Ed Jew supporters protest 'unfair treatment'
As many as 50 supporters attended a rally today on the steps of
to voice their support for Supervisor Ed Jew.
By Tamara Barak
June 15, 2007
San Francisco Supervisor Ed Jew is being lynched by the media,
tried by the public and persecuted by the city's district, his
supporters said at a rally today.
The embattled supervisor, who represents the Sunset District,
was arrested this week on nine felony charges including perjury
and voter fraud.
Jew is accused of lying about living in the district he represents.
Meanwhile, he faces a separate investigation by the FBI public
corruption unit into allegations he accepted $40,000 from a group
of businessman who wanted their permit problems to go away.
But his supporters - about 50 of who gathered on the steps of
San Francisco City Hall this morning - say the rookie supervisor
is being treated unfairly.
Calvin Louie, president of the Chinese American Democratic Club
and one of the organizers of the rally, said he was offended by
the way the press has portrayed Jew.
"He has been painted as a criminal before the investigation
in his case has been completed," Louie said.
Chinese American Democratic Club President Calvin Louie
Louie said he believes Jew is innocent.
"I know he lives in the city. I know he lives on 28th Avenue.
I know his heart and soul is in the Sunset," he said.
Louie called the way the supervisor's troubles "the lynching
of Ed Jew's rights."
"Do his basic rights go away because he is Chinese?"
Joe O'Donoghue, head of the Residential Builders Association,
compared San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris to Duke
University rape case prosecutor Mike Nifong.
"Drug dealers have more rights in this city than Ed Jew,"
O'Donoghue said. He added that Jew is innocent until proven guilty
in a court of law, "not by a bunch of political hacks."
Former RBA Chieftain Joe O'Donoghue
Ron Lee, a volunteer liaison in Jew's district, said he has been
talking to merchants and residents who are upset by the way Jew
is being treated.
"What about the work he's done? What about what he's done
for the neighborhood? What about where his heart is?" he
said of Jew.
Other supporters held signs that read, "Political persecution,"
"Ed Jew keep fighting" and "Stop media bashing."
Today is also the deadline for Jew to provide the city attorney
documents proving he lives at the 28th Avenue home. The city attorney
had not yet received the utility bills and other documents by
mid-afternoon, spokesman Matt Dorsey said.
Copyright © 2007 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication,
Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent
of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.