San Francisco for Democracy

Upcoming Events

Many more events are listed on our calendar...we look forward to seeing you.

SF4D goes to the White House

On September 23, 2011, SF for Democracy’s Tom Brown, along with Bay Area DFA activists Carole Dorshkind and Kathy Klein, participated in a White House policy briefing organized by the Courage Campaign. Joining community leaders from across the state, we spent the day listening to and asking questions of an impressive list of administration officials including Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Senior Advisor to the President David Plouffe, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson and Chief of Staff Bill Daley.

Listening to these high-powered speakers, a picture emerged of a President who must deal with a do-nothing Congress and a whole cohort of people who simply refuse to work with him. In these difficult economic times, most Americans desire action from their government. Yet those who do not believe in a socially proactive role for government seek to make action in Washington impossible. Despite these challenges, we heard that this President Obama and his administration are determined to do what is possible to bring help to people in America.

Endorsements

SF4D PAC's endorsements for the November 8, 2011 local election can be found here.

June 2011 Membership Meeting

June 16 saw the continuation of our split rent control forum with the Milk Club (the first part was June 7 at the LGBT Center). SF4D member Dave Massen started things off with a description of the Carbon Fee and Dividend legislation sponsored by the Citizens Climate Lobby. A vote to endorse the legislation was called for, but too many members did not understand how the legislation would work. You can read more about Carbon Fee and Dividend here; CCL would really appreciate your cards and letters to Congresspersons.

After club officers were re-elected by acclamation, Jim Tracy of Community Housing Partnership obtained our vote of support for the conversion of the Edward II B&B to a youth home. The rest of the meeting was devoted to the rent control and tenant issues forum, with activists Kevin Bard and Brian Basinger presenting their perspectives on various renter's issues. Mayoral candidates Herrera and Chiu came out to defend their record as supporters of rent control, with candidate Chiu offering an explanation of the Park Merced deal (candidate Yee also appeared at the LGBT forum to explain his evolving position on the issue).

You can watch a video of the forum here.

The President's Speech

President Obama's 4/13/11 speech on the American Economy so well reflected our own vision that several members wanted a transcript of the speech reprinted on the website. The speech, in full, follows:

"What we've been debating here in Washington for the last few weeks will affect your lives in ways that are potentially profound. This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending. Its about the kind of future we want. It's about the kind of country we believe in. And that's what I want to talk about today.

"From our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America's wealth and prosperity. More than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy skepticism of too much government.

"But there has always been another thread running throughout our history – a belief that we are all connected; and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. And so we've built a strong military to keep us secure, and public schools and universities to educate our citizens. We've laid down railroads and highways to facilitate travel and commerce. We've supported the work of scientists and researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, and led to countless new jobs and entire industries. Each of us has benefitted from these investments, and we are a more prosperous country as a result.

Click here for more

Bernie Sanders in San Francisco

San Francisco for Democracy is proud to present, in association with Progressive Perspectives, an evening with Senator Bernie Sanders on Friday, February 25, 7 p.m. at the Unity Universalist Church. Senator Sanders is the most outspokenly progressive member of the United States Senate, and has taken a leadership role on a host of issues, including the preservation of democratic government, Social Security, health care, global warming, foreign affairs, and the economy. Tickets are $15 and certain to sell out; you can buy them here. Click here for more info.

Membership Party 2011

2011 may have been a terrible year for democracy in America, but in California it wasn't quite as bad. Mark Leno came out to our annual party to explain his optimism about California's economic future under Jerry Brown. Also in attendance were quite a few of our other favorite state and local politicos, as well as many of the usual great SF4D suspects. Photos are here.

January 2011 Meetup

After being treated to a terrific analysis of the local component of the November election by Fine Line Analytics' David Latterman, attendees at the January 5 meetup participated in a three-person panel consideration of the ongoing WikiLeaks controversy. Is a data dump of this sort good for open government, or will it lead to more secrecy? How is the relationship between organizations and private citizens changing as a result of internet activism? And is it possible or desirable to hold "hacktivists" to traditional standards of journalism?

See what our panelists and members felt about the issues here. And don't forget to support Bradley Manning here.

