Phil Ting might have just saved himself from being a nobody on the campaign trail for San Francisco mayor.
In a stroke of genius, San Francisco's assessor camped on the one issue that makes voters convulse with rage: parking tickets.
Muni recently rolled out a new proposal to write more parking tickets, while the agency's employees don't have to pay for parking themselves -- an issue ripe for the campaign. So Ting started a petition this week, asking voters to revolt against City Hall and help him stop the excessive ticketing.
CBS reports that he already has more than 2,000 signatures from presumably angry drivers.
The timing couldn't have been better. Until now, Ting had struggled to garner any media attention.
In his online petition, dubbed "Tear Up Unfair Ticket Plan," Ting claims that the parking burden is already too much for San Francisco, and he has evidence to back it up. He discovered that after a quick study of other cities and their parking meter violations, San Francisco is by far the most taxing with its $65 fine.
"If you think more parking tickets are one of the worst ways to close the budget gap -- make your voice heard," the petition reads. "Ask City Hall to tear up the unfair ticket plan."
What a great campaign slogan.
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