Rescue Muni Backs Three Supes, Two Challengers: Ammiano, Newsom, Yee, Magilavy, Peskin

A Transit Riders' Association for San Francisco
P.O. Box 190966
San Francisco, CA 94119-0966

Hotline: (415) 273-1558
Email: board at rescuemuni.org
Web: http://www.rescuemuni.org FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 12, 2000

Contacts:
Andrew Sullivan
Chair, Steering Committee / Chief Spokesperson
(415) 673-0626
[email protected]

Daniel Murphy
Vice-Chair, Steering Committee
(415) 665-4074
[email protected]

Rescue Muni Backs Three Supes, Two Challengers:
Ammiano, Newsom, Yee, Magilavy, Peskin

After a marathon candidates’ night, Rescue Muni members voted to endorse three supervisors and two challengers in the eleven-district November election. The organization endorsed Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano and Supervisor Gavin Newsom, the two candidates they backed in 1998. They also endorsed Supervisor Leland Yee, running for his second term on the board, and two candidates running for the first time: Beryl Magilavy and Aaron Peskin.

"Tom Ammiano campaigned for better service, Fast Pass in hand, long before this issue was fashionable," said Rescue Muni chair Andrew Sullivan, who mentioned that many Rescue Muni members encounter Ammiano on the bus in his daily commute. "Gavin Newsom also has a long record on this issue, and fought alongside Rescue Muni for tough service standards and meaningful reform," said Sullivan, citing Newsom’s early support for the initial Rescue Muni/SPUR/EOC version of the Muni Reform Charter Amendment.

"We support Leland Yee because he’s there for Muni riders on the difficult votes, like the MTA board confirmation," said Daniel Murphy, Rescue Muni’s vice chair. "He’s very concerned about service out in the neighborhoods, and he’s willing to take brave stands for real accountability. He’s not anyone’s rubber stamp."

"Beryl Magilavy is one of the real movers behind Proposition E," said Sullivan. "She was with Rescue Muni every step of the way in City Hall and she has a long record of environmental activism, including support for better mass transit." Sullivan also pointed out that Magilavy’s district is the heart of the Muni system: Market Street and most of the Metro subway. "This is a critical district for Muni riders," he said.

"Everyone claims to be a neighborhood activist nowadays, but Aaron Peskin is the real thing," said Murphy. "As president of the Telegraph Hill dwellers, he fought for neighborhood preservation and sensible transit-friendly development. We’re very impressed with his emphasis on accountability and will work to hold the new MTA to the Proposition E service standards."

Rescue Muni requires a two-thirds vote for endorsement. As a result, Rescue Muni endorsements are rarer than those from other organizations. "We’re not some collection of hacks churning out slate mailers," Sullivan said. "Rescue Muni members are tired of lame, empty promises because we’ve heard it all and we’re still waiting for the bus. Rescue Muni is a tough crowd. They’re picky."

Rescue Muni did not endorse in Districts 1 (Inner and Outer Richmond), 5 (Western Addition, Haight, Cole Valley, Inner Sunset), 7 (West of Twin Peaks, Lake Merced, Mt. Davidson, West Portal), 8 (Castro, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights), 10 (Potero Hill, Bayview, Hunter’s Point Visitacion Valley, and 11 (Excelsior, Outer Mission, Ocean View, Ingleside). No candidate in those districts garnered the requisite two-thirds vote.

Rescue Muni is a transit riders’ organization for customers of Muni. It was founded in 1996 by Muni riders seeking to improve the system’s reliability, service, and safety, currently has about 600 members, and continues to grow rapidly. The organization conducts an annual riders’ survey and serves as a citizens’ watchdog group for Muni. Rescue Muni co-sponsored November 1999’s Proposition E after circulating their own charter amendment earlier that year and participating in City Hall negotiations. Rescue Muni is an independent, nonpartisan group run entirely by volunteers and supported solely by its members’ dues.

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