2010 Wrap

Belying a comparative lack of activity on this page, 2010 was actually a fairly busy year for San Francisco for Democracy. About the same time as our March effort to begin providing a neutral forum where all local political parties (both moneyed and not) can make themselves heard, we found ourselves heavily involved in the attempt to repeal the 2/3 Assembly vote requirement for revenue and budgetary measures (the so-called California Democracy Act or Lakoff Act) imposed by 1978's notorious Prop 13. Unfortunately, despite the many hundreds of volunteers working for the campaign, by April the measure had failed to accumulate enough signatures to appear on the ballot, providing yet another demonstration of one of our pet peeves: that the only way to get a "citizen's intitiative" before the voters is to have pockets deep enough to pay fulltime signature gatherers. Once again we see the game is rigged in favor of the rich and powerful.

Of course, much of last winter and spring was devoted to propelling one of our favorite agendas: public financing for election campaigns. June's Proposition 15 was already heavily compromised, having been reduced to a mere pilot program to demonstrate the viability of public financing at the state level, but in a time of budget crisis it was the best we could get the legislature to agree to. Since it required a minor change to the constitution, the measure still had to be put before the voters, and the timing was unfortunate: the June election was a mostly Republican primary. We also discovered some very deceptive slate mailers, and the power of misleading a.m. radio ads to squash measures that the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation doesn't like. The result was very discouraging, but of course, not enough so to shut us up.

The June primary also saw our first true multiparty ballot endorsements. This exhausting but worthwhile process was spearheaded by Political Director Glenn Davis mainly to try and give the less-powerful parties more of a voice. SF4D endorsed candidates for the Democratic, Republican, Green, and Peace and Freedom parties.

The summer also saw us cosponsoring a candidate forum on HIV policy in San Francisco, signing on to Phil Ting's "Close the Loophole" (split-roll property tax) campaign, supporting Unite Here Local 2 in their struggle against the hotels, and many other actions. We put together our first ever slate mailer. SF4D members, especially OFA coordinator Susan Pfeifer, worked hard to keep California from falling into the Tea abyss that many other states experienced, and at least in this area our efforts were rewarded.

Finally, it would be remiss not to mention the as-always terrific job that Meetup coordinator Peter Wong (along with Susan Pfeifer) did in putting together programs all year. Although we changed from a monthly to bimonthly schedule, there is still a lot of work involved in selecting topics and formats, getting speakers to show up, and making the whole thing come off. Excellent programs on marijuana legalization, immigration reform, human trafficking, activating the progressive base, containing oil spills, the death penalty, and the notorious Jeff Adachi measure (Prop B), among others, were presented by San Francisco for Democracy during 2010. Congratulations, Peter!

November Endorsements/Candidate Materials...

are on our PAC page.

Who's Next? *

No doubt you've seen this video, but it can't be watched enough times. All the "Powers" on the right have to do is make a heavily edited, consummately dishonest video and show it on their teevee channel round the clock to get the press and ridiculous, cowardly Democrats to stampede to destroy the intended target. Absolutely no proof necessary, certainly nothing near to a conviction of wrongdoing; we'll just obliterate an important and noble social organization on the basis of hearsay presented by racist teenagers. Even Jon Stewart was sickeningly naiive on this one.

ACORN has now been investigated and cleared of wrongdoing by four different agencies, but the damage is done. So how many more times do they get away with it? How many more Swift Boats, Iowa Screams, and "Al Gore's honesty problems" will there be? What happens to a society that is ruled by such utter nonsense?

Tell your Congressperson to take a public stand against the "defund ACORN act."

* Answer here.

PACs Make June Endorsements

For the first time ever, San Francisco for Democracy and its PACs endorsed for the full slate of party central committees and judges, as well as all primaries and propositions. Results are here.

March 15 Membership Meeting

Glenn Davis, Tim Durning, Aaron Peskin, Barry Hermanson, Marsha Feinland. Photo by Terrrie Frye

Our membership meeting on March 15 intended to give the chairs of the four major Bay Area political parties a forum in which to declaim on the philosophies and merits of their parties. While Republican Party chair Howard Epstein failed to make the event, SFDCC chair Aaron Peskin, Green Party co-chair Barry Hermanson, and Peace and Freedom co-chair Marsha Feinland all were eloquent, and a lively discussion and Q&A session with the good sized audience consumed the entire meeting.

February Meetup Followup

Quite a few issues were discussed at our February 3 Meetup, a number of which cry out for some good old citizen activism.

