Mayoral candidate Lee ramps for campaign

September 3, 2011February 25, 2020 The Guardsman

By Ryan Kuhn
The Guardsman

Mayor Ed Lee might be running in his mayoral campaign “Run Ed Run”, but the woman leading the marathon is Chinatown activist Rose Pak.

After the campaign was simmering on the back burner waiting for a decision or not if he was going to run, Lee decided to put his name in the pot. If elected, it would be his first full term in office with only eight months experience, taking over for Gavin Newsom in January after Newsom was elected lieutenant governor.

Pak, a power broker, is not new to San Francisco politics. She has been fighting for the people of Chinatown for nearly three decades with economic development and supporting such political figures as former mayor Willie Brown.

In an article from the San Francisco Chronicle, Brown praised Pak saying she was “a comprehensive activist.”

Pak’s success has also come with controversy. She she has worked with have been the focus of giving generous amounts of travel gifts to San Francisco politicians and accused by former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Chris Daly saying she was doing the bidding of China’s leaders.

Nevertheless, Pak, the former Chronicle reporter, will be alongside Mayor Lee as he starts his campaign to stay in office for four more years.

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Ed Lee might have the support of his fellow San Franciscans especially those who follow his “Run Ed Run” campaign, but one supporter’s name stands out from the rest. His name is Willie Brown.

Before Lee officially decided to run on Aug. 8, City Attorney Dennis Herrera told the Examiner that “powerful people insisted he run.”

Lee said in an interview with the San Francisco Examiner that he and the former mayor speak on the phone once every two to three weeks. Brown was in office from 1996-2004.

Previously before taking the interim mayor job, Lee worked for Brown as Director of City Purchasing where he ran the city’s first Minority/Women-Owned Business Enterprise program.

He has also worked for Gavin Newsom as City Administrator.

With the mayoral race starting to heat up with up to six different candidates, Lee looks like to be the forerunner with a 35 percent following. With Brown in his corner and Pak leading the campaign, all Lee needs to do is “run ed run.”