Friday, August 19, 2016

Free Media Week: 3 Candidates Run for BART District 9 Seat



The deadline to qualify for getting on the ballot for BART's District 9 seat was on Wednesday at 5 pm and a black female transportation advocate currently serving on the SF MTA board, Gwyneth Borden is running. She joins Bevan Dufty and I in the race.

Let's go over some relevant media about the candidates and race from the past week.

The week began with a good story from Diego Aguilar Canabal of SF YIMBY News on Monday noting that Dufty and I were the only candidates at that time. This article contained my favorite headline: "Mutual Respect, Admiration Dominate BART Director Race."

How often do you read a headline like that about a political race?

The Examiner didn't wait for the deadline and ran a story on Wednesday stating only two men were vying for the seat. They noted Borden's entry in a followup article.

Matthew Bajko of the Bay Area Reporter had this roundup of fact to share in Thursday's paper:

"In the race for the District 9 seat on BART's board of directors, gay former District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty appears headed for an easy victory to succeed Tom Radulovich , who is stepping down after two decades on the regional transit agency's board. Since the incumbent opted not to run, candidates had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to file for the race.

"As of the Bay Area Reporter's press deadline that afternoon, the only other person to have entered the race was gay activist Michael Petrelis.

"Lisa Feldstein, who is bisexual and a former city planning commissioner, had been expected to run and had secured Radulovich's endorsement. But she announced via Twitter last Friday, August 12 that she had decided against it.

"'I am withdrawing from the BART Bd race. My opponent's name recognition will be too $$ to overcome. Thank you for your support!' wrote Feldstein, apparently in reference to Dufty, who most recently served as Mayor Ed Lee's adviser on homelessness."

Over at the the Bay Area News Group's transportation reporter Eric Baldassari noted there are 15 persons vying for the five open BART seats, including District 9. All three candidates were mentioned.

Nice free media attention, wouldn't you say? Yes, indeed.

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