☆ Mahan's centrist bloc prevails in major housing vote
One of the narratives that's been repeated over and over by local media since Mahan's mayoral win is this: He won't be able to lead a Labor/Left-aligned council. That narrative crashed at the end of April when the moderate council bloc won a 9–2 vote to reject COPA—one of the nonprofit Left's most sought-after policy wishes. Former councilmember and current Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio breaks down the politics of it all in an Opp Now exclusive interview.
Opportunity Now: I guess the Merc and Spotlight got it wrong: Mahan was able to lead a sweeping win on COPA. What happened?
Pierluigi Oliverio: COPA was a big, visceral issue for the City—on both sides. But what was different was how mobilized, how motivated, how inclusive the No on COPA coalition was. People from all over the city, especially communities of color, came and voiced their opposition. As a result, the traditional Left/Right voting blocs were scrambled.
ON: Does this mean that the Labor/Business, Left/Right framing device that local media likes to use is no longer operative?
PO: It depends on the issue. My experience tells me there is politics—and then there is governing. There is campaigning, and then there is actually doing the job of a councilmember. Once politicians are in positions to make decisions by their vote, they become much more aware that they have to move beyond campaign sloganeering. Because policies have consequences. And politicians, quite rightly, have to pay attention to what their constituents are telling them. So I think it's natural and appropriate that representatives need to re-evaluate some of their campaign impulses once they get into office and see the real facts, the real consequences, and where people really are on specific issues, and not follow some ideological checklist.
ON: That doesn't seem to happen on the national level, where it's always a Left/Right bloodsport.
PO: The politics of the federal government that are often Left/Right make for fun headlines, but don't always apply to cities. Cities make decisions that impact people directly: their housing, their property, their neighborhood quality of life, the overall equity of their communities. On a local level, people will look at policies that affect that singularly, through the lens of: What could this mean to me directly? What positive or negative effects could this have? People expect their local reps to vote in a way that makes sense for their city and their communities, not to fit into some national ideology.
ON: Of all the Bay Area cities, SJ has always been more moderate. And it appears that Mahan is charting a different course than SF and Oakland city government.
PO: SF and Oakland are in pain: people leaving in droves, businesses decamping, financial districts being hollowed out, and out-of-control open drug markets and rampant crime and homelessness. Those cities have really suffered from ideological extremism and out-of-touch city governments. Mahan's council has the opportunity to show how a moderate, issues-oriented approach—one that's not beholden to special interests and orthodox ideologies—can be successful. How reasonable and resident-focused government can make for a better quality of life—for everybody. As always, time will tell.
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