Shifting Political Terrains in “The City by the Bay” (“海湾之城” 政治角力转向 )

Abstract

While the unchallenged November 2015 re-election of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was a telling moment in contemporary San Francisco politics, it was Mayor Ed Lee’s inaugural November 2011 election that revealed the shifting political terrains across its eleven Board of Supervisor districts that will likely shape the future role that Chinese Americans will play in the governing coalition of the “City by the Bay.” In the November 2011 San Francisco mayoral election, Ed Lee became the first Chinese American to be elected to lead this city. Despite the common explanation that Lee’s historic victory was due to the city’s first time use of the controversial ranked-choice voting (rcv) system, this study argues that whilercvwas an important factor in Lee’s election, other significant factors played a more prominent role. In particular, the two convergences taking shape between Chinese Americans/Asian Americans and the moderate governing coalition along the axes of Race/Space and Identity/Ideology were more significant to the outcome of Lee’s election than thercvprocess. In addition, the other significant factors that contributed to Ed Lee’s monumental election in 2011 include his previous public-service experience as a moderate coalition builder and the role of Chinese American community elites that advocated for the endorsement of Lee in both public and private settings with key moderate coalition leaders.尽管李孟贤在 2015 年 11 月的地方选举中毫无悬念地顺利连任足以载入旧金山当代政治史册，追本溯源，其在4年前首次参选改变了旧金山监事会的政治力量对比，塑造了华人参政的未来。2011年11月，李当选为该市有史以来第一位华裔民选市长。李的历史性胜利，通常被认为是由于首次使用有争议的排列选择投票（rcv）制度所致。这项研究认为，尽管rcv是李当选的一个重要因素，但其他因素的作用也是不可忽视的，尤其是华裔/亚裔美国人与其他族裔群体围绕种族/空间以及族裔身份认同/意识形态的轴心而形成的温和执政联盟，对于李的竞选胜利比rcv起到更为显著的作用。此外，促成李孟贤在 2011 年市长大选胜利的其他显著因素还包括他以前的公共服务业绩，他本人在建构温和执政联盟中的所扮演的领导角色以及华人社区对他在不同场合中的温和政治主张的认同和大力支持。This article is in English.