San Francisco Mayor Newsom woos young voters with free concert

2009-04-27T23:50:36Z

Let’s not mince words: political conventions are boring and a party convention is an oxymoron plain and simple. If you’ve been to one then you
know. Sure, the Democrats throw better parties than the Republicans. Hell, the new chairman of the Democratic Party, John Burton, is an admitted cocaine addict and known womanizer. But I digress.

For anybody who's been to a party convention, whether as a delegate, officer or volunteer, it's a fact that the highlight of a convention weekend is the dozen or so "hospitality suites" wherein various caucuses host parties inside the hotel. Usually the best party is hosted by the California Young Democrats who rent out a large hall and host a DJ, full bar and ample room for dancing and rubbing elbows.

This year, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom took the whole party thing to a new level by hosting an outdoor bloc party and concert. The backstage was built between The Depot and Lounge on 20. The main floor was blacked out all around and ran half a block just past the Sacramento News & Review.

By 5 p.m. word had spread throughout midtown that Wyclef Jean of The Fugees was in town and gearing up to play a show at the bloc party. What’s more – it was free. A free concert with Wyclef Jean at an outdoor bloc party in midtown? Yeah, the only caveat was that you had to either be a delegate, a member of the California Young Democrats (a.k.a. College Democrats) or be really good friends with one of the two groups. There’s the rub. Of course, Capitol staffers simply waved their ID cards to gain access.

One reporter from San Francisco wrote that Newsom’s team expected 3,000 attendees. But by 11:00 p.m., official reports estimated about 1,000 in force and I doubt even that. Maybe next time Newsom decides to throw a party in Sacramento, he might want to invite some of the locals who actually live and work here — and vote.

Here's a short video of the action on Saturday night. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2XUiXV_ZPQ

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San Francisco Mayor Newsom woos young voters with free concert