Perhaps most pressing is the need to restore majority rule to California's budget process. The California Democracy Act (Lakoff Initiative), which would get rid of the 2/3 rule instituted by Prop 13, needs a lot more signatures by April 12 to qualify for the November ballot, and no one is being paid to gather them. You can help out by going here.

Ironically, PG&E is striving to initiate a new Prop 13 this June. Their anti-CCA initiative, Prop 16, would amend the constitiution to require 2/3 of the voters in an area to approve any alternative power system. This brazen grab at permanent monopoly status is actually being framed as the "Taxpayers Right to Vote Act"; in truth it is every bit as undemocratic as Prop 13, and if allowed to succeed, may encourage other corporations to establish permanent monopolies of their own. PG&E is already eminating millions of dollars of incredibly deceptive advertising, so learn all about Prop 16 here, and inform as many people as you can.

Another thing that can use a helpful shove from involved citizens is getting a restart on progressive immigration reform. This issue has been pushed to the bottom of the mountainous pile of work the Democrats in Congress are confronted with, but millions of people are suffering and it needs to be brought back into public consciousness. Learn more and support the March for Immigration Reform on March 21 here, as well as telling your Congresspersons to cosponsor Rep Gutierrez' immigration bill, HR 4321.

Too few people are aware of the extent of human trafficking in the United States, and especially right here in the Bay Area. Bizarrely, the penalty enforced for enslaving other people in America rarely exceeds a slap on the wrist. Our Senator Leland Yee and SF Supervisor Carmen Chu are striving to change this situation; learn about their efforts here and here.

Finally, administrative assistant Quentin Mecke reminided us of the economic and social virtues of legalizing marijuana; fortunately his boss, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, happens to be sponsoring a bill, AB2254, which would do just that. Take immediate action to support it here.

Annual Membership Party

Pics are up.

Happy New Year!

From SF4D and ONN.

December Meetup: Afghanistan

As President Obama announces a new plan for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, many questions remain. Will the new strategy plus the augmentation in forces really be enough to reverse several years of worsening conditions? Do the Afghans really want us there? Will political corruption ultimately sink the cause? And what can be done about the terrorist havens in Pakistan?
Our panel includes:

Wali Ahmadi, U.C. Berkeley Professor of Persian & Afghan literature and Middle Eastern Studies, and a native of Afghanistan
Maziar Behrooz, San Francisco State University History & Political Science professor
Sahmsia Razahi, Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of Omeid International, a non-profit organization dedicated to caring for orphaned children of the Afghan war
John Arquilla, professor and director of the Information Operations Center, Department of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School and advisor to President Bush and the Obama presidential campaign

Video here

Not looking good for bigotry in Maine

Our friend and September presenter Paul Hogarth is back in town after spending ten days in Maine campaigning against that state's Question 1 on the November ballot. For anyone unaware, Question 1 is Maine's version of our Prop 8, and has been viewed by many as an opportunity to turn the national tide in the battle for marriage equality, since it is similarly a measure requiring voter approval (SF4DPAC held an opposition vote at the Sept 10 membership meeting). So far the No on 1 campaign has been making all the right moves, and has better than a two-to-one cash advantage over the other side. Nevertheless, a huge influx of money into the Yes campaign is expected in the last few days before the election. Help get No on 1 across the finish line with a donation here.

PAC Endorses for City Election

On September 10, 2009, the San Francisco for Democracy PAC met to make its endorsements for the November 3 city elections. Results are here.

Some things you can do to support the American Plan

With both Dean and Obama predicting victory, there's certainly plenty of reason for optimism. On the other hand, with Hoyer undermining Pelosi, Rahm undermining the President, and the media undermining everybody, there's certainly plenty of reason for pessimism. What can we do to help steer things in the right direction?

Be sure to sign the FDL and DFA petitions to shore up House support
Contribute to the DFA and FDL "fight back" funds.
Attend Jackie Speier's healthcare town hall August 23. Make sure she commits to voting "no" on any reconciled health care bill that does not include a public option.
Contribute to the ActBlue Progressive Dems fund
Participate in Reich's March on Washington September 13
or a local event that same day
Yell Louder!

Death panels?

Mission registration drive still going on

Tom Brown and Joe Torres tabling during Cinco de Mayo at Dolores Park

If you know anyone who speaks Spanish, and who would like to earn a little extra income in these tough times, be sure and have them contact our outreach director about participating in our Mission District voter registration drive, funded by Latinos for America. It's fun and easy to do, and can be done in one's spare time.

