After attacking poor people for most of the year, Sup. Amos Brown has now shifted his sights and launched an all out assault against tenants with a proposal which, he hopes, will mean the end of rent control.
 Working hand in hand with landlord lobbyist Jack Davis, Brown has proposed legislation which would (1) impose a moratorium on all changes in rent control and (2) appoint a commission to "study" rent control and recommend whether it should be repealed or continued.
 Clearly Brown and Davis favor the repeal of rent control and the "study" is almost guaranteed to come out that way, setting  the stage for tenants having to once again fight to retain rent control.
 Brown seems oblivious to the fact that the city is in the midst of severe housing crisis and that an end to rent control would mean mass evictions, increased gentrification, and an end to San Francisco as an affordable and diverse city. He's probably not oblivious to the fact that  ending rent control would double or triple the real estate industry's already-massive profits.
 At a time when landlords and real estate speculators are making record-breaking profits while thousands are being forced from their homes by high rents and evictions, it's astounding that a politicians would stand up and call for higher rents, more evictions and greater landlord profits. But that's exactly what Brown has done.
 Ironically, at one point Brown was an ally of tenants but in a fashion reminiscent of former Sups. Wendy Nelder, Carol Ruth Silver and Willie Kennedy, Brown has dramatically switched sides—going from pro-tenant to pro-landlord completely and absolutely.
 Speculation is that Brown's attack on the poor and on tenants reflects his living in conservative west side District 7, where he will be running for re-election. In that district, Republicans and the Christian right wing would feel more comfortable than your average San Franciscan and thus Brown is a new convert to conservative right wing politics.
 Being a minister in San Francisco, people generally had higher expectations of Brown where the clergy is usually a leader in tolerance, compassion and justice. But Brown has clearly found more affinity with the brand of religion which preaches intolerance and injustice.
 Tenants having to fight to protect rent control once again is a rehash of June, 1998, when landlords placed Proposition E on the ballot to repeal much of the rent control law. Proposition E was stomped by over 2-1. The idea of repealing rent control during this current housing crisis was so ludicrous that even the voters in Brown's conservative district 10 voted against the repeal.
 But, Brown is not well known for either his compassion or his intelligence, so he'll plod ahead for his rich real estate investor friends. Perhaps it's time to check out some property records—back when Carol Ruth Silver switched sides it was soon revealed that she had acquired an apartment building for a very, very low price which many claimed was a gift from the landlords.
 Brown's rent control repeal legislation is still being drafted and hearings are yet to be scheduled. Watch for progress on the SFTU web site.