The story at FogCityJournal.com that accompanies this photo reports: “Another strong candidate in the mayoral race is Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai. A graduate of University of California San Francisco Medical School, Sumchai is known as a ‘vocal proponent’ of universal health care and is an advocate of environmental health and justice. Sumchai would like to stop privatization in San Francisco and improve renewable energy sources. If elected, Sumchai hopes to halt construction activities by the Lennar Corp. in the Hunters Point Shipyard. She has been endorsed by the Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party and by former Democratic Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia” and Cindy Sheehan and many, many more. Photo: Luke Thomas, FogCityJournal.com

"Believe in yourself. You must do that which you think you cannot." - Eleanor Roosevelt

On Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, you will be given the opportunity to make a historic choice in the future leadership of the City and County of San Francisco. Many of you will find, for the first time, the name of someone you went to elementary school or attended a community meeting with on the municipal ballot as a candidate for mayor.

I am that candidate and I am asking for your vote. I appeal to you now to go to the polls on Election Day or mail in your absentee ballot just this time. I am asking you to believe!
We stand at a critical juncture in the direction of our city - a crossroads that will forever change the character of our neighborhoods and our populations. We have been given the opportunity to cast aside an arrogant elitist administration that has repressed, displaced and censored the grassroots leadership of our low-income communities of color and brings no voice to our struggle to survive.

We have been given the insight to see through the false illusions created by the "spin machine" of city government. It paints a phony picture of a mayor driven by ruthless political ambition whose policies are making San Francisco the playground of the rich.
We are given the gift of choosing a destiny not centered on the selfish egotistical whims of a mayor of privilege who pretends he understands our needs, plays basketball with our youth, drives families out of the city out-priced by the housing market, criminalizes the poor, homeless, disabled and mentally ill, poisons our children with toxic dust from construction sites and maneuvers to install yet another fossil fuel burning power plant in our over-industrialized eastern neighborhoods.

While facing insurmountable obstacles in a quest to champion his people, Muhammad Ali once said simply, "Get used to me!"

I encounter people on a daily basis with defeatist attitudes and negative opinions about the prospect of San Francisco electing a new Mayor next week. They are people who lack vision, mission and purpose in life. People who have nothing to live, die or fight for. People who believe slick pollsters who play with statistics and alter political reality.
I say, "Get used to me!" I am running to save lives, bolster hope and effect revolutionary change in a city that has become complacent and accepting of mediocrity. I must win ... I cannot afford to lose!

I encounter people on a daily basis who openly underestimate me because I am a Black woman! I say, "Get used to me!" I am used to being underestimated. I have always been underestimated and have consistently done the impossible against all odds. Look at my record and tell me you do not believe I am qualified to be Mayor of this city because I am a Black woman!

Mayor Gavin Newsom came to public office not because he was experienced, well educated, exceptionally talented or exhibited early genius. Not because he had "pulled himself up by his bootstraps" or served humanity across the globe. Gavin Newsom was given a seat on the Board of Supervisors to fill a vacancy left by a straight white male. That was the primary qualification he brought to city leadership.

In the seven short months since I declared my candidacy, I have touched and been touched by hundreds of people around this city. People who tell me they despise this mayor and desperately want a change in City Hall. People who admit they don't trust the leadership of this mayor and fear for their future under four more years of his tenure.

People who show up at candidate forums by the dozens knowing Gavin Newsom will not be there, yet looking for new faces, new voices and fresh ideas. Looking for someone real, someone substantive, someone who understands what life is like in the real, unscripted world. Someone who understands the cost of buying groceries for a family of four, uses public transit and loves children. Someone who accepts the power of destiny and dares to challenge fate!

I am that someone, and I am asking you to believe.

Contact Bay View Health and Environmental Science Editor Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai at (415) 835-4763 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , and visit her mayoral campaign at www.Ahimsa4Mayor.com.

Last Chance for Change Rally

Join us in showing our love and support for Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai as she enters the final days of her campaign for Mayor of San Francisco. Rally in the big back yard behind the Bay View, at 4919-B Third St., between Palou & Quesada in Hunters Point, San Francisco, on Saturday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Fun, friends, refreshments. Y'all come! For info, (415) 671-0789.

Bay View Voters Guide

Let's come out in force to exercise our hard-won right to vote on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Call the Bay View at (415) 671-0789 if you need help. You're welcome to take this paper into the voting booth with you.

• Mayor: Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai
• Yes on A, Transit reform
• Yes on B, Commission hold-overs
• No on C, Public hearings
• No on D, Library Preservation Fund
• Yes on E, Mayoral attendance at Board of Supervisors meetings
• Yes on F, Police pensions
• Yes on G, Golden Gate Park stables
• No on H, Regulating parking spaces
• Yes on I, Office of Small Business
• No on J, Wireless internet network
• Yes on K, Ads on street furniture

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