To the spoiler goes the political spoils

If races are to be judged on revenge and political spoils than former assemblyman Lou Papan is the victor. It has been said Papan joined the race simply to enact revenge on Nevin and his backers for opposing his daughter Gina Papan’s quest for the Assembly. And revenge for Papan must be sweet today though his campaign denies he was in it to ruin Nevin’s chances.

Sadly, revenge will not serve us well in Sacramento.

If Nevin had every single Papan vote, he would have beat Yee with a 50.3 percent victory. And no one will ever know how many votes Nevin would have gotten if there were not two campaigns picking on him.

With so much of the San Mateo County vote split, Nevin would have benefited from more penetration into San Francisco. Though he spent much of a previous career as a police officer in San Francisco, Nevin may not have the name recognition of Yee who rose through the ranks of the city’s politics. Instead, Nevin seemed to rely on a bevy of heavy hitters like San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein to swing him to victory.

Though Yee was a relative unknown in San Mateo County, he spent much of the last year deliberately introducing himself to the area through press releases and public appearances at everything from award dinners to pet parades. He also benefited from being a current office holder working on and passing legislation that directly affects the lives of people here in this county.

This campaign was also one of the dirtiest in recent years with unfounded allegation after unfounded allegation slung between the Yee and Nevin camps. The negative campaign between Nevin and Yee likely turned voters to Papan or away from the ballot box all together.

Though Papan may have enacted his revenge, that’s not what political leadership is about. Papan’s revenge may well have lost the Peninsula’s chance to have an energetic leader who will put our interests first.

Regardless, District 8 will get a good representative in the Senate in Leland Yee. He may not have the San Mateo County ties of Nevin, but he is proven to be an effective lawmaker in the Assembly and will likely continue his path of legislative leadership. Yee has spent much of his time in San Francisco and Sacramento and only recently introduced himself to San Mateo County.

If he continues to get to know our needs and will stand up to the interests of San Francisco, then he may well prove to be a worthy successor to Jackie Speier in the state Senate.

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