San Francisco Citizen

Your State Senator Leland Yee marched down Van Ness with an army of supporters this afternoon.

They went all the way to City Hall to turn in the signatures required for his election as Mayor of San Francisco.

Like this:

Click to expand

And here’s what the fuss was all about – thousands of signatures:

(Oh, and apparently, not necessarily all of the 30,000 signatures Run Ed Run has are real signatures. That would explain a lot as, man, valid signatures are hard to get, or at least they were when I tried getting them back in the day, back in the aughts.)

Rounding Polk to come up the steps of City Hall:

And down into the catacombs to hand off the boxes:

And then a chat with KTVU in front of Dumbledore’s Army.

It went a little like this.

The deadline for candidates is July 28th, so look forward to more activity in the basement of City Hall…

The latest from the Yee campaign:

Pancake Breakfast & Mobilization
When: TOMORROW, July 23rd; 10:00 AM
Where: Yee for Mayor HQ (710 Van Ness, 2nd Floor)
What: Come join Team Yee for some delicious hot cakes before hitting the streets to talk to our fellow voters
RSVP to this Event

Community Nights at Yee HQ
When: Chinese Night – Monday, July 25th; Latino Night – Wednesday, July 27th; Filipino Night – Thursday, July 28th; All Nights start at 5:00 PM
Where: Yee for Mayor HQ (710 Van Ness, 2nd Floor)
What: All are welcome at these Community Outreach nights at Yee HQ
RSVP to these Events

Lit Drop for Leland
When: Saturday, August 13th; 10:00 AM
Where: Yee for Mayor HQ (710 Van Ness, 2nd Floor)
What: Stay tuned for the details as we get closer to the big date
RSVP to this Event

Leland Yee First to 10,000 Valid Signatures
Yee’s grassroots strength evident in nomination petition drive

SAN FRANCISCO – Senator Leland Yee, accompanied by California Nurses, Sierra Club members and campaign volunteers, turned in enough signatures today at City Hall to become the first mayoral candidate to reach 10,000 valid signatures – the benchmark set by the Department of Elections for qualifying to be a candidate without paying a $5,000 filing fee.

“Today’s achievement is a clear indicator of the strength of our campaign,” said Yee. “We have collected more signatures in less time than any other campaign through a grassroots effort of hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. I am proud of our volunteers and our campaign team”

“I have always believed that the greatest test of strength for any candidate is their ability to reach out and speak directly to voters,” said Yee. “I want to personally thank all the San Francisco voters who took the time to speak with our volunteers and sign our nominating petitions. I am looking forward to the next stage of our campaign and continuing to talk with voters about improving our public schools, our environment, and our economy.”

With the submission of today’s batch of 4,200 signatures, the Yee campaign has turned in nearly 14,000 signatures. It is expected that the total valid amount will easily surpass 10,000. As of Friday morning, no other mayoral campaign had even reached the 5,000 signature level.

“This drive is far different than collecting on-line petitions or even standing in front of a supermarket collecting signatures from passersby,” said Yee campaign manager Jim Stearns. “The rules set by the Department of Elections constitute a tough test for declared candidates, and I’m proud that our team has passed that test with flying colors.”

The stringent validity rules set by the Department of Elections require each signature to be from a registered San Francisco voter, and for each circulator of a petition to also be a registered voter. In addition, no signer can also have signed for another mayoral candidate.

In addition to the key endorsements of the California Nurses Association and the Sierra Club, Yee has also gained the support the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, Laborers International Union, and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, among others.

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Yee immigrated to San Francisco at the age of 3. His father, a veteran, served in the US Army and the Merchant Marine, and his mother was a local seamstress. Yee graduated from the University of California – Berkeley, then earned a Ph.D. in Child Psychology, and later served in various mental health and school settings. He and his wife, Maxine, have raised four children who all attended San Francisco public schools. Yee has served in the State Legislature, Board of Supervisors and Board of Education.