At Long Last, Mr. Right

San Francisco is firmly upholding its reputation for zany politics. Consider this: Battling for reelection, Mayor Willie Brown has sought and won the endorsement of the Republicans.

This is the same Willie Brown who was California Republican enemy No. 1 during his 15 years as Democratic speaker of the state Assembly, the prime example of the evils of entrenched liberal leadership in Sacramento. Brown didn’t mind; he proudly called himself the Ayatollah of the Assembly.

Today, Brown is proof that all things are relative in politics. His opponent in the Dec. 14 runoff election for mayor, Tom Ammiano, is even more liberal than Brown. Thus Brown has become the establishment candidate.

Ammiano is the openly gay president of the San Francisco City-County Board of Supervisors. He is promoting an $11-an-hour minimum “living wage” and favors a city income tax. Ammiano stunned political experts when he finished second to Brown in the primary election Nov. 2 after a $20,000 write-in campaign of only about two weeks.

Mayor Brown boldly went before the Republican central committee to seek its endorsement early last week. Committee member Stephen Brewer said that in endorsing Brown the GOP was making a deal with the devil--but that Ammiano is worse. He concluded, “We should leave this lost city on its own to deal with what they’ve done.” But the lost city no doubt will be too busy enjoying what promises to be a rip-roaring runoff election campaign.