San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters

Know Your Voting Rights

10/6: Early voting starts at City Hall. Call 311 or see SFelections.org for details.

10/20: Deadline to register to vote: http://RegisterToVote.ca.gov

11/4: Election Day! Polls open 7am-8pm.

Where’s your polling place? Call 311, see SFelections.org, or vote in City Hall.

Even if you've committed a felony, you can vote as long as you’re off parole. Don’t let the Man disenfranchise you!

California Propositions

Prop 1: Water Bond - Yes

Prop 2: Rainy Day Fund - No

Prop 45: Health Insurance Thing - Yes

Prop 46: Drug Testing of Doctors and Malpractice Limits - Frustrated No

Prop 47: Lock up Fewer Nonviolent Offenders - HELL YES

Prop 48: Approve an Off-Reservation Casino - No Endorsement

  State Offices

Governor - Jerry Brown

Lt. Governor - No Endorsement

Secretary of State - Alex Padilla

State Treasurer - John Chiang

Attorney General - Kamala Harris

Insurance Commissioner - Dave Jones

State Board of Equalization, District 2 - No Endorsement

Superintendent of Public Instruction - Tom Torlakson

Controller - Betty Yee

US Representative in Congress, District 12 - No Endorsement

US Representative in Congress, District 14 - Jackie Speier

State Assembly, District 17 - David Campos

State Assembly, District 19 - Phil Ting

BART Board of Directors, District 8 - No Endorsement

  Frisco Propositions

Prop A: $500 Million Transportation Bond  - Yes

Prop B: Set-Aside for Transportation Funding - Conflicted No

Prop C: Reauthorize and Expand the Children’s Fund - Yes

Prop D: Retiree Health Benefits for Redevelopment Workers - Yes

Prop E: Soda Tax - Yes

Prop F: Increase Height Limits at Pier 70 - Yes

Prop G: Anti-Speculation Tax - HELL YES

Prop H: Grass Fields at the Beach Chalet - No Endorsement

Prop I: Artificial Turf Fields All Over the City - No

Prop J: Raise the Minimum Wage to $15! - HELL YES

Prop K: Non-Binding Pinky Swear to Build Affordable Housing - No Endorsement

Prop L: Non-Binding Recipe for Carmegeddon and Gridlock - HELL NO

  Local Offices

Board of Supervisors: District 2 - Juan-Antonio Carballo

Board of Supervisors: District 4 - No endorsement

Board of Supervisors: District 6 - Jane Kim

Board of Supervisors: District 8 - No Endorsement

Board of Supervisors: District 10 - 1) Tony Kelly 2) Ed Donaldson 3) Shawn Richard

Board of Education - Stevon Cook, Shamann Walton, Jamie Rafaela Wolfe

Community College Board – 4-year term - Wendy Aragon, Brigitte Davila, Thea Selby

Community College Board – 2-year term - William Walker

Judge of the Superior Court, Office 20 - Daniel Flores

Public Defender - Jeff Adachi

Assessor-Recorder - No Endorsement

State Candidates

  Governor: Jerry Brown

In June’s primary, we endorsed Chicano artist and activist Luis Rodriguez, but now that it’s down to two we’ll endorse the incumbent, Jerry Brown. He hasn’t done much for things we care about, but he’s definitely better than his free-market-cheerleader opponent, Republican Neel Kashkari. Brown sounded downright progressive debating Kashkari. And Brown signed the plastic bag ban!

  Lt. Governor: No endorsement

We’ve got history with the current Lt Gav-ernor. (Four years ago, we endorsed him in the June primary, but then we switched to “no endorsement” in November after he made some stupid “no new taxes ever” statement.) Lately, Gavin and his developer friends have been busy suing San Francisco over 2013’s Prop B. You know, the Waterfront Height Limit Proposition we endorsed, that was overwhelmingly approved by voters in the last election? Lame.

  Secretary of State: Alex Padilla

Padilla is a young Latino rising star in the Democratic party, currently serving as a State Senator from Los Angeles. He has some laudable (though vague and mainstreamy) goals like expanding voter participation, ensuring every vote counts, increasing transparency through technology, and making it easier to start a new business. If he can fix that Secretary of State website, he’d make our lives a hell of a lot easier writing this voter guide.

  State Treasurer: John Chiang

We endorsed Chiang in June in the primary. Here’s what we had to say back then. The Treasurer is the State’s banker and chief investment officer, responsible for managing the state’s pooled dough. Before Chiang started his campaign for Treasurer, he was on the Board of Equalization and then became the state Controller. As Controller, Chiang was pretty effective - he even got sassy with the Governor and legislators in 2011, threatening to dock their pay because their so-called balanced budget was based on a bunch of accounting tricks. Rawr!

  Attorney General: Kamala Harris

Harris is a Democrat and the incumbent. She’s been tough on transnational gangs, and in the fight for marriage equality she was a total badass: she forced several bigoted Republican County Clerks to issue marriage licenses after Prop 8 was overturned. When the banks settled with the states on foreclosure fraud, Kamala held out to get more money for California. However since then, we haven’t seen any follow through on prosecuting any of the bankers or cracking down on other predatory lending. And she’s not 100% aligned with League values: she’s opposed to legalizing marijuana, and just days after SF’s City Attorney sued landlords who evicted tenants to run Airbnb hotels, Harris held a fundraiser at Airbnb, co-hosted by Uber and others. /headdesk/

  Insurance Commissioner: Dave Jones

We supported Hrizi in the primary but had good words for Jones, too. He's broadly progressive - he's fought against large insurance companies on behalf of consumers and fought against fraud. He's also been on the right side of insurance battles re: ridesharing companies. Sweet.

  State Board of Equalization, District 2: No Endorsement

The Board of Equalization collects tax, and is the only publicly-elected tax commission in the United States. Fiona Ma is the Democratic candidate, but we just can’t get behind her. Fiona Ma was a conservative Supervisor here in SF, and voted the opposite way from the League time and time again. Her donor list is a big business roll call. We think she’s more interested in raising money and gaining power than in tackling California’s problems. She’s running against a Republican and doing pretty well in the polls. In other words, we aren’t going to screw anything up by not voting for her, so no big thang.

  Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tom Torlakson

The State’s Superintendent manages the operational side of the school system, licenses teachers, maintains school property and oversees the California Department of Education. Torlakson is the incumbent. He was once a school teacher and is funded mostly by labor. He’s advocated for after-school programs, fought junk food in schools, promoted health and fitness and wants to close the digital divide in public schools. Torlakson’s opponent, Marshall Tuck, is a charter school CEO who will redirect public school funds to corporate charter schools and private schools.

  Controller: Betty Yee

In June, we endorsed Perez, another Democrat in the race. But once the top two primary dust settled, Yee & Swearengin were the candidates left standing. Betty Yee is a good candidate. As Board of Equalization Chair she is already familiar with CA finances and tax structure. She’s not a progressive champion or anything, but she’s a woman of color, a Democrat, and highly qualified.

  US Representative in Congress, District 12: No Endorsement

Okay, so Barry Hermanson, who we endorsed in June, wasn’t the number two vote-getter, so it’s incumbent Nancy Pelosi Democrat vs a no-chance Republican challenger. Every two years we debate whether or not to endorse Pelosi. Some of us think she has been awful and doesn’t represent San Francisco values. She didn’t vote to impeach Bush, she wrote a blank check for the Iraq war, and she caved on universal healthcare. In 2010, we did endorse her because some of us were impressed with how she fought hard to pass the Affordable Care Act and the climate change bill (which died in the Senate). This time around we were too disappointed with her overall record to support her. Sorry, Nancy.

