Campos acknowledges that progressives have faded

Supervisor David Campos is in an odd spot. He's become the standard-bearer for the left wing of the Board of Supervisors just as the progressives have fallen out of favor and influence.

If you don't believe the left has fallen on hard times, consider this from an influential member of the movement:

"Progressives are no longer in control of this Board of Supervisors. ... The fact is that the progressive majority that until just a few days ago controlled the inner workings of this board ... no longer does that."

The speaker? David Campos.

In the last week, Campos has sounded the alarm for his fellow progressives. He said they need to decide what they must do to make themselves influential and relevant again.

But critics have their doubts. The progressives have been the party of opposition for so long they may have lost their perspective. We know they can say no, but now they need to show they can be in favor of something. If the past few weeks haven't convinced them, it is hard to imagine what will.

Their candidate for interim mayor, Mike Hennessey, got caught up in political wheeling and dealing and ended up on the outside looking in as the board unanimously approved Ed Lee, Mayor Gavin Newsom's choice. Their hopes to wrest the presidency of the board away from incumbent David Chiu ended with Chiu winning 8-3.

And just in case there was any doubt, Chiu stuck it to them by giving moderates key committee appointments. Carmen Chu is now chair of the powerful budget committee, a job John Avalos previously held. He appointed his old friend Jane Kim chair of the influential Rules Committee, which was previously led by Campos.

"There has been a clear sea change in the electorate," said political analyst David Latterman. "The progressives are used to winning, to wagging their fingers in their opponents' faces and browbeating them. After 10 years of that, the city said no more."

At the board meeting Tuesday, Campos launched a mini-rant, lamenting that the progressives had lost control of the board.

"It was the elephant in the room," Campos said. "It needed to be said, not only to the city, but a lot of progressives needed to hear that, too. They need a dose of reality."

Fine, but he lost me when he began to tout the progressives' accomplishments - from domestic partner benefits, to universal health care, and district elections. Those all sound like issues that the majority of San Franciscans support.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd thought Campos sounded bitter and combative.

"Universal health care passed 11-0," Elsbernd said. "Am I going to say that pension reform wouldn't have happened without moderates? There is a time and a place to make a political statement and this was not it. His statements were made in order to kiss up to the Bay Guardian. I thought it was inappropriate."

That's the real issue, whether Campos will position himself as the last angry man on the far left, or if he will make good on his talk about building consensus.

"It's all up to him," said Latterman, who often advises moderate candidates.

Left-leaning politicians have typically played to the progressive crowd of the Bay Guardian newspaper. But Chiu, and perhaps Kim, may be finding another way. They can still vote progressive on social issues - against measures like sit/lie, for example - but stay in the middle on fiscal matters.

Today it looks as if Chiu was the political soothsayer. By working the center, he's become board president again and positioned himself nicely for a run at mayor in November.

Meanwhile, Campos and his progressives are attempting to redefine themselves.

"There is an image of progressives as a group of extremists," Campos said. "I've been called Hugo Chavez wannabe. The fact is I really dislike Hugo Chavez. I don't believe in oppositional politics."

That's good because the oppositional politics are over for the progressives. The opposition won.

C.W. Nevius' column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail him at cwnevius@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle