Mayor Newsom’s recent behavior in the budget fight can only mean one thing – he’s upset that Supervisor Chris Daly won’t run against him. After refusing to spend Daly’s affordable housing package that a veto-proof majority of the Supervisors passed, Newsom submitted a budget last week that specifically de-appropriated the money (see page 329.) Daly then made a motion, seconded by Tom Ammiano, to restore the $33 million – as well as to restore $4 million in proposed cuts to public health – by removing some of the Mayor’s new projects, like Community Courts and the 311 center. In a hysterical press release, Newsom reacted by calling it “the most transparent move in recent San Francisco history,” and urged other Supervisors not to “jump off this cliff.” Meanwhile, the Mayor’s budget only provides a 2.4% cost-of-living adjustment for non-profit employees who contract with the City, although they get paid substantially less than City workers. But based on a favorable response after non-profit employees lobbied the Supervisors on June 7th, it looks like at least that part of the budget will be spared from partisan politics. The Supervisors will push the Mayor to up non-profit salaries an extra percentage point or two.

Everyone knows that Chris Daly would get creamed if he ran for Mayor against Newsom. Daly himself knows that, as do progressives who are itching to field a challenger. There wasn’t much enthusiasm at the June 2nd Progressive Convention for Daly to run for Mayor, while activists pleaded Ross Mirkarimi to reconsider after he backed out. These people will likely support Matt Gonzalez if he chooses to run.

As Chair of the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee, Daly is in a very powerful position this year to fight the Mayor’s cuts and lead the opposition during budget season. But if he ran against Newsom and lost badly, he would not be as politically potent next year. Which is why the Mayor has goaded him during the budget battle, hoping that Daly will give him the satisfaction to enter the Mayor’s race. If Daly is smart, he won't give the Mayor that pleasure.

Meanwhile, Newsom has the nerve to blame Chris Daly for “election-year politics” and has called Daly’s effort to restore the Housing Supplemental “one of the most transparent moves in recent San Francisco political history.” I’m not sure what the Mayor means by “recent.” Newsom’s move last month to let the housing supplemental become law but saying he won’t spend the money was pretty transparent – and it was possibly illegal.

But there are issues with the $37 million in cuts to the Mayor's Budget that Daly proposed to pay for restoring the Housing money, AIDS funding and psychiatric beds. It’s uncertain, for example, if Ross Mirkarimi (a graduate of the Police Academy) will support not funding the salary of a new Police Academy class. And Daly has also proposed not funding $5 million from the public housing rebuild. But the vast majority of what Daly says should be a lower priority – like redesigning the City’s website, or funding the highly-controversial Community Courts program – are probably reasonable.

While Daly’s proposal restores cuts to the Health Department that deal with AIDS funding and psychiatric beds at SF General Hospital, it doesn’t even come close to restoring the $6.9 million that Newsom cut out of the Health Department that affects 17 non-profits who provide vital serivces. While some of these cuts will be restored during the add-back process, the non-profits affected will have to spend hours at City Hall speaking about the need to save their programs when they could be serving their clients.

As for the non-profits who contract with the City, the Mayor’s Budget has offered them a measly 2.4% cost-of-living adjustment. These workers provide many of the direct services for those hit hardest by bad economic times – homeless service providers, drug and alcohol counselors, SRO service providers, mental health workers, and domestic violence support service workers. In recent years, many have begun to unionize because the City uses them as cheap labor to outsource vital services.

Over the past five years, non-profit workers have received small – and some years no – pay raises for cost-of-living, although they make substantially less than City workers. Just to get parity with City employees, they would require a 14% pay raise this year. “There are two city workforces,” said Board President Aaron Peskin, “and the way they get treated is not equitable. We have failed to close the gap, but are doing it slowly.”

About two dozen non-profit employees who are represented by SEIU Local 1021 and OPEIU Local 3 lobbied the Supervisors on June 7th with a simple request – don’t settle for the Mayor’s cost-of-living adjustment of 2.4%. Push up this year’s salary increases by one or two percentage points, with an increased cost-of-doing-business adjustment institutionalized so that it is part of any future contracts with the City.

“Just to live adequately,” said Darrell Cornelius of Episcopal Services (ECS), “a lot of our co-workers have to use the very same services that we provide.” Others mentioned that their non-profit staff goes through high turnover due to low wages, which directly affects the quality of their professional services. “We want to maintain professional services,” said Grace Telcs of ECS, “not just warm bodies for a job.”

The non-profit workers carried a large letter with their requests, and asked each Supervisor who they were able to meet with to sign it. Progressive Supervisors Chris Daly, Ross Mirkarimi, Tom Ammiano, Aaron Peskin and Jake McGoldrick all signed it and expressed their support.

But this issue transcends partisan politics. Supervisor Sean Elsbernd – who often sides with the Mayor – also signed it. “I’m willing to sign it and give you a cost-of-living adjustment,” said Elsbernd, “but I’m not sure if I can get you the full 14%.” The budgetary cost is about $4 million per percentage point, so a 2% increase over the Mayor’s proposed raise would cost the City approximately $8 million.

When it comes to non-profit salary increases in the Budget, the Supervisors have somehow figured out how to take the issue out of partisan politics. But the rest of the budget is currently under siege by a Mayor who’s upset that Chris Daly won’t run against him. With no meaningful Mayor’s race to speak of yet, Newsom has to direct his press releases somewhere else – making this year’s budget battle a proxy fight for his re-election.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Beyond Chron is published by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic. The Clinic has various contracts with the City to provide services, and its workers are represented by SEIU Local 1021. Send feedback to paul@beyondchron.org