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Adachi Asked to Leave Firefighters' Funeral

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By Elizabeth Lesly Stevens |June 11, 2011 1:23 p.m. |In Politics

62 Comments

Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

Public Defender Jeff Adachi speaks at the University of San Francisco's Law School on Thursday, April 7, 2011

The funeral Friday at St. Mary's Cathedral for two San Francisco firefighters killed in the line of duty was a sober, elaborate affair, and everyone from Gov. Jerry Brown to Rep. Nancy Pelosi to Mayor Edwin Lee came to pay their respects.

Jeff Adachi, the San Francisco public defender, came too, and was standing before the procession began in an area at the front of the Cathedral with other elected officials. An unidentified fire department staffer asked him to leave. Adachi demurred, and then the fire department official returned with an colleague, and they asked Adachi to leave once more. At this point, Adachi complied.

The small contretemps underscores just how bitter the city's firefighters and other unions remain over Adachi's now two-year-old campaign to reform the city's pension costs by requiring city workers to contribute more into the plan. Adachi's Proposition B was soundly defeated at the polls last November, but he has introduced a new initiative for the November ballot, which will likely compete with another pension-reform plan that City Hall and the unions, after working together for months, introduced on May 24. Warren Hellman, who is also chairman of the Bay Citizen, has been quite involved in the City Hall-union consensus effort.

The funeral for Fire Department Lt. Vincent Perez and Firefighter-Paramedic Anthony Valerio drew thousands of mourners from across the state and country.

Adachi said in an interview Saturday that he doesn't regret going to the funeral, even though he was asked to leave. "I asked [the fire department official] why, or who, and he wouldn't say."

"I just stayed. And then he came back with somebody else, and said that I had to leave, that he wanted me to leave," Adachi said. "At that point, I agreed to leave."

"I was there to show my respect for the sacrifice they made," he said. "I've always had tremendous respect for the sacrifices that public safety officers make. That was true before pension reform, and will be true after. It is a separate issue."

Adachi said that after the second request that he leave, he left the area for elected officials at the front of the Cathedral and stood in the back of the Cathedral until the procession as finished, then left.

Senior writer Elizabeth Lesly Stevens writes primarily about business and finance. A recent transplant to San Francisco, she spent many years in New York as an editor and writer at Business Week, a media-business columnist ... View Profile

62 Comments

These firefighters asking an elected official to leave a City sponsored event - is just repulsive.

If there was any doubt the funeral was turned into a political event, you now have your answer.

"Just last week, police Sgt. Lucio Perez, the brother of fire Lt. Vincent Perez, one of the two firefighters killed in last week's house fire, wrote a letter to The Chronicle blasting Adachi and others seeking to take away their benefits in the face of the dangerous work they do"

Adachi obviously knew he would not be welcomed by the firefighters or the family members of the fallen. He was trying to score his own political points by showing up.

Reading all of the comments on this, I am amazed that no one is expressly pointing out that the United States of America was founded on a Constitution, with a Bill of Rights, in which the freedom of any person to be where they wish, associating with whomever they wish, is -not- negotiable.

Regardless of who's behavior was ill conceived (either on the union's or Adachi's part) it should give us all -great- pause that the Firefighters have such disproportionate power in our community that they feel they can openly and egregiously defy the founding document of our nation by asking Mr. Adachi to leave a piece of ground against his will.

All of the other issues raised in this conversation pale in comparison to this one very disturbing reality.

You're correct. Fire trucks arrived from all over the state, using lots of fuel (tax payer funded), and firemen as well (tax payer funded). Anyone who pays taxes, and sincerely wants to show respect for fire fighters, should be allowed to attend.

No, repulsive is what he is trying to do to the fire, police and first responders of San Francisco. All coming from a person that pays $0 into a pension while he relaxes in his home it St Francis Wood. He is not respected and was and always be unwelcome. We don't want and don't need his support.

The funeral was not a political event but a memorial for two more heros that gave their life to protect the city they love. Most understand what we do and what we sacrifice, those that don't should watch the funeral in its entirety and see the pain in the faces of the family members and co-workers.