  US Representative in Congress, District 14: Jackie Speier

Speier is a moderate Democrat who votes the party line on most issues, but she’s just progressive enough to earn our love. She opposes Keystone XL, pushed for tougher standards for natural gas pipelines, is outspoken on gun violence prevention, speaks up for transit and is an advocate for information privacy. And, dude, she took an effing bullet at Jonestown.

  State Assembly, District 17: David Campos

Because Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is terming out of this seat, we need to replace him with another champion for progressive causes. Campos is currently Supervisor in District 9. He championed Free Muni for Youth, created legislation to close the loophole for the Healthy SF Ordinance, passed legislation to protect tenants, fought to protect San Francisco’s sanctuary city status, voted to support environmental review of tech buses, secured $1.2M for legal services for minors facing deportation, took a stand on FaceBook’s real name policy, and passed legislation to protect women’s right to choose. He’d be SF’s first Latino Assemblymember, and we like the idea of maintaining this as an LGBT seat in Sacramento.

  His opponent David Chiu is hella catfish. He would fit right in with corporate Democrats in Sacramento…and that’s a problem. He voted to tear down hundreds of units of affordable housing at Parkmerced. He voted to criminalize homelessness by passing legislation to close the parks at night. He’s backed by big downtown money and folks sending a lot of nasty hit pieces on Campos. And, we’ll never forget “it’s on like Donkey Kong” - he made a sneaky backroom deal to appoint Ed Lee so he could be Board President again for a third term. No thanks, Chiu. We need Campos to represent San Francisco values!

  State Assembly, District 19: Phil Ting

We didn’t endorse Ting in June, ‘cause we were pissed he supported the Mid-Market (Twitter) tax break and voted to rename the Bay Bridge after Willie Brown.That bridge belongs to Emperor Norton. But Ting does have a Republican opponent in November, Mormon clergy member Rene Pineda. And Ting does good work in Sacramento; he’s authored bills on harm reduction, supporting renters, energy efficiency, and affordable housing. He also has a history of supporting gun control, domestic workers and immigrant rights. In the end, we decided it’s time to show Ting some love.

  State Props

  Prop 1: Water Bond

This is a $7.1 billion statewide water infrastructure bond. It’s actually a slimmed down version of an $11 billion bond dreamed up in 2009. Worried that it was too controversial and too stuffed with pork to actually pass, the powers that be in Sacramento pulled it, delayed it, and trimmed it. The current version had huge bipartisan support in the legislature, which is how it ended up on the ballot. It includes cash for water storage, watershed protection and restoration projects, sustainability, water recycling, and flood management. Though borrowing money is a bad deal, and this is a big bond, we recognize that California’s water infrastructure is a mess. Though we can’t “legislate rain”, this bond is the next best thing we can do to prep for a potential megadrought. We say yes.

  Prop 2: State Budget - Budget Stabilization Account

This Prop increases the size of the state’s “rainy day fund.” The idea is to help California save, and therefore insulate the budget from the boom and bust cycle. It’s a good idea in theory, but the devil is in the details. First of all, only the Governor can declare an “emergency” and allow the state to access the rainy day fund. What if there’s a crisis and a Republican refuses to break the piggy bank? Second, this prop sets an automatic trigger to start saving when CA has a budget surplus. But it’s based on the current situation, which is still a brutally austere budget compared with before the financial crisis of 2008. We’d prefer to get back to normal first. Finally, this forces public schools to dump their individual budget savings if the state does any saving on their behalf, and we don’t like the loss of local control. No on 2!

  Prop 45: Healthcare Insurance - Rate Changes

Makes insurers justify their rates to the public and prohibits health, auto, and homeowners’ insurers from determining policy eligibility or rates based on lack of prior coverage or credit history.  This prop requires changes to health insurance rates - or anything else affecting

the charges associated with health insurance -  to be approved by the Insurance Commissioner before taking effect. Big insurance companies have pooled a shit-ton of money ($35M) to fight this. Consumer watchdog groups, nurses and teachers are leading the charge with, wait for it... $568K in the bank. Let’s help them fight back.

  Prop 46: Drug and Alcohol Testing of Doctors - Medical Negligence Lawsuits

This is a medical-law grab bag. It requires drug and alcohol testing for doctors and suspension of any who fail; requires health care practitioners to consult state prescription drug

history database before prescribing certain drugs; and increases the damages cap in medical negligence lawsuits. We like that last part, so that wronged patients can pursue justice (right now, the limits make it pointless to even file suit). But we don’t really care if our doctors smoke weed on the weekend, and drug history databases creep out our civil libertarian side. Frustrated no on 46.

  Prop 47: Criminal Sentences - Misdemeanor Penalties

Rational public policy in California? We’re amazed! This prop kicks serious ass. It “ensures that prison spending is focused on violent and serious offenses, maximizes alternatives for nonserious, nonviolent crime, and invests the savings generated into prevention and support programs in K–12 schools, victim services, and mental health and drug treatment.” This prop will keep families together, support crime victims, and start to dismantle the prison industrial complex. It will even reduce crime, by steering nonviolent offenders away from the long prison stays which turn them into career criminals. A step away from the counterproductive and cruel “war on drugs” which targets poor people, young people, and people of color. Hell yes on 47!

  Prop 48: Indian Gaming Compacts

We couldn’t come to a conclusion on Prop 48. A Yes vote allows a small and currently under-resourced Native American tribe, the North Fork Tribe, to build a casino on off-reservation land - land much closer to potential punters. The Chukchansi, a tribe that already operates a nearby casino, is funding the “No” side, to protect their profits (in fact, they’re the ones that got this on the ballot. Otherwise, the North Fork would be able to build without voter approval). On the one hand, we want to support the underdog. We also recognize how unfair it is that colonial genocide pushed Native folks onto random scraps of land, some of which are better situated than others. On the other hand, once we allow off-reservation casinos, we’ve essentially legalized gambling in all of California. Modern casinos (with their psychologist-designed slot machines) are regressive institutions. Do we want more huge vacuums sucking money from the pockets of seniors, poor folks, and working people? Your call on this one.

  Local Candidates

  Board of Supervisors: District 2: Juan-Antonio Carballo

Carballo is a tech and energy scientist and investor, is focused on transportation, affordability, and government responsiveness. We’re not perfectly aligned with him on every issue, but we agree on some major points, and he seems both intelligent and reasonable. He did order a glass of wine while visiting a Mission dive bar, but still, he can hang with us anytime. He probably will not be able to oust incumbent Mark Farrell, but we decided to help him try. Farrell, on the other hand, has voted the opposite way from how the League would on almost every non-unanimous issue ever brought before the Board. We’re sure he’s a kind man that loves his children, but we are dead opposed to him politically. Go Carballo go!

  Board of Supervisors: District 4: No endorsement

Katy Tang, the incumbent Supervisor, was a legislative aide to Carmen Chu before Chu was tapped to become Assessor-Recorder in 2013. Mayor Lee promptly appointed Tang to her boss’s seat, and now she’s running for re-election unopposed. We’re not supporting her because of her conservative record. But even if we weren’t politically opposed to her, we’re sick of the mayor appointing politicians who then cruise to re-election because of the advantage of incumbency. San Francisco democracy is ailing, and the sleazy appointment process is a major cause. We weren’t surprised when Tang was opposed to Avalos’ “Let’s Elect Our Elected Officials” legislation - maybe she’s afraid to have some competition.

  Board of Supervisors: District 6: Jane Kim

We’ve endorsed Jane Kim because of her broadly progressive record on the board. At the same time, our endorsement conversations revolved around our disappointment with her. We were embarrassed by her votes on key issues like the Twitter tax break, her more-frequent-than-expected alignment with the Willie Brown Democratic machine, and her failure to stand up to the Mayor and his business-friendly agenda for the city. We believe Kim is a good Supervisor for her district, but we’re still waiting for the progressive champion we voted for in 2010 to appear.