Push for a revenue rescue for California

Californians deserve real solutions to the budget deficit. Responding to our economic crisis with an all-cuts budget will only make the state’s problems worse. Under Governor Schwarzenegger, we have suffered $23 billion in spending cuts in the current budget year alone.

A number of polls show the defeat of the May 19 initiatives was neither an endorsement of an all-cuts approach nor a rejection of raising revenues. In fact, polls show voters are in favor of revenue solutions by wide margins.

Deep cuts to vital programs undermine our economic recovery and jeopardize federal economic stimulus investments. And they will hurt all Californians in many different ways.

But Governor Schwarzenegger and Sacramento legislators do not appear to have gotten the message. We need to tell neighbors and legislators that there are better solutions—solutions that can save government programs Californians need and want.

Revenue source	Revenue Projection	Programs saved
Oil Severance Tax: AB 656 Torrico Charges oil companies 9.9% of the value of oil they extract from wells in California.	$1 billion a year	State parks and health programs
Alcohol tax: AB 1019 Imposes a “dime a drink” fee on manufacturers & distributors of alcoholic drinks.	$1.4 billion a year	MediCal, plus it could save an estimated $1.2 billion in matching federal funds
Restore top income tax brackets of 10 and 11 percent on incomes of $250,000 and above that were last used under Governor Pete Wilson: AB 2897 Hancock 2008	$4.0 billion in annual revenues	CSU and UC system and Cal Grants cuts that impact 296,000 students
Increase tobacco tax: AB 89 Torlakson	$1.7 billion annually	Local governments

And these are just some of the revenue sources Democrats have proposed and Republicans have voted down—or that the governor has vetoed.

Our state needs courageous leadership. We will support those who stand against an all-cuts budget, speak out for fair ways of raising revenue, and work to deliver a budget that invests in our future and protects all the people of our state. True leaders get their strength from the people they represent. We pledge to be that strength, and mobilize to support a sensible budget solution.

What you can do:

Call your state representatives. Tell them you support a revenue rescue for the California budget. Ask them what revenue proposals they support.
Contact Assembly leaders: Karen Bass and Darrell Steinberg for the Democrats, and Sam Blakeslee and Dennis Hollingsworth for the Republicans. Go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov for contact information.
Hand these flyers to friends and neighbors. Then ask them to take action too.
Use this information to write op-eds and letters to the editor for a local publication.
Organize a rally. Invite a supportive legislator to speak. Publicize the event. Notify the media. Hand out more flyers.

Act now!
Governor Schwarznegger is trying to push through an all-cuts budget in the next two weeks. We need to act fast and act now. California needs your help.

April Meetup: Sundry crises and the May Special Election

Surprise! The city and state are both broke. San Francisco is facing a massive budget shortfall mainly due to the global economic turndown, while the state is still reeling from the effects of the 2001 energy scam, a legislature half of which has taken the Norquist "no taxes" pledge, and a governor who will do anything to avoid addressing structural problems.

Our April guests were Mike Farrah, Director of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services, and Budget Committee chair Sup John Avalos, to address the city issues; and Rick Wathen of the California Teachers Association and SEIU's Alysabeth Alexander to voice their differences re: the so-called "Budget Stabilization Act" on the May Special Ballot. Video is here.

SF4D cosponsors William Greider

In February we helped bring Bernie Sanders to town; on March 31 it was economics visionary William Greider who spoke to a full house at the First Unitarian Church on the global economic meltdown and the opportunities it presents for restructuring the financial system. Greider, who has written columns for the Washinton Post, Rolling Stone, and the Nation for over thirty years, as well as numerous books, envisions a new, people-centric banking system under a more responsible Fed. You can find many of his ideas in his new book, Come Home, America: The Rise and Fall (and Redeeming Promise) of Our Country; signed copies can probably still be had at City Lights Books.

The Doctor prescribes Health Care for All

On March 25, former Presidential candidate and ex-Vermont Governor Howard Dean launched a new project to push for true universal health care legislation at the Federal level, StandwithDrDean.com. Dr Dean strongly supports the President's existing health care plan, including as it does an option for all Americans to select a public health option if they desire to do so. Echoing a popular SF4D refrain, the Governor said starkly that, "If Barack Obama's healthcare plan gets changed to exclude a public option like Medicare, then it is not healthcare reform. . . . [T]here are enormous forces in the Congress today, mostly in the health insurance industry, that are fighting against this; they think they're going to get put out of business if this goes in."