Agree most understand the sacrifice but most can also separate respect for the profession and structural changes that must to be made to a City budget with finite resources. These reforms are happening in cities and counties up and down the state (including City Hall)- vilifying someone's politics does not undo the math.

All elected officials are "welcome" to taxpayer-funded, City-sponsored events. "Unwelcoming" people to private events is certainly one's choice.

The respectful thing would have been for him to ask the families if he was welcome. This was a city funded event for them not for the public defender.

The event was for the public at-large, paid for by the public - everyone knows that...No member of the public (let alone an elected official) had to ask the families if they can attend - that's ridiculous.

I would doubt anyone asked the families if they were welcome before attending. Do you think Elsbernd called up and asked if he could attend even though he is advocating for a pension reform measure, too?

You're right, it was a city funded event. With MY TAX DOLLARS!
It's wrong, and I believe illegal, to use a public event for political purposes as the firefighters did here.

It's also incredibly disrespectful to the fallen firefighters to turn away anyone who wishes to morn them. But the greed and corrruption of the firefighters seems to know no bounds. Disgusting!

Interesting, I was going to vote against Adachi's proposition until I heard of this low class act by the firefighters! So it goes!

We all pay taxes, why go somewhere where you know you would not be greeted with open arms, only a fool or politician would do such a thing. He could have sent a card to express his sympathy. At least he was asked to leave quietly and a scene was not made until later.

You made it into a political event and sullied the memory of your own colleages. Regardless of how one feels about the pensions issue, you injected politics into a memorial service. That you don't see that shows how oblivious and corrupt you've become.

It sounds like Adachi was trying to pay his respects and the firefighters made it a political event. Their actions sullied the funeral in my view.

The firefighters' actions in asking Adachi to leave are inconsistent with the theme at the funeral that these men sacrificed their lives, while asking for nothing in return. It makes it sound like the firefighters who asked him to leave don't ask for anything in return for doing their job--but don't want anyone messing with their pensions.

Not surprised he wasn't welcome with open arms. He should be allowed to mourn.

However, it is being made into a political event by whomever went to the press with this information.

Since the people who asked him to leave aren't named, only adachi has made an issue of his being an outcast from this event.

More facts,

The people who asked him to leave were chiefs in the SFFD. First one and then he brought another. Jeff was told that a "family" didn't want him there but refused to identify which family. Perhaps it was Ed Lee's, 'City Family' ... Lee is preparing a measure for the ballot that also asks for Public Safety personnel (they draw more than double the money from the Pension fund than anyone else) ... Lee wants to cost them more but they throw out Adachi?

Adachi for Mayor!

Adachi for Mayor!!

Read the comments on SFGate on this fiasco. People want to know why we don't have such a funeral when troops killed in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan come home. The answer is that they have nothing to do with advancing the greed of the Public Safety unions so they're ignored.

It's a disgrace that the unions would use these brave men to distract from their budget-busting greed.

Giants lost too.

The fallen firefighters family clearly did not Adachi there either.

Whether he had the right to be there or not isn't really the point. Whether Adachi is right or wrong on his pension plan isn't really the issue either.

This was a funeral and Adachi should have known he was not welcome there.

Let the families and firefighters grieve without one more politician showing up to "show support."

Regardless, was it too difficult for SFFD to dig deep and just show a little class and not ask someone to LEAVE A FUNERAL?

Maybe Adachi could show some class and not show up? The family of at last one of the firefighters clearly didn't want him at the funeral.

Roosevelt, why should he have known he was not welcome there? Because he is trying to repair a pension system that is sucking all the money away from the general funds and residents are seeing their services degrade?

I personally find the firefighters' behavior in asking Adachi leave to be utterly offensive.

No it's Adachi's behavior that was offensive. . .

Attending a funeral is not offensive.

Attending a funeral when the brother of one of the fallen has made it very clear that he doesn't want you around is actually offensive. That lookslike you are trying to provoke this kind of confrontation.

Hope they asked the firefighters from the Alameda Fire Department to leave too. When you are paying respects to two men who gave their lives doing a dangerous job, it's kind of insulting to have firefighters there who were scared to get their boots wet and allowed a suicidal man to die in the water on Memorial Day.