  Board of Supervisors: District 8: No endorsement

The incumbent Supervisor, Scott Wiener, is whip-smart but politically conservative. Unfortunately, four of the four candidates challenging him are middle-aged white men, and zero of them are strong, serious contenders for the seat. Seeing a pattern here? Something is wrong with our city’s democracy when the majority of local candidate races don’t offer voters a real choice.

  Board of Supervisors: District 10: 1) Tony Kelly 2) Ed Donaldson 3) Shawn M. Richard

The  District 10 race is a chance to change the makeup of the Board of Supervisors. A whole slew of folks are all hoping to unseat the incumbent, Malia Cohen. Cohen likes to convene a lot of task forces, but it seems like she’s forgotten the needs of her district. She loves being the swing vote on nearly everything and rarely agrees with the League.

  Tony Kelly has been leading neighborhood efforts for more than a decade for sustainable land use, working-class jobs, open space & transit planning, affordable housing, and environmental justice. He’s whip-smart and he’s no stranger to City Hall. He nearly won this seat four years ago and we want to see him implement his ambitious plan for serving D10.

  Ed Donaldson is known for his work around economic development and affordable housing for low income communities. He’s focused on job creation and retention, affordable housing and economic development, and increasing public health services and positive health outcomes in D10.

  In 1995, Shawn M. Richard’s family was shaken by the handgun murder of his brother. One week later, Richard founded an organization, Brothers Against Guns, as a vehicle to abate gun violence in San Francisco and end the cycle of violence. His most important issues are equitable access to educational opportunities, public safety, affordable housing, economic workforce development, transportation, homelessness, and health and wellness.

  Board of Education - Stevon Cook, Shamann Walton, Jamie Rafaela Wolfe

SF’s School Board manages the K-12 system in the city. There are three seats up for grabs this year, but with nine candidates running, it’ll be a very split electorate. Two of the nine are (lackluster) incumbents. It’ll be tricky for challengers to displace either of them, but neither of them have been endorsed by the powerful teachers’ union, so there’s a chance.

  Walton - We endorsed Shamann Walton’s close-but-no-cigar effort two years ago. His answers to our candidate questionnaire show a deep understanding of policy and were extremely detailed, as well as politically progressive. He has the strongest chops and best chance of all the non-incumbents.

  Cook - A young progressive and rising political star, he came up in SF at Thurgood Marshall. He’s undeniably charismatic, but also has an impressive amount of policy knowledge and experience working with the school district. He and Walton are both endorsed by the United Educators of San Francisco.

  Wolfe - Wolfe doesn’t have as much policy wonk experience as our other two endorsed candidates, but as co-chair of the Trans March and a former board member of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, she’s got the organizational expertise and political guidance to make things happen. Plus, we appreciate that she’s running a grassroots campaign.

  Community College Board: Wendy Aragon, Brigitte Davila, Thea Selby, William Walker

These candidates are exactly what City College needs right now: A deep commitment to education equity, familiarity with CCSF’s current accreditation drama, personal experience with higher education, and solid credentials. There are three seats open for four year terms on SF’s Community College Board, which manages City College. We’ve endorsed Wendy Aragon, Brigitte Davila, and Thea Selby (AFT 2121, the union which represents CCSF faculty, likes these three too).

  There’s also one seat open for a two year term on the same board. For this one, we’ve gone for William Walker. A former student trustee, he’s determined to keep students first (even above faculty/staff concerns), and wants to keep our community college in line with the community’s needs.

  BART Board of Directors, District 8: No endorsement

About half of our members voted to not endorse either candidate. Another half voted to endorse Nick Josefowitz. He wants to prioritize pedestrian and bike infrastructure around BART stations, run more frequent trains, upgrade cars and systems to improve efficiency and develop land owned by BART to help increase housing. But…. he’s not a supporter of the Anti-Speculation tax, he helped Mayor Lee bury CleanPowerSF when he was a Commissioner for the Dept of the Environment, and he rubber-stamped the Tech Bus Pilot without questioning the environmental impact. It’s also pretty crappy that he invested in Dow Chemical and General Electric, two major polluters. On the other hand, Josefowitz’s Republican opponent, James Fang, is pretty bad. Fang accepted contributions from contractors with business in front of BART, and has been accused of union busting and other shady dealings. SEIU is cheerleading for Fang because as a BART Board Director, he was instrumental in launching the independent investigation following the BART strike in July 2013. Hold your nose and pick your poison.

  Judge of the Superior Court, Office 20: Daniel Flores

SF-born-and-raised, son of Salvadoran immigrants, he is the first in his family to graduate college. He is a Marines veteran and has a degree in Criminal Justice. He’s got a over a decade of experience as a defense and civil rights lawyer, endorsed by tons of people (that we like and also that we don’t like so much). In lawyer circles, he’s gotten kudos like Super Lawyer and Rising Star. We’re a teensy bit skeptical, but we’re excited that he wants to give back to the community on more “neutral” matters where weighing in isn’t a conflict of interest.

  Public Defender: Jeff Adachi

So Jeff Adachi, SF’s public defender, has a long and complex political history in San Francisco. He’s a pretty damn good Public Defender. Plus he’s running unopposed. Adachi got a bad rap for the two years he spent spearheading pension reform leading up to pension reform legislation and his run for Mayor in 2011. Props for taking on a touchy subject, but he did it with union-hating venture capitalists. Now that the dust has settled on 2011’s Prop D, he seems to be back to the 2007 Jeff Adachi that we know and love, the one who fought against gang injunctions and created cool programs for at-risk youth.

  Assessor – Recorder: No endorsement

The Assessor-Recorder is responsible for assessing property taxes. San Francisco’s skyline is dotted with cranes. There is construction everywhere. The Assessor should be right there, ready to get the City its fair share. Instead, the State Board of Equalization reported in their 2013 San Francisco City and County Assessment Practices Survey that SF has a huge backlog of assessable new construction. The Assessor should be all up in the business of the corporations that own big downtown office buildings, because every time a building changes hands, they owe Real Estate Transfer Tax. The incumbent, Carmen Chu, isn’t hiding that she’s super friendly with the Building Owners and Managers Association. Big Real Estate money funds her campaign even though she is is running unopposed this year. We just can’t bear to vote for her.

Frisco Props

  Prop A: San Francisco Transportation and Road Improvement Bond

Prop A is backed by just about everyone - the Mayor, Supes, pro-transit orgs - and that’s good, because this will take a 2/3 vote to pass. We feel like throwing money at a mismanaged agency isn’t the answer, but we also NEED funding for bike, pedestrian, and motorist safety improvements. And, without the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) or Sunday Meters, there isn’t a revenue source. While we are typically against bonds, this is exactly the type of thing a bond should be used for: long-term infrastructure improvements rather than short-term unsustainable fixes. Prop A replaces old debt and doesn’t get us more in the hole. Seriously, Muni needs hella money. We say yes.

  Prop B: Adjusting Transportation Funding for Population Growth

Prop B is a little complicated. We just got through saying that Muni needs hella money, so why are we against Prop B? This Charter Amendment proposed by Sup. Scott Wiener will adjust the appropriation from the General Fund to SFMTA annually to reflect increases in SF’s population. 75% goes to Muni, 25% bike/ped safety improvements. It includes a provision that it will be nixed if the VLF is passed in 2016 (which is savvy strategically because it holds the Mayor to his word that he’d lead the fight for that in two years). Dropping VLF and Sunday Meters was a huge eff you by the Mayor, and this feels like Wiener’s eff you back. It has definitely pissed off the Mayor since he came out saying that if it passes he will “punish” the Supes that support it. But, this ballot measure was being hashed out during the budget cycle - the time when Supes were earmarking money for certain projects. If Wiener really felt so strongly, he could have secured $22M for Muni months ago without changing the City Charter. We put on our picky-about-policy hats and say a conflicted no.

