Supervisor Chris Daly is no shrinking violet when it comes to political combat. But he may have overplayed his hand with his threats to "take down" fellow members of a local Democratic Party governing board if they do not fall in line and vote for his pick for a new chair.

The Democratic County Central Committee will meet this Wednesday, July 23 to elect a new leader of the local Democratic Party. The race has come down to Scott Wiener, the openly gay man who currently holds the post, and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who is termed off the board this year.

Peskin and Daly both won seats on the committee in last month's primary and saw 16 other people they had supported on their "Hope slate" get elected. They have been urging committee members to oust Wiener and replace him with Peskin in order to see that their progressive bloc controls the local party.

Daly did not respond to a request for comment. But he laid out his concerns about the chairmanship fight in a letter to fellow DCCC members, which was forwarded to the Bay Area Reporter.

"I am very concerned that electing Scott Chair could compromise good progressive candidates for Supervisor this November. As Chair, Scott would be in position to influence close endorsement votes. I believe this would make it less likely that our candidates would win the endorsement of the Party. Even if our candidates are endorsed, Scott could stymie Party activities in support of them," wrote Daly in the e-mail. "Conversely, any bad Supe candidates (like Asha Safai in D 11), if endorsed, could be the beneficiaries of 3rd party donations to the Party controlled by the Chair (like that Lennar deal in the last cycle). In this way, they could effectively campaign beyond the spending caps, negating our system of public financing.

"The November Board races are my top priority and were a major impetus for pulling together our slate, lining up endorsements, and then pushing resources into the slate cards," wrote Daly.

Wiener denies that he would work against the DCCC-backed candidates and chafes at being labeled anything other than a progressive member of the body.

"It is not right to paint me as a right-winger and that is false. I have taken progressive positions over the years," he said. "It is not true to say I am some sort of conservative; that is not just true."

With many DCCC members also candidates in this fall's supervisor contests or eyeing future runs for local office, Daly pledged to thwart their being endorsed by certain left-leaning groups, including the Harvey Milk club, if they vote for Wiener. Adding to the pressure, Daly has already hinted that anyone not backing Peskin will be excluded from his slate for DCCC in 2010.

"I, for one, have already committed to make it my personal mission to make sure that any members voting for Scott never receive the endorsement of the Guardian, Tenants Union, Sierra Club, and Milk Club in subsequent races," Daly wrote in his e-mail. "Meanwhile, I am committed to fielding a progressive slate for DCCC in 2 years and plan on investing significant time and resources into it. I hope that you decide to be with us by casting your first vote this session with Aaron."

But Daly's strong-arm tactics may actually help Wiener stay in office. Several DCCC members normally aligned with Daly not only are angered by his threats but also have pledged to re-elect Wiener.

As reported in last week's B.A.R., Wiener said he believes he has the votes he needs to defeat Peskin. Hours after the July 17 article appeared Daly countered on his blog that Peskin had the 19 votes, more than enough needed to become chair.

He also asked Wiener to "call off the dogs," claiming that, "Wiener's sleaze machine has hit high gear – accusing me and others of making threats. With the Chair vote now secure, it's time for Weiner to call off the dogs for the sake of Party unity."

On Friday, Wiener sent out an e-mail reiterating that Peskin doesn't have the votes to win. He called Daly's boast "a campaign stunt designed to spook my supporters by asserting that it's over, when it is no such thing ... we have the votes and are in a very good position to win."

Several members of the committee contacted by the B.A.R. last week lashed out against Daly for his browbeating of fellow DCCC members. They also said they are alarmed at how he perceives a party chair can manipulate the local party's work.

Out lesbian Leslie Katz, who stepped down as party chair two years ago and won re-election to the DCCC last month, said she found Daly's e-mail "appalling" and that it shows a lack of understanding of the job of DCCC chair.

"Frankly, if that is how he thinks the chair operates, I certainly hope he doesn't try to do that if he gains control of the DCCC," said Katz. "Scott has done nothing nefarious or underhanded or sleazy as Supervisor Daly seems to be alleging."

