America. That’s the bullshit part.

As for the cause, I don’t know. California and San Francisco spend a lot of money to deal with the homeless population. But there are reasons why lots of homeless come to downtown SF. But that’s for another thread I imagine.

3208

Didn’t SF close many public restrooms due to security concerns? I know the restroom at the BART station at Embarcadero is closed. Which is why BART always smells like piss.

I’m not sure what the solution is to having secure public restrooms. But if you don’t give people easy access to them, they’re going to piss and shit on the sidewalk.

3209

I haven’t been in the city center for several years but the last time I was there were homeless camped out on the sidewalks and it was a mess. My sister worked down there and said that is/was the norm. Now I do believe in the last few years they have tried cleaning it up and they are no longer as “welcoming” to the homeless as they once were.

3210

The years (early 10’s) I was in SF for GDC, there were a few blocks that were really disgusting. It’s a big city, though, so it’s not like it’s miles of filth or something.

Homelessness is a big problem, and I don’t venture to guess what the right solution is, although apparently some of those indefatigable Nordics have seen some interesting results by just giving them homes.

3211

The UK Conservatives seem to have a different approach!

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3212

It’s such a simple and elegant solution, one wonders why it’ll take them so long!

3213

I thought in Britain it was “rough sleepers.”

3214

So, your argument is that Newsom/Lee (not Breed) should not have enticed Twitter and other DotCom’s to stay in SF (right after both Transamerica and BofA left the city), because restaurants?

Note that Twitter and Salesforce have revitalized Downtown.

Additionally, prior to the 2008 crash, Newsom’s Care not Cash initiatives for homeless were some of the most successful in the nation. It wasn’t until long after Newsom was out of SF that the homeless fecal issues/needle issues became large.

There are things to criticize about Newsom’s record as Mayor, but what you and others are complaining about aren’t things that happened under his watch, or were temporary at best.

3215

As a Northern Californian who went to College in LoCal (SoCal to the natives), their opinion was that everything north of Santa Barbara was Oregon. :)

3216

Heh, probably one of those people who gets really concerned about whether not OR has paved roads or enough grocery stores to assist travelers. Thank you… Dexter.