  Prop C: Children’s Fund; Public Education Enrichment Fund; Children and Families Council; Rainy Day Reserve

Prop C, the Children and Families First Initiative, extends two important funds for children and youth services for another quarter century. The Child and Youth Fund receives money from property taxes and funds services like childcare, healthcare, recreation, and job training. Prop C reauthorizes it for 25 years and extends programs to transitional age youth between 18 and 24, including homeless youth and those leaving foster care or the juvenile justice system. The Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) ensures that every SF public school has a librarian, art classes, physical education classes, and sports opportunities. Prop C reauthorizes PEEF for 26 years and eliminates a provision that allows the City to reduce its contributions to the Fund in years in which the budget has a projected shortfall of $100 million or more. In addition, in-kind gifts to SFUSD would no longer count toward the City’s obligations for the fund. All this without raising property tax rates. Prop C was put on the ballot by the Mayor and the full Board with literally no opposition. Do it for the kids, ya’ll.

  Prop D: Retiree Health Benefits for Former Redevelopment Agency and Successor Agency Employees

The Redevelopment Agency promoted economic development and affordable housing in San Francisco - and has a pretty complicated history. In 2012, the California Legislature dissolved all remaining agencies across the state. Successor agencies were essentially brought in to tie up the loose ends and shut down the affairs of the redevelopment agencies. There are approximately 50 former agency employees who would be affected by Prop D. We are talking about $75K for each person spread over many years. This is a drop in the bucket of San Francisco’s $8.5 Billion budget. They served the City and should get the same benefits as other employees. We say yes.

  Prop E: Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

This is a 2 pennies-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugary drinks. The estimated $31 million a year it will raise will improve access to physical activity and healthy food in SF’s neighborhoods and schools, with more money going to the parts of the City that need it most. It’s no accident that low income communities of color have more diabetes and obesity--soda companies have aggressively targeted them for decades, and they’re spending big bucks to take this Prop down. Public health nerds see the soda tax as today’s biggest fight--just like battles with tobacco companies to raise cigarette taxes back in the day. Taxes like Prop E are regressive, but we think the pros outweigh the cons. We say yes.

  Prop F: Pier 70

The Pier 70 project is exactly what we had in mind when voters approved Prop B in 2013 - public access to the waterfront, parks, affordable housing and local jobs, all with public buy-in. It is supported by a broad coalition including Sierra Club, affordable housing advocates and neighborhood associations. This is development that the City should be building and we say yes. (Fun fact: Remember Prop B from June, that said future development along the waterfront would have to be approved by voters? Ta-da!)

  Prop G: Anti-Speculation Tax

People are buying up properties in the City as short-term investments. This type of speculation is driving up housing prices. This measure will disincentivize this kind of flipping, so people buy houses because they want to live in them—not to make money off them. There is already a transfer tax on sales of real estate in the City. Prop G would add an additional tax for certain multi-unit residential buildings when the owner sells them within five years of purchase. The tax rate would decrease the longer the owner held it. Harvey Milk was trying to pass legislation similar to this when he was killed in 1978. This is loooooong overdue. We say HELL YES!

  Props H/I: Grass vs Fake Turf

There are two grass-related propositions on the ballot (no, not that kind of grass). There’s Prop H: “Requiring Certain Golden Gate Park Athletic Fields To Be Kept As Grass With No Artificial Lighting” put on by the Coalition to save Golden Gate Park. And, there’s Prop I: “Renovation of Playgrounds, Walking Trails, and Athletic Fields” put on the ballot by the Board of Supes. One is pro-grass and the other pro-fake turf.  Artificial turf is already in use in several fields across the city, and the lower maintenance and increased playing time it offers make it a sound like a better option… unless you are worried about the smell of tires in the air. What about environmental, human, and animal health threats posed by toxic chemicals in plastic turf and the rubber tire crumb infill? We’re also wary of the impact on the natural aquifer that underlies these fields (which will soon be used to supplement the City’s potable water supply), combined sewer overflow discharges into the ocean, and the precedent set for SF parks and the rest of the California Coast. There’s also concern that the “nicer” soccer fields that use the artificial turf will stop being used for pick-up soccer and become pay-for-use fields. At our endorsement meeting, there was a half and half split between those for and against Prop H (giving us a no endorsement) and an overwhelming vote against Prop I. If both measures were to lose, Rec and Park would have to go through the public process on a park-by-park basis, which we think would be better. We say you choose on Prop H, but vote no on Prop I.

  Prop J: Raise The Minimum Wage

The City has a humongous income gap. Prop J would raise our local minimum wage from $10.74 to $15 an hour by 2018, increasing the wages of 142,000 SF workers. The measure is part of labor and community groups’ regional referendum seeking to raise the minimum wage in a number of Bay Area cities this November. We know from cities like San Jose that raising the minimum wage benefits women and people of color and has minimal effects on the overall price of food and goods in businesses who employ minimum wage workers. We say HELL YES!

  Prop K: Affordable Housing

Our votes were split on Prop K and it landed us with no endorsement. We totally get how not taking a position on this ballot measure might be confusing--affordable housing is one of our top priorities, right? Well, what started out as a gutsy piece of legislation by Sup. Jane Kim got watered down to a non-binding policy statement. The League is pretty allergic to policy statements (especially for issues we need real action on), and the legislation doesn’t really clarify what the definition of “affordable” is. Prop K proponents say that if the Mayor and developers don’t stick to the terms, they’ll put something stronger on the ballot in 2015 during the Mayoral election. Okay, but why not just do that now, and why not have stronger terms as part of this legislation? Anyway, it’s not gonna hurt if you vote yes, but it won’t bring about the huge shift in the stock of affordable housing that our elected officials should be working towards. No position. Womp womp.

  Prop L: Policy Regarding Transportation Priorities

A group called “Restore Transportation Balance” is behind this initiative, which would not enact any binding legislation or directly change any city laws. It would, however, establish SF’s transportation and parking policies. This would stop the city from: charging parking meter fees on Sundays or holidays or longer hours; putting new meters in neighborhoods without consent from the affected residents and businesses; or increasing parking garage, meter or ticket rates for at least five years. It would also require the city to enforce traffic laws "equally for everyone using San Francisco's streets and sidewalks" (we assume this is a dig at bicyclists?) and require representation for motorists in the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. This is all in direct opposition to SF’s goal of becoming a transit-first city. Without the ability to recover costs from cars (which take up more than their share of space, budget, and energy), we’ll get more and more gridlocked as SF’s population grows. We say HELL NO!

  Want to pass progressive policies? Meet the League of Pissed Off Voters

We're a bunch of political geeks in a torrid but troubled love affair with San Francisco. We’re blessed to live in America’s most progressive city, but we’re cursed to live in a city where most of the youth who grow up here can’t afford to live here. Frisco has its own dark history of injustice: redevelopment, environmental racism, the "old boys" network. All of us lucky enough to enjoy the San Francisco magic owe it to our City to fight to keep it diverse, just, and healthy. What are you doing to make a difference?

This voter guide (our 18th in SF!) is how we educate our friends and peers on the issues, excite pissed off progressive voters, and remind sellout politicians that we’re paying attention.

  Hang Out with the League!

Want to get involved, got a question about this stuff, or just wanna have a drink with us?

Join us at happy hour & come party on Election Night!  Stay up to date:

facebook.com/theLeagueSF

twitter.com/theLeagueSF

theLeagueSF.tumblr.com

Head over to Bender's for happy hour this Friday, September 26th at 7:00 PM.

