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Can we entertain Ron Conway's constant hawking and lobbying with Mayor Ed Lee? My opinion is that it's a bad thing. He's getting deeply in bed with government

Can we entertain Ron Conway's constant hawking and lobbying with Mayor Ed Lee? My opinion is that it's a bad thing. He's getting deeply in bed with government and virtually buying his seat in local government and I'm uncomfortable with that. We're doing just fine, thank you. (I don't appreciate that he often speaks for the broader tech community on matters of policy, either. We're a diverse lot.) Not to mention, that music video that he paid for made an utter mockery of the local political process. Frankly, it's disgusting. Any other opinions? I'd really like to have an educated debate on this.

rdl 15y ago
I suspect he's supporting Ed Lee because Ed Lee was very likely to be mayor, and has both pro-startup leanings himself, and, with Ron's guidance, could be more pro business. Getting the mayor, whoever it is, to understand and support startups is a great goal -- the mid-market redevelopment, fixing the payroll tax (especially on options), etc. I'm sure Ron saw that a lot of his portfolio wanted to be in SF, and when they mentioned issues to him, he got involved. I don't really follow SF politics that much, but I think the payroll tax fixes and creating more commercial real estate are both supported by the vast majority of SF startups; the most debatable thing is probably sit-lie, but personally having lived around 6th/Market in the past, I strongly support a solution to aggressive panhandling, homelessness, etc. (mainly, better mental health and addiction programs) His other personal charity/political interests seem to be totally benign -- UCSF Medical, various children's charities, etc., so I'm more likely to think his involvement in SF politics is for his portfolio (and the wider startup and business community), vs. much personal interest in politics. Although Ron Conway for Mayor or CA Governor would be awesome.

rdl 15y ago

I suspect he's supporting Ed Lee because Ed Lee was very likely to be mayor, and has both pro-startup leanings himself, and, with Ron's guidance, could be more pro business. Getting the mayor, whoever it is, to understand and support startups is a great goal -- the mid-market redevelopment, fixing the payroll tax (especially on options), etc. I'm sure Ron saw that a lot of his portfolio wanted to be in SF, and when they mentioned issues to him, he got involved. I don't really follow SF politics that much, but I think the payroll tax fixes and creating more commercial real estate are both supported by the vast majority of SF startups; the most debatable thing is probably sit-lie, but personally having lived around 6th/Market in the past, I strongly support a solution to aggressive panhandling, homelessness, etc. (mainly, better mental health and addiction programs) His other personal charity/political interests seem to be totally benign -- UCSF Medical, various children's charities, etc., so I'm more likely to think his involvement in SF politics is for his portfolio (and the wider startup and business community), vs. much personal interest in politics. Although Ron Conway for Mayor or CA Governor would be awesome.