Commish -

Yes -Adachi knew there were hard feelings. And he should have taken that into account before he made the decision to show up.

Did he have the right to go? Of course. Was it rude to ask him to leave? Yes. Is it possible for Adachi to respect the service and sacrifice of firefighters while at the same time trying to control pension costs? Sure.

But all of this is beside the point. When you start putting on your tie to go to a funeral of two firefighters, ask yourself - 'will my presence support the families of the fallen?'

For Adachi, the answer to that question was no. He should have stayed home.

..."Will my presence support the families of the fallen?

For Adachi, the answer to that question was no."

That's some pretty twisted logic- by going, Adachi would not be showing support for the families. By staying home, he would apparently. So every single elected City official should go and not Adachi, and we could then read various versions of this post: "Adachi didn't even go- see, he hates firefighters. No respect."

Call me crazy, on the day of a funeral the last thing a family member is thinking about is what the pension contribution rate should be for SFFD. This is why politics is so inappropriate and why it was inappropriate to ask Adachi to leave and inject politics. As was posted, the theme rightly was "sacrifice, while asking for nothing in return." But hey- someone throw out the guy who thinks we should contribute more to our pension system...

The fallen deserved better...

Exactly. Adachi goes to a funeral as a sign of respect. They ask him to leave. If he had not gone to the funeral, how much chatter would there be about Adachi being the one elected official who failed to attend?

This entire circumstance is sad.

He could have shown his respect by writing a check to the families of the men that were killed. If you have argued with your neighbor with lots of name calling over the past two years and there is a lot of animosity, if you had any class at all, you would ask if it was appropriate to attend a funeral of their family member.

Your analogy doesn't work. Adachi has pointed out a simple math problem--too much money going to pensions, not enough money left for everything else. The public employee unions have decided to try to vilify him. The name calling has been a one-way street.

Actually it does. Even if my neighbor was the only one calling names or vilifying, if I truly only wanted to show repect, I would ask knowing how they feel about me. Adachi could have taken the high road and done this. By forcing a confrontation, then running to the media with it, he has shown his true colors.

Who would he ask? Tom O'Connor? O'Connor goes out of his way to make snide comments about Adachi and O'Connor isn't the Chief of the SFFD in any event. The families? How would he have their contact information.

I have seen no evidence that Adachi "forced a confrontation" nor have I seen any evidence that he ran to the media. Looks to me like he responded to a reporter's questions. Please provide more information to support those assertions.

How about asking the firefighter family? They clearly didn't want Adachi there.

I called Mr. Adachi on Saturday morning and asked him to recount what had happened at the funeral. He did not contact me.

Well strange then he didn't tell you he shook hands with many firefighters there and many shook hands with him. One or two out of the thousands that were there asked him to leave, that is better odds than I would have thought he had.

The story he decided to tell was the story he wanted in print.

I haven't seen any story suggesting that Adachi ran to the press with this story. The press called him.

If the family didn't want an elected official at the funeral, they could have had a private funeral. This was a public event paid for with lots of city resources and to ask an elected official to leave because of a policy disagreement strikes me as extremely inappropriate. The vilification of Adachi is part of the unions' political strategy. If they want to conduct political operations at a public funeral I suppose that is their right. But it is quite obvious that the issues Adachi raised with Prop. B are real issues, not any kind of gratuitous attack on firefighters or anyone else. Even the unions acknowledge that now.

Civil civic discourse and free exchange of ideas is critical to democracy and good public policy. Ostracizing people who disagree with you cuts against that.

Agreed. But let's be clear - there is also no evidence a family member at the funeral actually requested Adachi leave. It seems highly unlikely (seated upfront) they would have even seen him let alone taken an action so petty with more important things on their minds. It is far more plausible that firefighters saw Adachi, wanted him out, and just made that up...

The brother of one of the fallen firefighters wrote a letter that was published in the chronicle "blasting Adachi". That is pretty clear evidence that they didn't want him there.

