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By Rex Wockner
Rex Wockner: You've taken out papers to begin fundraising. Tom Ammiano: Exactly. It's the first step in a two-step process. It's called "intent to run." This allows you to raise money and to ... see if the commitment is there for volunteers -- because we'll never be able to match [Mayor Willie Brown's] big money. There's no limit, so they can spend two million. The volunteer base would be the most important thing. So, there's been a 'Run Tom Run' campaign since January and it's gotten bigger. Now what I need to see is, is the money and the volunteer energy matching the 'Run Tom Run' campaign. If that happens, I'll take the second step, which is really be a candidate. Rex Wockner: In the media-saturated society we live in today, is the money the most important thing, or is it how you play in the media? Tom Ammiano: I think it's both. Also how you play in terms of the community. Certainly good media helps and money helps. But what has happened is an imbalance with the money. I think a grass- roots campaign, people are hungry for that. It's kind of like [Reform Party Minnesota Gov.] Jesse Ventura, or even [Oakland state Assemblymember] Audie Bock, who was a Green Party member who was outspent three-to-one by Elihu Harris and won. So, I think what people are saying when they make those kind of votes is, we're a little tired of the commercialization of the election process. We'd like to get back to a system of more checks-and- balances. Right now there's more checks than balances. Get it? Rex Wockner: You've gotten very little bad press. The only thing that I can remember is that Colin Powell thing. Tom Ammiano: He's an icon, and you're not supposed to criticize him. But the things he said about queer people are really terrible things. ... He said we're bestial, we'll undo any kind of war effort, and he totally trivialized all the gays and lesbians who have died in the wars. It was not good for young people either. For too long we've allowed people like that to have cover. The other interesting thing for me is, while the establishment didn't like what I did, I did get a lot of support from veterans -- particularly Gulf War veterans -- because another thing Colin Powell said is there's no Gulf War Syndrome, it's all made up. That really angered people who were suffering. So, I guess he's a guy from his own generation. I understand the fact that he's African-American; there's not enough African-American role models, but, at the same time, if we had someone who was openly gay and a role model and then was racist, I wouldn't tolerate that either. So, I felt it was inappropriate for the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco -- that has three gay supervisors and many other straight supervisors who were elected with gay votes and gay money -- to honor him. That's what it was all about. And I thought, you know, I'm not going to sign onto this.
Tom Ammiano: Gotta do it then. I just checked in and response to the first step has been phenomenal. So, it's a go unless there's some strange happening that I don't know about yet. Rex Wockner: How many votes do you have to get? Ninety percent of gay people will vote for you, and there's enough screaming lefties in San Francisco to make up the difference. Tom Ammiano: Yes. Tenants and labor. There's some moderate people too because I've been good on political reform and police reform, things that even if you're not liberal or don't like everything I do -- you know, neighborhood issues, I'm good on those. Even if someone is, "Well, I don't like Tom because he's too out-there on this issue," they like me because I dealt with the garbage issue or public transportation. You need about 80, 90 to do it. Probably I wouldn't get 50-percent-plus-one because of how the field is, but then it would be a run-off, and if I made the run- off, then there might be a good chance. Rex Wockner: Thanks a lot. |
Tom Ammiano 
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