SF Political Culture

SF Chronicle, Sept 12: “San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris‘ decision not to seek the death penalty for Edwin Ramos in the 2008 killings of Tony Bologna and his two sons apparently came down to one critical fact:

Prosecutors aren’t 100 percent convinced a jury will believe Ramos was the actual shooter.

Ramos, an alleged MS-13 member, is accused of opening fire from a car on the Bologna family in the mistaken belief that one of Bologna’s two sons – Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16 – was a gang rival.

The lone survivor from the attack, Tony Bologna’s 19-year-old son, testified during a preliminary hearing that Ramos was the man who sprayed his family’s car with bullets June 22, 2008.

Ramos’ attorney, Marla Zamora, however, has argued that Ramos was the driver but didn’t fire the shots. Ramos has named another man as the supposed shooter, but police have been unable to locate him.

Add in that other witnesses have said there were two people in the car, and the lack of any DNA evidence pointing to Ramos as the triggerman, and the question of whether the shootings were premeditated – and prosecutors thought they might have a problem.

Legally, even if Ramos were only the driver, he could still be convicted of murder. And prosecutors are sure to argue that packing a gun is evidence of premeditation.

But apparently, Harris – who opposes capital punishment – didn’t figure that a San Francisco jury would send Ramos to the death chamber.”
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/12/BAT219LU5D.DTL#ixzz0RDpHTXRo

This is germane because the DA who made the no death penalty decision will run for California Attorney General, and Mayor Gavin Newsome who has sided with her decision will run for Governor.

Taking San Francisco “political culture” statewide.

Can You Say “Overexposure?”

It’s Obama, all day, all the time.

Last Sunday it was 60 Minutes, today it is THREE (campaign) speeches, then Letterman this week and “wall to wall” on talk shows this Sunday. (Meet the Press, This Week, Face the Nation, Late Edition, Univision)

When he suits up for a Charger game so he can be interviewed…

Who Has The Power?

I note with interest that former President Clinton will back Gavin Newsome for California Governor, instead of former Gov. Jerry Brown.

President Clinton has cache, but little influence in that race.

The political power in the state has been seized by the John and Ken talk show out of KFI (AM 640) in Los Angeles, and now San Francisco.