In a move that may signal that Republican Rand Paul is edging closer to becoming a likely 2016 White House contender, the Kentucky Senator says he is making plans to open an office in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the nation’s strongest Democratic bastions — and a convenient link to Silicon Valley. Though there are no specific dates yet planned, “”we’re in the process of it,” Paul said in an interview Saturday with the Chronicle at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, during his appearance at the state GOP convention. He said he expects to come to the region “fairly often,” and the choice of the area makes plenty [...]