It's not evidence a family member asked him to leave the funeral. Why disparage the family for no reason- it is far more likely they rose above politics at such a solemn event?

The brother of one of the fallen firefighters was obviously upset with Adachi. Why would Adachi show up other than to create more political waves around himself. Would you show up to a funeral when the family clearly didn't want you there? I wouldn't.

This is more than just a" civil discourse" because Adachi is part of the very clear vilification of public servants that is being pushed by the right side of the political spectrum. Remember that adachi's first measure have very little to do with pensions but that is the issue he tried to use to pass it(75% of the money wold have come from raising thecost of healthcare). If the pension discussion was occurring outside of all the false claims that all public workers make ludicrous amounts of money and are responsible for the the city budget crisis then it would be very different situation. But Adachi is using those same false claims and is being backed by many of the right wingers who are supporting those claims around the state and country.

John Smith, your posts are becoming repetitive.

Maybe he went to the funeral to show respect. Why is that so incomprehensible to you? It seem highly unlikely he would try to make "political waves" by attending a funeral. To the contrary, the firefighters who asked him to leave made it political. The reports I've read indicate Adachi was minding his own business and was confronted and asked to leave.

Adachi is about as left wing as it gets. He a public defender defending the indigent for god's sake. He is trying to address the pension problem because pensions are sucking money away from services for everything else--including indigent defense, the poor, seniors, homeless, you-name-it. Calling his measure supported by the "right wing" doesn't pass the laugh test. Who are the right wingers of whom you speak? Michael Moritz because he's rich? Last I checked, Warren Hellman supported the "City Family" pension measure and Hellman is really, really, rich.

are you kidding me. he does his job for over $200,000 per year plus a full pension for which he pays NOTHING. he is not left wing, he is turning good, working people against eachother. nothing new from the rich.

Thank you Jonathan Weber. Clearly many of the commenters, & the gentleman from the Fire Department should be sent back to their sixth grade civics course. And what is with the endlessly tiresome repetitive comments from the folks who really should be consulting the likes of Dear Abby. Juvenal squabbling, they should be embarrassed.

The Bay Citizen should monitor & filter the comments. The ultra repetitive same old, same old discourages citizens who have something genuine to contribute. That or limit the number of comments per month. As it is now readers comments resembles drunks in the back room of a smelly old bar. I would really be interested in others input especially from a greater mix of the community. Maybe there is a way to encourage this rather than the current situation where a few people dominate in a tiresome self gratifying manner. Hey guys, we know what & how you think.

Firefighters and cops have dangerous jobs, but that comes with the job. This crybaby routine is ridiculous. If they don't want that well-compensated job, there are plenty of people who do. And just because you die while doing that job doesn't make you a "hero" any more than everyone who dies in combat is a hero. Adachi should have told them to stick it.

I watched the entire event on TV between my regular tasks at work. Then went outside and watched the procession go by... It was quite moving, honestly.

There are a bunch of things at play here. Let's see how many I can cover before I get tired of typing.

First and foremost, everyone here is assuming that The City paid for the funeral. Did it? How much money was spent and who spent it? The answer to this could stop a lot of the sniping here since those who pay the bills get to make the rules. Sure, even if the city didn't spend a penny on the funeral, "the city" did make a significant effort to honor them. Maybe the union spent the money to secure the cathedral and such. If so, then one would think that it's the Union who gets to establish the guest list.

For Seej, the one who needs proof and keeps suggesting that "there is no proof" a family member didn't want Adachi there, I only have one comment; There also is no proof that a family member didn't want Adachi out of there. All we have is the report of people who were there that a family member DID want him out, and speculation by someone (Seej Cane) that it didn't actually happen- but can't establish any reasonable doubt to support that notion other than conspiracy theories.

So, let's see... If you think St. Mary's Cathedral is a public place where you can go do anything you want, then I suggest you go do it. Hey, I have an idea, let's crash a wedding! When we're asked to leave, we'll see how long the "this is a public place and we can do what we want" argument works.

The Funeral Mass itself was very beautiful, and the families comments moving. And even if you don't like him, you have to admit that you might feel like you even knew these guys after O'Connors eulogy. It seems that he knew them well, and did a good job portraying his experiences with them.