We will be announcing our endorsements for the November election. To start off the evening, we'll be taking suggestions to rename some of the propositions on the ballot. Bring your catchy titles! We'll have our typical happy hour boozy political banter.  If you are still around at 9pm, stay for Punk Rock & Schlock Karaoke. Huge songbook, cheap drinks. You can't lose.

https://www.facebook.com/events/758070930930554/

Bender's Bar and Grill

806 S Van Ness Ave @ 19th

The grand staircase in San Francisco City Hall's Rotunda is one of the City's most dramatic locations. Harvey Milk was a big fan of the stairs. In the movie Milk, Harvey tells Cleve Jones: "When you come here, I want you to wear the tightest jeans possible. Never blend in. And no elevators. Ever. Always take the stairs, you can make such a grand entrance going up the stairs".

The stairs have also seen some darker scenes. May 13, 1960 is known as "Black Friday." Students protesting a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Un-American Activities were washed down the stairs by police with fire hoses!

The stairway and rotunda will always be linked to the struggle for marriage equality, and since that victory, they’ve been the scene for countless gay marriages.

Here's a picture from this year when immigration and domestic violence activists celebrated the passage of John Avalos's Due Process for All ordinance.

And here's a selfie of some League members taken after we got the updated results of the 2013 election.

And then . . . last night, Twitter rented out City Hall for their holiday party. Here's the scene with their CEO giving a speech and (presumably) all of their big shots at the top of the stairs.

I mean, it's not like there is any perception that the mayor is in Twitter's pocket, right? Also, this is pretty pic.twitter.com/B1t63pWDr9

— màt (@mat)

December 20, 2013

#celebrate Twitter Holiday Party! CEO Dick Costolo's speech. https://t.co/lhRXCsJtKo

— Claire Pasquier (@artiste)

December 20, 2013

Now we know that anyone can rent out City Hall and lots of people have lavish parties there. But in the wake of the Twitter tax break and the way the Mayor genuflects before the tech industry, it's a little disconcerting to see the lavish spread and twitter logo projected on the wall batsignal-style.

This is the undercover cop who beat both DJ and Orlando. His nickname is "Freckles." He has no business being a police officer in San Francisco.‪#‎Justice4DJ‬

Rally Tuesday 11/19 at 5 p.m. at Valencia and Rosa Parks Lane. Then march to Mission Police Station.

The Bite-Sized Ballot

Prop A - Retiree Healthcare NothingBurger - No Endorsement

Prop B & C - Luxury Condos on the Embarcadero - Hell No!

Prop D - Clumsy Symbolic Well-Meaning Rx Drug Statement - No

Candidates without Competition :(

Assessor-Recorder - No Endorsement

City Attorney - No Endorsement

Treasurer-Tax Collector - No Endorsement

District 4 Supervisor - No Endorsement

Prop A - Complicated (and pointless?) health care finance rule changes

In 2008, voters approved the creation of a Retiree Health Care Trust Fund to put money aside for retired City workers’ health care. Prop A would add restrictions on when the City could dip into that before it’s fully funded. The idea is to leave that money alone so it can gather interest and become self-sustaining. All of the Supervisors & the Mayor agree on this--but here’s the thing. They could just decide not to touch the money, rather than passing this extra law. Prop A also has confusing provisions that would allow the City to use the fund if two-thirds of the Supes, the Mayor, Controller, and Trust Fund Board all agree. So what’s the point of this thing? We don’t think Prop A is evil or scary, but we couldn’t come to a consensus on it. Some of us trust the City bean counters who endorse it. Some of us suspect that Supe Mark Farrell--the lead sponsor--is just using this to pad his resume for future political adventures. No endorsement - you make the call.

Props B & C - We Don’t Need More $5 Million Condos!

Both B and C deal with the proposal to build 134 luxury condos at 8 Washington Street, just north of the Ferry Building. Average tag? $5 million!! The towers would be twelve stories high, even though the area’s only zoned for eight stories. The project also includes a 320-space garage...even though it’s surrounded by public transit. The Board of Supervisors approved this whack project, but neighborhood activists gathered signatures for Prop C, to shoot it down. Then the developers put Prop B on the ballot to try to make their lame condos sound awesome. We need housing for normal people, not millionaires. Say Hell No to both B and C, cause if either one passes, developers will make bank building condos for the 1%.

Prop D - Prescription drug policy statement

This is a symbolic policy statement (ie, it doesn’t actually do anything). It asks the City to try and lower its prescription drug costs by negotiating with drug companies and by asking state & federal reps to sponsor legislation to reduce drug prices. It’s an ok idea, but SF doesn’t buy enough drugs to negotiate wholesale prices. Maybe California could? Ideally, we wish drug prices were regulated on a federal level. This prop was put on the ballot by an LA org that marched into SF without buy-in from the SF AIDS advocacy groups who’ve been fighting this fight at home for decades. It’s not terrible, it just tries to tackle very complicated procedures with a broad statement and without the support of local orgs. We say no.

Candidates

All of the candidates running for office this year are unopposed incumbents (technically Katy Tang has an opponent, but he has no website, campaign, or platform). This is lame! We think it’s a sign of unhealthy democracy that we don’t even have a choice. So why isn’t anyone running? well, it’s insanely expensive…and challengers have a massive electoral disadvantage running against incumbents. The citywide races (non-Supervisor and non-Mayor) have no term limits and no public financing, so we’re stuck with these career politicians till they decide to bow out. Even if they’re ok at their jobs, that’s problematic.

Speaking of unhealthy democracy, we’ve noticed a troubling trend: the Mayor appoints politicians to elected offices, who then win the next election primarily because of the advantage of incumbency. In fact, wait...that’s how we got this Mayor! So how do we fix this? We think all appointees should be ‘seatwarmers’ - legally prohibited from running when their position opens up.

Since we don’t have a choice for these races, we’re not endorsing candidates. Instead we’re focusing on what we want to see. If we were in these offices, here’s what we’d do:

Assessor-Recorder: (Incumbent: Carmen Chu) They’re responsible for assessing property taxes. And most of that comes from big skyscrapers downtown. The Assessor should be all up in the business of the corporations that own those buildings, because every time a building changes hands, they owe Real Estate Transfer Tax. Instead, the (appointed) incumbent is buddy-buddy with the Building Owners and Managers Association. That sucks. 

City Attorney: (Incumbent: Dennis Herrera) A progressive City Attorney would have more guts to stand up to the fat cat companies (like PG&E, AT&T and big banks) who get way too many breaks in this town. The incumbent has done good things like support gay marriage (but does that give you street cred in SF?), protect workers who were getting ripped off on health coverage, try to save City College, and go after Nevada for patient dumping. On the other hand, we’re hugely opposed to his use of gang injunctions, which disproportionately criminalize youth of color.

Treasurer-Tax Collector: (Incumbent: José Cisneros) Instead of putting the City’s money in crappy big banks, the Treasurer should be setting up a municipal bank (North Dakota has one! Supervisor John Avalos is working to make this happen in SF). The incumbent has done some good stuff (work against predatory payday lenders, enact financial literacy initiatives, even ask banks to improve their policies) but he doesn’t seem ready to take the big step of setting up our own bank to compete with the corporate goliaths.

Supervisor for District 4 (The Sunset): (Incumbent: Katy Tang) Before she was recently appointed by the Mayor, Tang was an aide for the previous D4 Supe, Carmen Chu -- who was just appointed Assessor. Before that they worked together in the Mayor’s budget office. We had hopes that Tang would be different than her conservative predecessor, but so far, no such luck. She opposes CleanPowerSF and she worked to weaken the Due Process for All ordinance, using fear-mongering language about SF becoming a “safe haven” for criminal immigrants. She’s also raised over $150,000--including a pile of money from developers & people with business with the city. What does she need all that cash for when she’s essentially running unopposed? We say “No Endorsement”. 

