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| SEIU-UHW's Leon Chow |
Yesterday, Leon Chow’s
political career reached its final, fiery conclusion when Chow -- a top
official at SEIU-UHW -- officially
withdrew from the race for San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors amid
allegations of election fraud.
The development was reported by the San
Francisco Appeal -- which initially broke the
story on Chow’s apparent felony violations of election laws -- and the San
Francisco Bay Guardian.
Here’s an excerpt from the San Francisco Appeal:
Union organizer Leon Chow, whose ties to residences outside of the district may constitute voter fraud, has withdrawn his candidacy for District 11 supervisor. In a brief e-mail sent to the Department of Elections on Monday, Chow offered no explanation for the withdrawal of his candidacy…Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Falk, with whom Chow serves as co-chairs of the Alliance for Jobs and Sustainable Growth, also did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
Chow’s candidacy had enjoyed months of planning, preparation
and funding by Dave Regan’s SEIU-UHW
and the Chamber of Commerce. In the end, however, it plummeted to earth in a
spectacular explosion only 15 days after Tasty first published this
post.
Here’s how the San Francisco Bay Guardian described it:
[Reporter Chris Roberts] dropped a journalistic bomb on Chow's ambitions a couple weeks ago when he unearthed documents indicating that Chow actually lived in Walnut Creek and that he was registered to vote at Chinatown business address – both in violation of election law…
And the San Francisco Appeal cited Tasty in its
coverage of the story:
According to self-described "labor union related gossip site" Stern Burger with Fries, Avalos is reportedly an enemy of SEIU-UHW honcho Dave Regan, who, according to Stern Burger, helped push Chow to run for office against him. Avalos is a member of the Board's progressive wing and was runner-up to Mayor Ed Lee in last year's mayoral election.
So what’s next?
Well, one chapter of our story may be finished,
but other chapters remain to be written!
First, Chow will likely face a criminal
investigation for apparent election fraud and other felonies. One source tells
Tasty that the San Francisco City Attorney’s office has already begun examining
Chow’s case.
Secondly, more shoes will drop in the near future! Soon, Tasty
plans to describe additional details -- revealed by inside sources at SEIU --
that implicate top SEIU officials in a variety of additional criminal wrongdoing
that’s connected to Chow’s case.
Stay tuned!
