Bathos by the Bay

San Francisco, as hymned by the faithful, is not the American Paris; Paris is the French San Francisco. Yet last week even the most ardent San Franciscan had to admit that there was also an uncomfortable similarity between the city's lackluster politics and those of the preDe Gaulle Fourth Republic. As evidenced by the stampede of undistinguished candidates for mayor, San Francisco is in danger of becoming Bathos by the Bay.

When Mayor Jack Shelley announced in September that he would not seek another four-year term, candidates popped up like mushrooms; 18 in all put up the unusually low $30 filing fee and ten-signature petition to qualify for the Nov. 7 race. Wilhelm Joerres, a sometime hairdresser and lifeguard, promised that if elected he would spend his first week in City Hall in the nude. Restaurateur Robert le Bugle campaigned as the candidate for "peace, love, happiness." Two candidates used nicknames in their listings on the official ballot for the powerful, $38,365-a-year office.

Least Unqualified. "The ballot should be reserved for serious candidates," admonished the San Francisco Examiner in an angry editorial. "It should not be allowed to become a vehicle for publicity seekers or anyone who wishes to indulge in an ego-inflating pastime or pursue some fleeting obsession."

A loyal San Franciscan put it more bluntly when asked to evaluate the candidates. "Do you want me," he asked, "to throw up now or later?" With so many candidates running for various offices and 16 propositions on the ballot, the registrar-of-voters' booklet detailing the issues and candidates is a record 135 pages long.

Though none of the candidates is well known politically, there are three who nevertheless stand out as serious contenders. Joseph L. Alioto, 51, an attorney and self-made millionaire, is, in the faint praise of one observer, "probably the least unqualified." He has been president of the board of education, chairman of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and is well-connected in the business world. Despite that, his name is far from being a household word. When his big, orange-lettered posters began appearing, one voter quipped: "I've heard of Aly Khan and I've heard of Ali Baba. But who is this Ali Oto?"

Squeak-In Chance. Alioto has the support of old-line Democrat Mayor Shelley for the officially nonpartisan office, but Jack Morrison, 45, has split the party by winning the support of the liberal wing. A former San Francisco Chronicle reporter, Morrison has held local and state party posts, including the San Francisco co-chairmanship of Pat Brown's successful 1962 campaign for Governor. His only major public office has been on the board of supervisors, to which he won election in 1961 and re-election in 1965. Alioto has consistently outpaced Morrison with his well-organized campaign machine and powerful financial backing.

Harold Dobbs, 48, an attorney-restaurateur, served twelve years on the board of supervisors, campaigned unsuccessfully in the 1963 mayoralty race and now presents himself as "the only experienced candidate"--presumably meaning he is the only one who was a candidate once before. An uninspired campaigner, Republican Dobbs has a chance despite a preponderance of registered Democrats over Republicans of 200,428 to 106,158. With Alioto and Morrison diluting the Democratic vote, Dobbs could conceivably squeak through.

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