UPDATE: Mike Murphy is a qualified write-in candidate for District 4 Supervisor. He's running on a progressive platform focused on "stopping the revolving door" of unelected appointees in City Hall, opposing the privatization of our parks, and supporting sustainable development instead of condos for billionaires. He got into the race too late for our endorsement process, but if you live in the Sunset, check him out at murphy4supe.wordpress.com and decide for yourself if you want to write in his name on your ballot.

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Our City is Changing

Housing in San Francisco is out of control. Ellis Act evictions are up 81% in the past year. No one we know can afford to buy a home here (most of us can barely afford rent). Tech wealth, displacement, the shriveling of cultural diversity in our neighborhoods - even issues like the America’s Cup boondoggle or the sword hanging over City College. It all seems to be part of a trend. Well, fuck. What can we do about it?

RENT CONTROL!

If you live in a rent controlled unit, your landlord can only increase your rent once a year . The percentage varies depending on your move in date, but typically the increase is less than 3%. State law (Costa-Hawkins) limits rent controlled buildings to anything built before 1980. Costa-Hawkins also prevents commercial properties from being covered by rent control, which means there is no way to prevent businesses from being evicted.

If we have rent control, why are so many people getting evicted?

Not all units are covered by rent control. Units that aren’t covered (buildings constructed after 1980, dorms, residential hotels, subsidized housing) can have their rent raised by any amount at any time. The Ellis Act gives landlords the option to “go out of business.” This means they can evict all of the tenants in a building (they can’t single out just one), and take the units off the market. They can not rent them for 5 years after evictions, unless they are rented at the previous rental rate. 

Policy Solutions

Increase the Affordable Housing Requirements - Currently, when developers build new market rate housing, they have to make 10% of the units affordable, or build the equivalent of 15% somewhere else in the City. That’s just not enough--especially for super-luxury projects like 8 Washington. The affordability requirement should have a progressive structure--the higher the price of the new housing, the more affordable units they should have to build. Remember, supervisors have power to change the planning code to add development perks (if they want to get more of something like parking or height, require they build more affordable units, or build units on site).

Linking Affordable & Market-Rate Housing - Right now, the affordable housing requirement is regressive: whether you're building $10 million penthouses or modest Bayview duplexes, you have to make 10% of them affordable. That's stupid, because the different projects have very different impacts on affordability. 

The fancier a new building is, the more jobs appear to provide services to the new residents. But since those service industry jobs don’t pay enough to afford market rate housing, we need more affordable housing to keep the balance - and the developers should foot the bill.

Protect our Flavor - Rising rents push out non-profits and arts orgs. We need creative solutions to save the spirit of the City: new office buildings could be required to donate space to non-profits, or we could extend rent control to nonprofits. 

Moratorium on New Market Rate Housing - The nuclear option. A lot of people argue that we have to live with this issue because of “supply and demand”. But because SF is so small and there’s so much demand, it’s not that simple. Yes, we need to build a lot more housing ‘to increase supply’, but if 90% of it is market rate, how many units do we have to build before rents come down? 10,000 units? 50k? 100k?

Legalize in-law units. Most ‘in-law’ units are attached to single family properties, and are unauthorized. The Asian Law Caucus estimates there are tens of thousands of these units, which are a significant source of low income housing. Each year 50-100 units are lost because they are not compliant. Why not bring the units up to code and convert them to legal housing? Then let homeowners create more in-law units to add to the mix!

Get creative. Luxury high-rises aren’t the only way to build more units. What about unused commercial spaces? Parking lots? This would create housing without displacing residents or businesses.

Adjust parking limits: Developers try to include as many parking spots as possible but ⅓ of homes in SF do not own cars. Parking takes up space that could be used for more units - plus it creates more traffic, impacts transit, and changes the demographics of the city.

Prioritize the people who already live here: The City could invest in loans and grants to help everyday San Franciscans stay in their homes or become homeowners. LA has city-funded short term rental assistance! It costs less than finding replacement housing once the renter is evicted, or than providing the services needed when people are homeless.

We also need stabilization of existing housing. If there is a bad history of Ellis evictions or TIC conversions by a particular landlord or developer, we could make it more difficult to merge units, demolish, or convert properties.

 Real estate speculators who buy a property but let current residents stay could get a tax break. And what about roommate legislation? That way, if the tenant who’s on the lease moves out but their roommates stay, the unit would still be considered occupied and rent increases would not apply.

Adjust Relocation Fees 

Tim Redmond, formerly of the Guardian, suggested a strategy on his new blog. The Ellis Act is state law, so it’s hard to fight, but the SF BoS controls the size of the relocation fees developers pay to evicted tenants when they use the Ellis Act within the City. Why not drastically up the fee so it provides tenants a realistic chance of buying a home here, and simultaneously squashes the landlord’s financial reward for turfing out our neighbors? 

Eat the rich - SF is an incredibly desirable place to live and do business, and it’s the diverse neighborhoods, immigrants, artists, do-gooders, and dreamers who make it that way - not the millionaires. If corporations and rich people want a slice of our awesome, they should pay their fair share;  progressive taxes & fees can fund housing and services to keep the city affordable.

Get Involved - This city is still 70% tenants. If we stick together and have each other’s backs we have a ton of power. Landlords and developers can only get away with quietly evicting our neighbors for so long.  Politicians running for office in a city full of renters need to be reminded that they cannot be elected (or reelected) without the support of renters. You can help - check out these organizations working against displacement and economic injustice in the City:

Direct Action for the 99%

These folks are all doing badass work in SF. If you like us, you’ll love them.

Causa Justa Just Cause - cjjc.org

Eviction Free Summer - evictionfreesummer.wordpress.com/

POWER - peopleorganized.org

SF Rising - sfrising.org

Tenants Together - tenantstogether.org

SF Tenant’s Union - sftu.org

Eviction Defense Collaborative - evictiondefense.org

Legal Assistance to the Elderly - laesf.org

Who is the League of Pissed Off Voters?

We're a bunch of political geeks in a torrid but troubled love affair with San Francisco. We’re blessed to live in America’s most progressive city, but we’re cursed to live in a city where most of the youth who grow up here can’t afford to live here. Frisco has its own dark history of injustice: redevelopment, environmental racism, the "old boys" network. All of us lucky enough to enjoy the San Francisco magic owe it to our City to fight to keep it diverse, just, and healthy. What are you doing to make a difference?

This voter guide (our 16th in SF!) is how we educate our friends and peers on the issues, excite pissed off progressive voters, and remind sellout politicians that we’re paying attention.

We’re into

affordable housing not luxury condos

CleanPowerSF not dirty PG&E power

progressive taxation not budget cuts

equal rights not immigration raids

diverse neighborhoods not downtown interests

Know Your Voting Rights

October 21, 2013 is the deadline to register to vote. Online Voter registration is finally here! Register to vote online: http://RegisterToVote.ca.gov

Election day is November 5th, 7am - 8pm. Call 311 to find your polling place or go towww.smartvoter.org Also, anyone can vote at City Hall.

Early voting at City Hall: Weekdays from 8-5 starting on October 7th; then, starting the 26th, 10-4 on weekends too!

As long as you're not on felony parole, you can vote. Even if you've committed a felony or you're on probation, you can register & vote. Don’t let the Man disenfranchise you.

Voter Fraud Hotline: See something shady on Election Day? (800) 345-VOTE

Questions?  See http://sfelections.org/tools/voterkit/ or call 311!

Hang Out with the League!

Want to get involved, got a question about this stuff, or just wanna have a drink with us? Come to our monthly Happy Hour (Third Mondays) & come party on Election Night!  Stay up to date on all our events and local news at:

facebook.com/theLeagueSF

twitter.com/theLeagueSF

theLeagueSF.tumblr.com

theLeague.com/sf

At Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Scott Wiener delayed the vote on his controversial proposal to make it illegal to be in City parks after Midnight. There was a funny moment during the meeting that might explain why: in the background of this video clip, you can watch Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg (who supports the ordinance) talk to Supervisor Malia Cohen (who is one of the swing votes) for over seven minutes! It sure looks like he's trying to convince her to support the ordinance, and from her body language, it doesn't look like Supervisor Cohen is convinced!

