Perusing Willie Brown's Chronicle column is a beguiling experience. Da Mayor, San Francisco's Professor Moriarty, always has a reason for writing what he writes. But no one has yet unearthed this city's equivalent of the Rosetta Stone to navigate the minefield of conflicts of interest and government unseemliness buried within.
Last week's column implored Mayor Ed Lee to declare his intention to run for re-election posthaste, lest others join Sen. Mark Leno in mulling a mayoral challenge.
Writing a newspaper column directing a message to the mayor — the same mayor you wrote a newspaper column about vaulting into power — is an intriguing move. And the city's political class was, in turn, intrigued. Lee tossed his hat back into the ring shortly after Brown's column. But some speculated that the real audience was actually the powers behind the throne: "The phone calls are coming and they'll have to decide if they're with us or against us," says one government observer.
The ultimate beneficiary of such a move could be one Willie L. Brown. "Willie creates political problems for his allies in order to be available to solve them," says a city politico. He questions Brown's advice: "Lee's strength isn't as a candidate. It's as a mayor. They should delay the campaign part as long as they can. Extending that period, however, extends the influence of Willie Brown."
In other words, beware a call to arms from an arms dealer.
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