Mark Sanchez Endorsed by Sierra Club & Mark Leno, But Not Chris Daly

From today's Chronicle:

The level to which City Hall insiders have become fed up with Chris Daly seems to coincide with an ebbing of his sway and influence. No one knows how the November elections will come out, but Daly has taken an aggressive line to make sure his "progressive" supervisor candidates win.

But his status as kingmaker seems dubious. Early this week, Daly wrote an entertaining handicap sheet for the board on the Fog City Journal Web site, fogcityjournal.com. In it, Daly said he'd advised Green Party candidate Mark Sanchez, who is running against Daly's candidate, Eric Quezada, to drop out of the race.

"The campaign for Mark Sanchez has been largely a non-starter," Daly wrote, adding that there was "a lack of excitement in the district."

But the next day Sanchez announced - also in the Fog City Journal - that he'd gotten the endorsement of the powerful Sierra Club. And Thursday he revealed that he was endorsed by influential state Sen.-elect Mark Leno.

"Let's just say I decided not to take Chris Daly's advice," Sanchez said Friday.

The Sierra Club endorsement is particularly galling since Daly blustered last month in a well-publicized e-mail that if anyone crossed him on an important vote, "I ... have committed to make it my personal mission ... (that person will) ... never receive the endorsement of the Guardian, Tenants Union, Sierra Club, and Milk Club."

Kudos to Mark for getting these endorsements and some free publicity thanks to Chris Daly.

Supervisor Ross MirkarimiEndorses Mark Sanchez

Jane Kim (Board of Education)Endorses Mark Sanchez

Mark Sanchez First to Qualify for Public Financing

From BeyondChron:

Sanchez, currently President of the School Board, became the first Supervisor candidate in 2008 to collect enough private donations to qualify for public funds.

The District 9 Supervisor’s race is not until November, but Mark Sanchez has already qualified for public funds for the contest. The Ethics Commission certified on February 13 that he had received qualifying contributions totaling $5,000 from at least 75 residents of the City, thus making him eligible to receive public funds. Sanchez will receive an initial public grant of $10,000, and can receive up to $87,500 under San Francisco’s public financing law.

Sanchez’s support reflects a strategy to reach out to diverse constituencies, using a local model used by his strong supporter, Matt Gonzalez. A good example of Sanchez’s approach occurred last fall, when Mark Leno heard false rumors circulating that he had already agreed to endorse one of Sanchez’s opponents in the race.

Leno met with Sanchez, and after the meeting the incumbent School Board President decided to endorse Leno. Sanchez made this endorsement despite charges among some progressives that Leno was not the most “left” candidate, preferring, as Matt Gonzalez has done, to make his own assessment of who was the best candidate in the race.