To protest the ordinance, several League members participated in a "sleep-in" in Dolores Park Monday night with the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the Coalition on Homelessness, and others.

The Milk Club is asking for help in calling the swing Supervisors (Malia Cohen, Katy Tang, and London Breed) to ask them to oppose the ordinance. Get more info here:

http://www.facebook.com/events/764970943528642/

Have you heard about this "Stop San Francisco Shell Shock"? If you live in the City and you use Facebook, google, or Pandora, odds are you've probably seen these misleading ads. In a nutshell, this is a last ditch attempt by PG&E’s union to block CleanPowerSF--the program to give San Franciscans the choice of buying 100% clean energy. CleanPowerSF is the single biggest step the City can take to directly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change, and PG&E’s gang is doing everything they can to stop it. Here's the super short version: - Do you want to have the option of switching to 100% renewable electricity? If so, you should support CleanPowerSF. Here’s the Facebook page to find out more: http://www.facebook.com/IHeartCleanPowerSF - Or would you rather continue PG&E's monopoly on electricity service in the City and continue to have no choice except to buy their dirty energy? If so, then forget about CleanPowerSF and feel free to click on those misleading "Stop the Shell Shock" ads. When we try to figure out complicated or obscure local political arguments, we like to start by looking at who is supporting which side. This one is pretty clear: Who Supports CleanPowerSF? 350.org SF Bay Area Sierra Club SF League of Conservation Voters World Wildlife Fund 350 Bay Area SF Organizing for America Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano John Avalos, David Campos, David Chiu, Jane Kim, Eric Mar, Ross Mirkarimi, Scott Wiener  And of course, the League of Pissed Off Voters! And Who Opposes CleanPowerSF? IBEW Local 1245 (Union of PG&E employees) Mayor Ed Lee (who says PG&E is "a great corporation") Carmen Chu, Sean Elsbernd, Mark Farrell And that's about it. But Doesn't Shell Suck? Yes, unfortunately the initial contract for CleanPowerSF is with Shell, which is a big ugly energy corporation. BUT: - Shell's only role is to buy 100% renewable electricity for us on the wholesale market and deliver it to the City. None of our money will go to fossil fuels. - The wholesale electricity market is big and complicated and unfortunately full of shady corporations. Shell was the only company willing to take on this first phase of setting up the contracts to buy 20 megawatts of clean energy.   - This is a short-term (4.5 years) contract to get CleanPowerSF up and running. After that, the Public Utilities Commission can either take over the program themselves or make a new contract with someone else. What's Happening with CleanPowerSF Now?

Unfortunately, nothing. The Board of Supervisors approved the contract back in last September. The last step that needs to happen is the Public Utilities Commission needs to approve the maximum rate for CleanPowerSF. But, the PUC commissioners are all appointed by the Mayor--friend of PG&E who opposes CleanPowerSF--and he's been leaning on them hard to stall or kill the program.  But it's getting harder and harder for them to delay. The PUC staff has dramatically improved the program since the Supervisors originally approved the contract last year: the price has decreased dramatically while also dedicating more money to building local renewable energy sources.   

What Can You do to Help?

Email the Public Utilities Commission (and please CC us and the Board of Supervisors!) and tell them to quit messing around and approve the "not-to-exceed" rates for CleanPowerSF! Seriously, email them now! They're voting Tuesday, August 13th at 1:30 p.m. Here's our email you can use as an example:

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To: Public Utilities Commission ([email protected]), Board of Supervisors ([email protected]), League of Pissed Off Voters ([email protected])  Dear Public Utilities Commission,

Please vote to approve the proposed not-to-exceed rate for CleanPowerSF at your August 13th meeting. It’s been almost a year since the Board of Supervisors approved the contract for CleanPowerSF! Since then, you have discussed and deliberated and debated these rates to death. We understand you have concerns about what mix of renewable energy CleanPowerSF will have, where the energy will come from, and how much local power generation we’ll be able to build. We’re concerned about all that too. But here’s the thing: we can’t make progress on any of that until you approve the dang not-to-exceed rates! 

So please, no more splitting hairs or speculating on the future details of the program. Approve the not-to-exceed rates. That will give the Board of Supervisors their opportunity to evaluate the rates, and then the City can FINALLY sign the contract and get on to implementing CleanPowerSF. Once that happens, we’ll be right there with you to make sure we’re building as much green power as we can, as quickly as we can, with local, union labor. 

The threats of global climate change are too dire and too imminent for any further delay or debate. CleanPowerSF is the single biggest step we can take as a City to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and set an example for the rest of the country. Please approve the not-to-exceed rates for CleanPowerSF and let’s make this happen!

There’s a nasty fight going on at City Hall where tenants and working-class homeowners are being pitted against each other. It’s a complex, wonky issue about allowing Tenancies in Common (TICs) to convert to condominiums, but it has huge ramifications for renters in the City.

There are three sides to this issue: renters, TIC owners AND the real-estate industry.  It is apparent that something needs to be done to create more affordable housing in San Francisco, but while this legislation promises us some, it also means losing 2600 properties to condo conversions – and it’s a signal to the real estate industry that it’s open season on evicting more tenants to create more TICs. That’s not the right way to create new affordable housing.

  For some background on this legislation, and on the League, see the end of this letter. Here, we’ll lay out the League’s position.

  The cliff notes version:

The proposed compromise on TIC-condo conversions makes us nervous. We’d be more comfortable with voting this whole legislation down and keeping the current system. But we’re standing by our allies in the tenant groups who have lived and breathed this issue for years. We support the current compromise, but it can’t be watered down any further.

  Why is this so important for renters?

State law basically says that once something is exempt from rent control, it is forever. The City exempts condos from rent control - so once it’s converted, that unit can never be regulated again. Right now, there are hundreds of tenants who are renting units in TIC buildings. This legislation would put them at risk of losing their rent control.

  The original legislation was, frankly, pretty scary - but it might contain some benefits for tenants, in the form of proposed amendments that came out of months of negotiations. There are two big wins for tenants in the amendments submitted by Supervisors Chiu, Yee and Kim – the 10 year moratorium on the lottery and the exclusion of 5 and 6 unit buildings from the condo lottery going forward. This 10 years of breathing room, we are told, will give pro-tenant organizations time to tackle some state laws like the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act and the Ellis Act. But not everyone is supporting this “win” for tenants, and we fear there are more changes on the way once this reaches the full Board of Supervisors. The expected efforts to change this legislation include taking away the language about the 10 year moratorium and eliminating the owner residence requirements.

  So what’s the League all pissed about?

We don’t like legislation that moves the goal posts. TIC owners bought their TICs knowing the rules of the lottery. Changing the rules now – even with the 10 year moratorium – signals to the real estate industry that they might be able to change the rules again. We want to see the lottery go away altogether and stop TICs from being converted into condos.

  In an ideal world, we would have added more amendments: We think the $4,000 to $20,000 fee for TICs to convert is too small. Ideally, the fee should cover the cost of building a replacement unit. Or at least, there shouldn't be discounts below $20,000. We want to have an oversight agency to see the conversions through so that no “dirty” properties are able to convert. We also want to make sure that the lifetime leases can be enforced on a local and state level.

  So we’re down to make this deal, but don’t fuck with us. No more giveaways to the real estate industry. It may not be a pro-tenant Board of Supervisors anymore, but it's still a pro-tenant City. And if the Board gives in to the realtors, San Francisco renters will take this shit to the ballot.

