WINNING THE CITY'S HEART

Despite their past affection for Mayor Frank Jordan, San Francisco voters seem poised to turn him out of office. Polls show Willie Brown, the flamboyant former speaker of the California Assembly, leading by twenty points heading into Tuesday's runoff mayoral election. San Francisco bureau chief David Jackson notes that while Jordan managed during his first four years to balance the budget and clean up the streets as promised, Brown has captured the political soul of the city. "Willie Brown appeals to the very liberal element that dominates San Francisco politics," Jackson says. "He's using the same skills he used as a mover and shaker in the state assembly: many promises, many coalitions. The question is whether those skills will make him a good mayor, or whether San Francisco will end up with a lot of warring factions." Jackson says the city's already steep cost of living may grow worse under Brown, since the unions, angered by Jordan's unwillingness to accede to their demands for pay raises, have thrown their support behind Brown, expecting better odds with him.