Chronicle: At war with itself over ‘crony’ columnist Willie Brown?

The Chronicle takes a healthy look at the cronies who surround Mayor Ed Lee and . . . doesn’t flinch from mentioning its highest-profile columnist in his rightful position (next to Rose Pak) as the perceived crony at the head of the pack. The piece by John Cote even quotes a former head of Common Cause in San Francisco as saying “Brown has effectively been running this town, well probably since he became speaker” of the Assembly.

And yet . . . Brown was, is, and remains the newspaper’s star columnist. Can you say ethical disconnect?

Related: For any who missed it, here's Elizabeth Lesly Stevens' elongated piece on Brown for the July/August issue of Washington Monthly.