Political Campaign Snapshots 2: Mama's Family

The open backyard of the Eagle Bar at 12th and Harrison was the site for a fundraiser on Saturday afternoon for a leather group called Mama's Family.



Sandy "Mama" Reinhardt (above left) is the matriarch of a group of leather kings and queens that started with ten barflies in San Francisco 18 years ago, according to her website.



It has blossomed into a worldwide network with hundreds of members, putting on parties and contests that generally double as fundraisers for AIDS charities and breast cancer charities.



Though the Saturday afternoon crowd was fairly small, the number of politicians showing up was impressive, with State Senator Mark Leno starting off the speeches with a certificate and proclamation for organizer Troy Brunet (above right).



What was really on his mind, however, was the recent San Bruno natural gas explosion, and he launched into a short stemwinder about the bad behavior of PG&E. It was quite inspiring, and I only wish that he felt as strongly about protecting his constituents from the Florida real estate gangsters known as the Lennar Corporation.



Though the Eagle bar is in District 6, District 8 Supervisor candidate Rebecca Prozan (above left) also showed up. Her political mentors were the late Tom Lantos, Peninsula Congressional Zionist, and Willie Brown, Jr., the former San Francisco Mayor. Neither one were favorite politicians, but I haven't found anybody in the local political world who doesn't personally like Rebecca Prozan. Maybe it's because she actually seems to love campaigning and making things better for constituents.



For instance, Ray Tilton (above) was assaulted this summer in the Castro during Gay Pride weekend. (Click here for an article with photos at the Bay Area Reporter.) "It was bad. I got fag-bashed about thirteen years ago and kept quiet about it because I thought it was embarrassing. And then this happened, and all that stuff from years ago came bubbling out. But this time I got mad, started a Facebook page, and had a Red (for Angry) Saturday rally the next weekend in the Castro and hundreds of people showed up. In the middle of it, Rebecca got hold of me and kept calling me and helped me in so many ways I can't tell you. So I'm definitely working on her campaign."



Showing up slightly later was another candidate for District 8, Rafael Mandelman (above right) appropriately attired in leather head to toe. He was handing out campaign literature to a pair of Mama's Boys who seemed to be in love, and one of them returned the favor with his own campaign literature urging his election as Grand Duke of San Francisco next weekend.



As Mama says, "Do it from the heart, with manners and respect."