Arlo Hale Smith, a gay man who has served on the DCCC for 24 years, characterized Daly's tactics as "the kind of stuff President Robert Mugabe has done in Zimbabwe," referring to the autocratic African ruler whose re-election this year has been criticized as corrupt and undemocratic.

Smith said he is "really disturbed at what I see as signs that people want to turn the DCCC itself into a political machine where the leadership of the Dem committee decides who gets to run and who gets elected to certain offices."

"It looks to me like people are trying to insist on political machine-type control where individual members are supposed to follow some dictate," he added. "We are supposed to do whatever chairman Chris says. I am not convinced of something just because Chris Daly says to do it."

Connie O'Connor, an out lesbian who has served on the DCCC since 1980, was dismissive of Daly's endorsement threats. She noted that Peskin failed to win the Milk Club's endorsement for DCCC.

"If Chris is so powerful, why couldn't he get Aaron endorsed by the Milk Club? He is a sitting member on the board and, what, came in ninth place?" asked O'Connor, who added that she was never asked to join the Hope slate. "I think Chris is his worst enemy. There is such a thing as diplomacy if you want to win people over to your side."

O'Connor also said Daly is misinformed in thinking that the party chair can somehow control the DCCC's endorsements.

"I never looked to the chair for who to endorse. If the chair or another member calls me, I am open to hear with they have to say. But we are all equals; there is no pied piper as far as I am can see," said O'Connor.

Daly's boasts that he can control certain group's endorsement processes are untrue, said Milk Club leaders. Rafael Mandelman, the club's president who is also a DCCC members, said while the club's politics closely mirror Daly's positions, Daly does not exert control on who the club backs in races.

"I don't think he is saying he controls the Milk Club endorsement process. If he were that would be wrong," said Mandelman. "The Milk Club is an independent club and no one controls what it does."

Likewise, Bay Guardian editor Tim Redmond told the B.A.R. last week that Daly "does not decide who the Bay Guardian endorses."

"We respect Chris Daly's political positions," Redmond said. "He, like any number of progressive people, are welcome to talk to us" about endorsement recommendations. But in the end, it is the paper that calls the shots.

DCCC member Robert Haaland, a former Milk Club president, said he also had e-mailed DCCC members urging them to vote for Peskin as chair. He noted that groups like the Tenants Union, Bay Guardian and the Harvey Milk club are all backing Peskin in the race, and those DCCC members who were endorsed by those groups, should be held to account if they vote for Wiener.

"People who run for office have to be accountable to the organizations that endorsed them. If they don't listen to the organizations that endorsed them, then at the end of day they can deal with it when they run again," he said. "When people come back for endorsements, those votes will be questioned. It is not fair to put it all on Chris when other groups have weighed in on this issue."

As for Peskin, he said he had asked Daly to stop the harsh tactics.

"Chris Daly is Chris Daly. Only the most uninitiated take it seriously," said Peskin. "He is not doing it at my behest. I have asked him to stop, but Chris only answers to Chris."

The divisiveness of the race has taken a toll, said Wiener.

"It has been hard because Supervisor Chris Daly has been threatening my supporters that if they vote for me they will be punished by being deprived various endorsements," he said. "It has made the race much more divisive and toxic than it should be."

The DCCC meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the State Building's Milton Marks Auditorium at 455 Golden Gate Avenue.

Milk club hosts D9 candidates

The Milk Club will host a forum with the candidates running to replace openly gay Supervisor Tom Ammiano in District 9 at its meeting tomorrow night (Tuesday, July 22). Termed off the board, Ammiano is expected to easily win his race for the 13th District Assembly seat in the November election.

Running to replace him are two out gay men, Police Commissioner David Campos and public school board President Mark Sanchez. Eric Quezada, the self-described "mostly straight" executive director of Dolores Street Services, is also in the race.

Others considering a run include labor leader Eva Royale and Eric Storey, San Francisco for Democracy's political coordinator. All five are expected to attend the Milk Club's forum.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Women's Building, 3543 18th Street between Mission and Guerrero streets.