On the other hand, during the Mayor's eulogy and the Fire Chief's as well, I felt like maybe the channel had changed unknowingly and I was suddenly watching a bad reenactment of an Academy Award acceptance speech... I think the only person who's name was conspicuously missing alongside Jeff Adachi's was maybe Harvey Milk. I mean c'mon already! Do we have to thank and recognize everyone? I think those two ruined the tone of the ceremony by actually politicizing the event. Did Lee remember to mention Rose Pak? No? There goes his chances of mayorship! Poor form... Let's recognize the families and leave it with a general mention of the politicians next time. Actually, let's hope there is no "next time."

Now, on to Jeff Adachi's actions; If indeed he wanted to mourn the loss of these two men, and indeed he has any clue about how any public servant feels about his tactics, he could have done any number of things. The Commish rightfully mentions the predicament Adachi put himself in, but there are a couple of good "outs" that adachi failed to take. I can think of a couple right off the top of my head. How about releasing a statement to the press detailing his condolences with a mention that he thinks his presence may be disruptive at the funeral? That would make him look like a peach. OR how about a wreath- "Politics aside, my condolences." Anybody? How hard is that? It's not like the press isn't eager to pick up anything Adachi says- he could just ring up The Bay Citizen or The Comical and they'd print it verbatim... But no, this guy just shows up thinking everything is going to be okay even though he's basically spit in the face of every public employee in SF. (If you don't think that's what he's done, then you're not paying attention.)

A pretty decent standard issue City employee missive- until:

"He's basically spit in the face of every public employee in SF."

Lost us civilians there.

You should try reading a newspaper someday - maybe the San Jose Mercury News, LA Times, Sac Bee or Oakland Tribune. Every City and County in the state is grappling with pension and health care costs and ALL are looking to employees to contribute more for their benefits...Mayor Reed in San Jose, Democrat, makes Adachi's proposal look like chicken feed.
Lotta spittin goin on...

Indeed, a lot of spittin. Nobody like to have it directed at them, including you. We need not re-hash our positions here, you know what I think, and I know what you think.

...That's the point, public employee benefit reforms are going on everywhere in the state and the villification of Adachi is just a political strategy- no more no less. It doesn't distract those who are paying attention. Mayor Reed is going much further to address the problem and I gather SF will inevitably head in his direction as well.

...The notion that some family member requested Adachi leave during the funeral is hearsay and implausible. It has been reported that the secretary of the SFFD union asked him to leave- therefore conducting union business...

Adachi couldn't say something like "politics aside, my condolences" because pension reform is not targeted at firefighters and this funeral had nothing to do with politics until the firefighters asked him to leave. The firefighters have decided to portray pension reform as attacking firefighters, but their messaging is failing and is coming across as entitled and spiteful. Just look at this board and the SFGate board. Most people who aren't public employees think the firefighters who asked Adachi to leave behaved in a repulsive manner.

pension reform may not be targeted at firefighters but Jeff Adachi's campaign is.

well said

Jeff Adachi was asked quietly to leave. It was not a scene and the firefighter asked him to be respectful of the event. It is obvious that he is the one that wants to make a political story out of it.

For those who state he should be welcomed at the funeral, that all he wants is reasonable pension reform, I beg to differ. It has been clear from the start that he has singled out police and fire as the cause and the problem with pensions. His campaign and message has been to deliberately turn people to hatred against people working in these professions simply because of the pension system. And he has funded this effort with money from rich people who want to ensure that no one has a pension since they have eliminated this benefit for employees in their respective private sector businesses.

May I suggest that people turn their energy to ensure that MORE people get increased benefits from working, rather than campaigning against working people to make sure they have less.

Lastly, when it comes to paying respect or honoring someone who has died, it is important that you have also honored and respected them while they were living. Doing so at their funeral is not the time.

..."His campaign and message has been to deliberately turn people to hatred against people working in these professions simply because of the pension system."