Can the American people win the fight against an industry that wants to kill them off out of sheer greed? Add your name to the petition here.

New location; same great crowd

San Francisco for Democracy members had a lot to celebrate at the fifth annual membership party on January 24th: the election of four new progressive Supervisors, some terrific new State legislators from the area, and of course, our new President! Speakers included newly elected Supervisor David Campos, former Board president Aaron Peskin, and new president David Chiu, as well as newly minted State Senator Mark Leno and CD 4 candidate Charlie Brown (next time, Charlie!). The party was held at the beautiful Noe Valley home of S.A. and Mike Kushinka; photos here.

New sheriff in town

President Bush to apologize to nation, world tonight
Fresh off his 7,610 mile walking tour of one of the countries most devastated by his Presidency, George Bush will make his final farewell to the nation on television tonight. Washington observers expect him to offer a deeply heartfelt apology for the corruption, lack of judgement, disdain for law, and general hubris that has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, shredded the Constitution, caused global economic collapse, and turned the United States into a torture regime.

More on the tour from Onion News Network:

Yes, we did
The amount was smaller this year, due to a lessened emphasis on peddling buttons and political knick-knacks at our tables. Nevertheless, the Outreach Committee was able to continue an annual tradition by contributing $240 worth of phone cards to the Veterans Administration in December.

What leadership looks like

Keeping an eye on the vote
According to PFAW, opportunities to volunteer for election protection have already closed for this election, but thanks to everyone who is doing it. The number to call to report a problem is 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Also, here's a terrific site where you can monitor voting problems as they occur (including issues with early voting).

"Truthiness" team delivers
A while back we were encouraging our members to donate to an independently-funded effort to ferret out inaccuracies in election claims, sponsored by an outfit called Spot.Us. Looks like they're doing pretty good work. Latest results are here.

PAC completes endorsements
See the PAC page for results, and to download our voter guide.

Clean Money, Single Payer both pass legislature!
Our two favorite pieces of legislation, Sheila Kuehl's SB 840 and Lonnie Hancock's AB 583, were both passed by the California Legislature last week, and are both currently awaiting the Governor's signature.

Lonnie Hancock and CaClean Prez Trent Lange.

In what even a Clean Money opponent called a "historic moment," AB 583 passed out of the Assembly on a 42-32 concurrence vote, one day after it cleared the Senate by a single vote. The bill would establish a "pilot project" of full public financing modeled after the systems in Arizona and Maine for the office of Secretary of State by 2012.

Update, 10/1: Governor Schwarzenegger has signed the bill! Now AB583 will go onto the 2010 ballot, since it has to undo a pernicious Constitutional change to become law. Click here if you'd like to reinforce the Governor for doing the right thing (for once).

Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger has already declared his strong opposition to Kuehl's SB 840, and in fact vetoed it in 2006. To learn what you can do, click here.

SF4DPAC makes local candidate endorsements
View them, and access our candidate information, here.

At the AHIP convention

Thousands of people from all over the U.S. showed up at Moscone Center June 19 to demonstrate for Universal Health Care outside the American Health Insurance Plans annual convention. Naturally, San Francisco for Democracy was there. After Sheila Kuehl spoke on behalf of her California bill, SB840, local hero (and SF4D cofounder) Tom Ammiano said a few words in support of John Conyers’ HR676, for which he sponsored a City endorsement measure that was signed by the Mayor that very morning. And LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo spoke on his perpetual battle against the insurance industry’s denial of claims. Later, a funeral procession formed to lay flowers at an altar for the terminally underinsured (more pix here).

Meanwhile, inside the Moscone Center, our old "friend" and Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe was speaking to the insurers for a large fee…

Look ma, no apocalypse
Our Peter Wong gets another great letter printed in the Chron:

They're married; and the world didn't stop Editor - Today, the sky is still blue and my corn on the cob still tastes sweet. I didn't expect otherwise. The day after gay and lesbian couples started sharing in every California citizen's right to marry, the world still goes on as always.

The only (unsurprising) revelation is learning the scope of marriage-equality haters' microscopic-heartedness.

