I get more and more reports that the
San Francisco Municipal transit system is falling apart. Buses, street
cars and underground vehicles are increasingly clustered together, late
and breaking down.
The history is enlightening. There was a
steady decline in Muni service from the early 70s on. No mayors during that period had any
managerial competence.
By the time Willie Brown became mayor
in 1996 the system almost collapsed. Brown knew that only five men in
the U.S. could fix the system. Michael Burns, the only one available
refused to come and fix the problem until the Mayor, desperate for
re-election agreed to create a separate and independent Muni commission
plus a five year contract.
Burns came, fixed the system to
about 85% of operational level and Mayor Brown then proceeded to stack
the commission with Labor hacks and Burns couldn't do anything more.
The
system has since then returned to its downward slope to collapse
again. The current mayor lacks both the political and managerial
skills to fix the system.
The gossip channels tell me that Mayor Newsom spends much of his time laying gorgeous women in Hollywood.