VITAL ISSUES FACE S.F. VOTERS

A ballot crammed with high-profile issues faces San Francisco voters, who
will be asked Tuesday to decide measures dealing with public power,
medicinal marijuana, condominium conversions, homelessness and $1.6 billion
in bonds to repair the aging Hetch Hetchy water system.

Voters will also choose from 28 candidates to fill five supervisorial seats
in the first election since San Francisco's district system was reinstated
two years ago. A ballot measure making the office a full-time paid position
is viewed by some observers as a referendum on neighborhood voting. If
voters reject the pay raises, it could be seen as a rejection of the brash
young representatives elected from the districts.

As always in San Francisco, many of the ballot questions are seen as
battles between the moderate, downtown business community and more
progressive, anti-growth neighborhood forces. The campaigns surrounding
homelessness, real estate taxes and condo conversions, as well as several
supervisorial races, have largely divided into those camps.

Among the most closely watched measures is Proposition R, known as Home
Ownership Opportunities for Everyone, or HOPE, which would dramatically
increase the number of rentals in San Francisco that could be converted to
condominiums. The conversion rate would be set at 1 percent of the total
housing stock each year for 25 years, about 3,400 rentals a year.
Currently, the number is limited to 400.

Supporters argue that making it easier for tenants to buy real estate will
improve conditions in the city because homeowners have a greater stake in a
clean, safe community. Opponents maintain that condo conversions reduce the
number of rental units, making it more difficult for the poor and middle
class to survive in San Francisco.

"It's a continuation of wars that have been fought between homeowner groups
and tenants groups for years," said local pollster David Binder. Real
estate interests and business groups are the major backers of Proposition R.

Another measure, Proposition L, would double the transfer tax on $1
million-plus properties and is opposed by downtown property owners.

The public power initiative, Proposition D, is another perennial San
Francisco issue that was given its best chance of passing last year, on the
heels of California's energy crisis. It would make the city's Public
Utilities Commission the primary provider of power to San Francisco homes
and businesses, taking the lucrative monopoly away from Pacific Gas & Electric.

"Last time it was very, very close," Binder said. "It is an issue that
divides the city into camps. I think the focus on the energy crisis has
diminished a bit. There's a little less momentum to make a major change
this time."

PG&E has spent more than $2 million to defeat the measure, compared with
$50,000 by supporters.

Proposition S, which would direct city officials to investigate the
possibility of growing and distributing medicinal marijuana, is receiving
less attention in San Francisco than elsewhere because it is considered
likely to pass easily. No opposition to the measure has materialized.

The measure is only a policy directive that would instruct officials to
explore such matters as where the plant could be grown, who would be
eligible to receive it and the legal issues surrounding distribution.

Proposition A asks voters to authorize a $1.6 billion revenue bond to
upgrade the century-old Hetch Hetchy water system. The bond would be repaid
through rate increases. Backers say the upgrades are essential for
earthquake safety. Opponents argue the measure will make San Franciscans
pay to expand water capacity in other areas.

Among the races for board of supervisors, only three offer much suspense.
Gavin Newsom faces only token opposition in his affluent district, and
Sophie Maxwell is unopposed.

Eight candidates are running for the seat being vacated by Leland Yee in a
race being closely watched by the city's Asian-American community. Four of
those candidates are Chinese, and observers fear they will divide the
Asian-American vote to the point that none reach a runoff election. The
outcome could leave San Francisco's board of supervisors without an
Asian-American representative.

Chris Daly, the board's most controversial member, also faces a large field
of opponents in his South of Market-Tenderloin district. A loss would be
considered an upset for the upstart politician and also a signal that
support has faded for the grass-roots style of politics that came with
district elections.

In the Castro, Eileen Hansen, Bevan Dufty and Tom Radulovich are the
front-runners vying for the seat being vacated by Mark Leno.