The Only Candidates With The Experience To Do The Job

There are two candidates in this election that the Argonaut enthusiastically endorses — Bill Fazio for District Attorney and Chris Cunnie for Sheriff. Cunnie was retiring long-term Sheriff Mike Hennessey’s original choice to succeed him. Cunnie decided not to run for public office because of a family tragedy and ultimately entered the race late. The same is true of former Assistant DA and criminal defense lawyer Bill Fazio, who similarity  got into the campaign late because of his own family tragedy. Both men are heads and heels the most experienced and able candidates for those respective jobs.
Cunnie was formerly Under sheriff of San Francisco and the man Hennessey originally wanted to succeed him until he dropped out of the race. We are glad he eventually decided to drop back in. Cunnie has the most incredible career experience to qualify him for the job of Sheriff – he was a twice-decorated patrol officer and became president of the Police Officers Union. On the other side of the coin, he served as Chairman of Walden House and created one of the nation’s premier drug treatment programs, diverting addicts into treatment. Unlike his opportunistic opponent Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, he has worked in both the Sheriff’s office and the Police Department, and also served as Director of Emergency Communications in the Mayor’s Office and was the Chief of Investigations for the District Attorney ‘s office under former DA Kamala Harris, who has enthusiastically endorsed him for Sheriff.
Cunnie has major experience in every branch of San Francisco with a distinguished career in law enforcement and is clearly the best man for the job. As for Fazio, he is alone among the candidates for DA who has actually prosecuted criminals in a SF courtroom and knows the other side of the grist game as a criminal defense attorney.
Fazio is a native San Franciscan and a life long Democrat.  He is an elected member of the Democratic County Central Committee.  He held a pressman union’s card prior to becoming an attorney and joining the DA’s office in 1975.
Many people first came to know him when he challenged his then boss Arlo Smith and challenger Terence Hallinan in 1995. During that campaign Fazio was the target of a scurrilous attack from the San Francisco Independent that painted Fazio as a dirty DA with connections to the mob. The accusations were complete fabrications, but they hurt Fazio politically. We know Bill and have no qualms with his character.
Many people complain that they like Fazio but he entered the race to late.  What these people may not know is that Fazio, who lost his wife of 35 years just a two years ago and just recently, his 26 year old son was diagnosed with a very serious and potential dangerous, rare form of cancer.   Fazio, a loyal family man, refused to discuss the race until he was comfortable with the pace of his son’s treatment.   Fazio never mentions this on the campaign trail because he is too honorable a man to seek a vote on sympathy.  He gets our vote based on his competence.