Patently ridiculous. Why don't you let Ed Lee know his pension reform proposal "turns people to hatred"...You might want to think a little harder as to which side the hatred is coming from- your team is asking people to leave funerals.

Keep guzzling that union kool-aid.

That's the truth! They've got their heads so deep into the SF public trough, they can't see daylight!

How disgusting they would use the solemn occasion of a public funeral to spit in the eye of every tax paying citizen of SF!

I'm over this public employee entitlement nonsense – you might want to think before you bite the hand that feeds you! And for the carpetbaggers who don’t even live here and don’t pay city taxes, go back to where you came from.

When tragedy strikes, we should all put aside our differences and personal agendas and do what is right. That is what Jeff Adachi appeared to do. Then when asked to leave -- and it was clear the request was not going to go away, that is what he did. Did HE publicize and politicize the event? Absolutely not! Even the FEW statements he made in response to questioning were very dilluted. He has not pointed fingers nor blasted anyone. In fact, he did not even return calls from reporters seeking additional comments. It appears he only acknowledged the incident took place and was very non-specific about it. From all indications, he has taken the high road with regard to this incident.

Is he pension-reform measure political? Does he really hate firefighters and police officers? I doubt it. Is there an economic crisis and do changes need to be made regarding the pension? I doubt anyone who is not drinking the kool-aid would disagree that changes must be made.

I also believe Adachi took the high road by coming. He came to show his respect as a citizen and as an elected leader of the city. If he had not, there is no doubt he would have been criticized even more.

In this story, there seems to be one person who REALLY understood what was happening -- two brave men risked and gave their lives selflessly serving others. Their service and sacrifice transcended politics and budgets -- it was about life and death. It was about things that truly matter. Everything else should have been set aside as the community came together to honor these two brave men and how they lived. It appears Adachi 'got it.' It appears at least some of the firefighters' brethren didn't.

It was a very sad day... made even sadder by pettiness.

I am disappointed in the firefighters who made the decision to ask Adachi to leave. This was a city-sponsored public event, and Mr. Adachi is a city official. What's next, they refuse to put out the fire at his home? This was a high-school level payback.

Although the Fire Department provided with the families in the planning of a funeral, a funeral is always a private event. If the families don't want a particular politician at the event, that is their right. I don't agree with it, but I understand the sentiment.

Yes - a funeral is always a private event except for when it's not- like when it is a public event sponsored by the City, paid for by City taxpayers....The ceremony in Colma was a private event as it should have been. Haven't seen reports Adachi showed up there...

If Mr. Adachi really wanted to pay his respects, he could have attended the church of his choice and paid his respects that way; he could have written a check and made a contribution; he could have sent flowers and a card to the families. There are many many ways to pay respects; vying for more free publicity is not one of them.

Actually Gary the "free publicity" Adachi got was generated by the union goons who threw him out. Excercising a modicum of class during a public event would have resulted in no story. We now know it was an official officer with the SFFD union, the secretary, who asked him to leave because "the family" didn't want him there. This particular goon forgot to mention he was conducting official union business and was referring to the "City Family"...

Hey,

Lost in all of the insults and threats was a real tribute to and eagle's eye look on what it's really like to be a firefighter.

ABC (Dan Noyes) was nice enough to publish my tribute to the Fire Service in general and it's front page here. See if you think that even though I'm a former firefighter that I shouldn't write about it because I like Jeff Adachi and am pro Pension Reform:

Subject: RE: Noyes publishes Bulldog firefighter series
From: "Noyes, Dan" <Dan.Noyes@abc.com>
Date: Mon, June 13, 2011 2:15 pm
To: "'h. brown'" <h@ludd.net>
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Download this as a file | View Message Details

Your article is on our front page:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/index

-----Original Message-----
From: h. brown [mailto:h@ludd.net]
Sent: Monday, June 13, 2011 2:16 PM
To: h@ludd.net
Subject: Noyes publishes Bulldog firefighter series

boys and girls,

Here's the 5 part series I did last week
leading up to Friday's funeral. Hope y'all
like it.

http://iteamblog.abc7news.com/2011/06/honoring-the-firefighters.html#more

giants off today ...

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