Free Republic

The sexual harassment reckoning has exposed many men in positions of power for their bad behavior. Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Mark Halperin and others have either been fired or suspended for sexual misconduct. In the political realm, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is resigning in early January after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) made his way to the exit after his sexual harassment allegations made it into the limelight; he paid $27,000 to settle a claim in 2015. And yes, that’s our money he used for that expenditure. This reached a boiling point during the...

SFChron political reporter Joe Garafoli reports that at Willie Brown's annual pre-election breakfast he criticized the CA democrats' GOTV effort. Brown said, "I do not believe that Jerry Brown has a ground operation." Brown "also wonders if it is a good idea for the Dems to rely so heavily on labor for their ground operation." And dem political consultant Garry South "told the gathering that unless Jerry Brown has a lead of 7 or 8 points going into election day, 'we're in serious trouble.'" Video of Brown's remarks are embedded on the SFChro web site.

The biggest challenge facing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's run for governor is not who's running the campaign, but whether he has enough money to keep the campaign going. Newsom, who has a full staff working the campaign, has raised $2.8 million with only about $1.1 million left in the bank.Meanwhile, Newsom's presumed major rival in the upcoming Democratic primary - Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose only staff is wife Ann Gust - has raised about $8 million, with roughly $7 million in the bank. And that's before he's officially declared, giving him the ability to hit up many donors...

<p>Bob White, who was Republican Pete Wilson's chief of staff as governor, mayor and Assembly member, is now compiling an impressive stable of Democrats in his California Strategies public affairs and strategic consulting firm.</p> <p>Ever-quotable Democratic sage Garry South, a senior advisor to the gubernatorial campaign of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the architect of Gray Davis' gubernatorial victory in 1998, is going to work as a principal for White's firm.</p>

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is shaping the inner circle of his campaign for governor, naming veteran Democratic strategist Garry South as a top adviser. Newsom, a Democrat who announced he was exploring a run for governor in 2010 last month, is also tapping veterans of the Obama and Clinton presidential campaigns for polling and day-to-day campaign operations. His longtime political adviser, San Francisco-based consultant Eric Jaye, will serve as campaign director. But the key new addition is South, who served as chief strategist for Gov. Gray Davis' two successful campaigns in 1998 and 2002. In 2006, South was the...

Is Democratic San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom already putting together his team for that 2010 gubernatorial run? The newlywed mayor and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, were spotted in Malibu Saturday, honeymooning deep in lengthy conservation over frappucinos -- with Democratic uber-political consultant Garry South. We heard the whole story from blogger Zuma Dogg, who caught the scene on video and on camera, and posted it on his own LA Daily blog link at his website, zumatimes.com. Little problem for the environmentally-hip SF mayor at the usually star-laden Starbucks, the blogger reports. "His Yukon was parked in the fire lane,"...

Fresh from a stint as an advisor to the presidential campaign of Joseph Lieberman, Democratic strategist Garry South – best known as Gray Davis’ hatchet man – has re-emerged. Writing in The Sacramento Bee yesterday, he purports to advise a California GOP desperately trying to win the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Barbara Boxer. Given his character, it’s not surprising that South’s counsel comes in the form of an attack – on Arnold Schwarzenegger, for having endorsed for the Senate seat former Secretary of State Bill Jones, a white male, over Rosario Marin, a “pro-choice Latina, [who] looks heaven-sent...

All this -- the closed primary, protectionist redistricting, term limits -- "is a dastardly combination," South continues. "I'm utterly disgusted with the whole thing."

Folks...watch the bold faced punch lines at the end from Garry South... With the end of an expensive, aggressive California governor's race finally on the horizon, Democratic incumbent Gray Davis flew around the state Sunday exuding a feeling of smooth skies ahead. "It's all over," said Garry South, the governor's senior adviser, with a Cheshire cat smile aboard Davis' chartered 727 airplane. "All over but the shoutin'." The cautious Davis, wrapping up an eight-month general election campaign, was slightly more circumspect with two days until Tuesday's election. "It's over when the secretary of state says you won," he said Sunday....

Simon unable to back contribution claim against Davis By ALEXA H. BLUTH Associated Press WriterPublished 5:20 p.m. PDT Monday, October 7, 2002LOS ANGELES (AP) - GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon made an explosive - and unsubstantiated - accusation Monday that he had evidence Gov. Gray Davis had broken the law by accepting a campaign contribution at a state Capitol office. But Simon's campaign quickly acknowledged they had no evidence - just the word of a law enforcement organization that has endorsed Simon and sparred with Davis. And later Monday, two people who said they were present at the time said...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Even as Gov. Gray Davis was being accused of mingling his hunger for fund-raising with state business, he was collecting campaign contributions at a clip of more than $2 million a month from a variety of donors, according to documents filed Tuesday.</p>