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San Francisco's Ammiano Kicks Off Mayoral Write-in

President of Board of Supervisor's Wit Wins Support

Teacher-Turned-Politician's Instincts Proven on Target

Compiled By GayToday

Tom Ammiano

San Franciso, California--Board of Supervisors President Tom Ammiano kicked off his grassroots write-in campaign for mayor on Saturday with a successful literature drop in the Castro and Upper Haight.

He continued Sunday night with an appearance at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), the city's largest gay denomination.

Earlier this year, the well-liked teacher-comedian-turned-politician, had hinted at a mayoral run which would have pitted him against current-Mayor Willie Brown, a democratic party veteran.

Because Ammiano's foresight has demonstrably proved itself on behalf of the interests of diverse communities in San Francisco, and because he communicates effectively, his earlier announcement reportedly had rattled the city's current-Mayor, who is running once again for office.

Ammiano then quickly announced he would not be running, only to read disappointment in the faces of perhaps more San Franciscans than he knew.

As President of the Board of Supervisors, one major Ammiano-backed success that's having ramifications as far away as Atlanta, Georgia, has been his championing of the requirement that firms doing business with San Francisco must offer their employees domestic partner benefits.

Pat Robertson's legal arms challenged this domestic partners law in the courts and recently lost.

Ammiano, who last week filed papers to run as an official write-in candidate , has good reasons, he says, as to why he's chosen to jump into the mayoral race only three weeks before the election.

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The MCC crowd greeted Ammiano warmly. The location of the MCC, in the heart of the Castro, (at 150 Eureka) provides a base of support for the supervisor's campaign.

On Saturday, some 35,000 pieces of literature explaining how-to write-in the supervisor's name on the November 2 ballot were distributed to houses and apartments in the Castro, Noe Valley and the Upper Haight.

Tables were also set up at 18th and Castro to get the word out that Ammiano is indeed running for the mayor's office.

Speaking beforehand to an overflow crowd in the backyard of A Different Light bookstore in the Castro, Ammiano said that Harvey Milk did the same thing he was doing--acting on what he knew was right.

Ammiano hopes his presence in the race will help pass ballot initiatives he's supporting--among them Laguna Honda and the outlawing of double-charging for ATM services.