PETER WONG

A Sunny Day in the Mission

May 25, the day of San Francisco’s popular Carnival 2008 parade, was a great opportunity for registering voters in the Mission. Many blocks of Harrison Street were blocked off for the street festival, but we had an ideal location in front of a volunteer’s house and enjoyed the interaction with folk passing by. !Es Tu Pais! we say in Spanish as part of our on-going voter outreach project funded by Latinos for America. If you are bilingual and want to make a few extra bucks registering voters in the Mission, send an email to our Outreach director Jeff Whittington here.

April Meetup - Media Streetfighting for Progressives
Find out how progressives can fight back in a media environment that seems to seems to swallow every Matt Drudge or Heritage talking point completely unexamined, and then amplify it ad infinitum. Marriage equality activists Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, Mother Jones reporter Josh Harkinson, and LeftinSF.com webmaster/editor Sasha Magee give us some great tips. PLUS Maxine Anderson reports on her trip to the State of the Black Union conference in New Orleans. Video is here.

About those Offsets...
SF4D member Dave Massen had the following letter printed in San Francisco Magazine, in response to an article recommending carbon offsets for plane travel.

Painting the town green

As someone who has taken the little red pill and felt frustrated that my own family and friends still seem to be asleep, I appreciated Leslie Crawford’s story (“Green with Worry,” February).

I agree that the greenest vacation alternative is staying close to home, where we’re blessed with a cornucopia of landscapes and cultures to visit. While there are green destinations, flying to them is hardly an ecofriendly activity.

However, I would be careful about recommending carbon offsets for air travel. One reason voluntary retail offsets are so affordable is that they are usually achieved, or amortized, over many future years. For example, the offset we buy for this year’s flight may help build a wind turbine that does reduce CO2 elsewhere, but our part is spread out over the 25-year life of the machine. Meanwhile, our emissions continue to rise in the atmosphere and contribute to a climate tipping point before the offset catches up.

Since it’s important to reduce or offset emissions ASAP, offset providers must prioritize the issue of timing. Otherwise, the danger may lie in the mindset that you suggest: Since offsets are so cheap, why not fly farther? But in reality, those flights may not be offset within a time frame that’s truly helpful.
DAVE MASSEN, SAN FRANCISCO

Thanks for clearing that up, Dave!

Endorsement Fever!
Just in case you haven't seen our endorsements for the second and third elections of 2008, head over here and here. We should have our handy voter guides ready soon.

March Meetup...Battle of the Ballot Measures
Our March 5 meetup featured lively discussions of some very controversial measures upcoming on the June ballot. First up was the notorious Prop 98, which would end most renter protections (including, but not limited to, rent control), as well as most civic and environmental land use planning, under the guise of eminent domain reform. Competing against 98 is Prop 99, a relatively benign eminent domain measure that those of us who want to end the cycle of "eminent domain reform abuse" can support. You can watch guests Stephen Elliott and Dean Preston explain the issues, and why you need to get everybody you know to the polls on June 3, here.

Additionally, two local measures that everyone needs to understand better are Props F and G. Prop G is the long awaited Bayview Redevelopment Measure, which many feel does not sufficiently protect current residents of the area, while Prop F would designate 50% of new housing as "affordable." Watch advocates of both measures make their cases here.

For more information on eminent domain reform, go here. For more on F and G, see our forums.

Fourth Annual Membership Party - the Best Yet!

On the evening of January 26, members and friends of San Francisco for Democracy came together to celebrate a successful year of grassroots activism, civic education and community service at the home of members Alec and Sharry Bash.

This year our special guests were asked to speak on a broad topic: the future of progressive government in San Francisco and the state. School Board member Eric Mar, Democratic party icon Jane Morrison and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi all touched on this theme and provided personal anecdotes and observations on what they believe needs to be done to advance the progressive agenda. And for California, Assemblyman Mark Leno presented a sobering insider’s view of how the Governor’s short-sighted budget policies….including his drastic reduction of the vehicle registration tax….have caused the very budget crisis that we now face.

Although we all enjoyed listening to our special guests Saturday night, the primary purpose of this event is to celebrate all our members and friends who contribute their time and talent to make the world a better place. This year, two individuals in particular were singled out for the special recognition of receiving the 2007 President’s award: Outreach Director Jeff Whittington and Membership Director Tim Hsu. Without their hard work and willingness to go the extra mile, San Francisco for Democracy would not have had the successes it did this past year.

For more pix, go here.

The People have Spoken
The SF4D PAC has completed its online endorsement vote for the Feb 5 initiatives. You can find the results, along with our appraisals of the ballot measures, here.

earlier articles