Billionaire investor Warren Hellman, who has contributed $50,000 to the Yes on Proposition B campaign, has withdrawn his support. In case you haven't heard yet, the contentious proposition requires city employees to contribute more to their health care and pension costs, and every San Francisco official except Public (not public employee -- ha ha) Defender Jeff Adachi, the proposition sponsor, is lined up against it.
This late in the game, Hellman's announcement represents quite a reversal, as illustrated by the San Francisco Citizen blog's post title: OMG! Warren Hellman Pulls a 180. The Citizen poses this question:
"How do you get a strong-willed (and is there any other kind?) billionaire to change his or her mind?" Indeed. The Chronicle's City Insider reports that firefighters' union head Tom O'Connor talked Hellman into his flip-flop over lunch. What can O'Connor have possibly said that Hellman hadn't already heard? Was the billionaire promised a ride on the back of a fire engine?