  What’s this all about anyway?

A Tenancy in Common (TIC) is basically a pseudo-condo where the residents in a building share joint ownership. They’re riskier than condos because if your neighbor defaults on his mortgage, it could mess you up too. Because they’re riskier, they’re cheaper than condos, which means that a lot of people who can’t afford condos roll the dice and buy TICs instead. Because their riskier, TIC owners pay higher interest rates than condo owners. Every year there’s a lottery to allow 200 TICs to convert to condos. When a TIC becomes a condo, the owners pay about $10,000 in fees, but they can get lower interest rates, and their home becomes instantly more valuable.

  The good thing about TICs is they allow additional folks a chance to buy a home in the City. The down side, is that they’re usually created by landlords evicting or somehow displacing tenants and permanently removing rent-controlled apartments from the market. The TIC lottery is supposed to balance these competing interests. The reason we can’t allow all of the TICs to convert to condos is because that would create tremendous pressure for landlords to evict their tenants and convert their buildings into TICs.

  Back in June of last year, Supervisors Mark Farrell and Scott Weiner introduced legislation so that TIC owners could bypass the lottery (where only 200 TICs are converted per year) and pay a one time conversion fee to convert their TICs into condos. The legislation was brought before the Board of Supervisors Land Use Committee in January, and that’s really when the shit hit the fan. In the past few months, there have been negotiations on all sides to try to find some compromise.

  Who is the League of Pissed Off Voters?

We’re a bunch of political geeks in a torrid but troubled love affair with San Francisco. We’re blessed to live in America’s most progressive city, but we’re cursed to live in a city where way too many of the youth who grow up here won’t be able to afford to live here. Frisco has its own dark history of injustice: redevelopment, environmental racism, the “old boys” network. All of us lucky enough to enjoy the San Francisco magic owe it to our City to fight to keep it a diverse, just, and healthy City. We’ve published 15 consecutive voter guides to educate our friends and peers on the issues, excite pissed off progressive voters, and remind sellout politicians that we’re paying attention.

  The San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters

http://theleague.com/sf

http://facebook.com/theleaguesf

http://twitter.com/theleaguesf

So, what happened?  How'd we do?  What's the results?  

 Here's one of our members perspectives: 

Waking up (a little groggy after the awesome party at El Rio last night), here's what I see:

 First, let's not breeze by the biggest victory this election -- two leaders in the progressive movement, Supervisor David Campos (9) and Supervisor John Avalos (11) have built such a strong community of supporters and are so well-liked and clearly unbeatable that the downtown money didn't even run a candidate against them. That, in itself, is a huge victory and it's important we acknowledge that. Much of the rest of this couldn't have happened if we volunteer energy was needed in these other neighborhoods.

Second, President David Chiu, while he's occasionally voted against our stance, has been a pretty consistent leader and vote for many of the things we believe in. And, he, too, faced no serious challengers from the Downtown landlords.

 Now, onto the victory -- $940,000 and counting was spent for David Lee(or against Eric Mar).  That's more than any other Supervisor race in SF history -- and keep in mind, Supervisors used to be city-wide, so they needed a heck of a lot more money!  But, thanks to the early, silent victory of Campos and Avalos running unopposed, people were able to focus their energy in this hugely important race.  The Mar campaign was run well and, I think Supervisor Mar said it best to the SF Weekly: "We're going to show the big business groups that they cannot mess with our communities, and that we will kick their ass every single fucking time."

 In District 1, we pulled out a huge victory -- Richmond residents were being drowned in anti-Mar literature from the big landlords and moneyed interests, and, yet, with the League of Pissed Off Voters and hundreds of other volunteers, Eric Mar won. This decisive victory --14 points -- sends a clear message that you can't just buy an election in San Francisco. And we should all be damn proud of that.

 And, let's not forget District 7 -- the Westside -- who knows how that will go. We'll have to wait and see, but right now, whether it's Mr. Yee or Mr. Crowley, it’s not Sean Elsbernd's hand-picked crony, Mike Garcia. That, too, is a win for San Francisco's young people, renters, and MUNI riders.

 Finally, the shit storm that was District 5... Christina Olague's campaign just didn't come together until about three weeks before election day. Simply, you can't win an election in that short of time. Julian Davis had seemed hopeful, but after the response to allegations, most people were so turned off, he was dead in the water. John Rizzo actually started to pick up steam in the last two weeks, as well -- but that just doesn't work.  So, we're left with London Breed. The good part, is that she's spent all election cycle proclaiming she's for rent control and that we all just had her wrong -- let's hope so.  London Breed is a young black woman who grew up in government housing in the Western Addition. She is a true homegrown SF leader, and that is cool! She was put into office by the community she was raised in and by and now we have to hope that her allegiance is to that same community and not the big money elite who gave her the $200,000+ to help her win

 And -- let's not forget the local ballot measures.  The SF League had a five out of six -- that's pretty huge, too.

Printable Voter Guide: http://bit.ly/sfvoterguide

November 2012 elections are November 6th, 2012 and the SF League of Pissed Off Voters are back with another real-talk Voter Guide to help you know you're best bets in the voting booth.  

Before we get started a few quick notes: 

Election day is November 6th, 7am - 8pm. Call 311 to find your polling place or go to www.smartvoter.org Also, anyone can vote at City Hall.

Early voting at City Hall: Weekdays from 8-5, weekends from 10-4!

As long as you're not on felony parole, you can vote. Even if you've committed a felony or you're on probation, you can register & vote. Don’t let the Man disenfranchise you.

Voter Fraud Hotline: See something shady on Election Day? (800) 345-VOTE

Questions?  See http://sfelections.org/tools/voterkit/ or call 311!

Now, for the Quick Rundown:

President - Barack Obama U.S. Senate - No Endorsement House of Representatives, District 12 - No Endorsement House of Representatives, District 14 - Jackie Speier State Senate District 11 - Mark Leno State Assembly District 19 - Phil Ting State Assembly District 17 - Tom Ammiano California Propositions Prop 30 - Sales Tax & Progressive Income Tax for Schools - HELL YES! Prop 31 - Two Year Budget + Sketchy Business - No Prop 32 - Screw Unions and Protect Corporations - HELL NO! Prop 33 - Car Insurance Shadiness...Again - No Prop 34 - Repeal the Death Penalty - HELL YES! Prop 35 - Troubling Human Trafficking Bill - Reluctant No Prop 36 - Reform the ‘Three Strikes’ Law -  HELL YES! Prop 37 - Label Genetically Modified Foods - Yes Prop 38 - Tax the Rich for Schools - HELL YES! Prop 39 - Close “Multistate” Corporate Tax Loophole - Yes Prop 40 - Reaffirm the State Redistricting System - Yes Local Ballot Measures Prop A - Parcel (a kind of Property) Tax to Save City College - Yes Prop B - Borrow Money for Park Construction & Repair - Reluctant No Prop C - Affordable Housing Trust Fund - HELL YES! Prop D - Consolidate Odd-Year Elections - No Endorsement Prop E - Reform the City’s Business Tax - HELL YES!   Prop F - Mula to Study Hetch Hetchy Tear Down - No Prop G - Symbolic Stand Against Corporate Personhood - Yes Board of Supervisors District 1 (The Richmond) Eric Mar

District 3 (Downtown) David Chiu 

District 5 (Haight / Western Addition / Panhandle / Inner Sunset)  No Endorsement

District 7 (The Westside)  #1 Norman Yee #2 Francis Xavier Crowley

District 9 (Mission & Bernal)  David Campos

District 11 (Excelsior / OMI)  John Avalos BART Director, District 7 Margaret L. Gordon

BART Director, District 9 Tom Radulovich Board of Education (4 seats) Shamann Walton Gladys Soto Sandra Lee Fewer Kim Garcia-Meza

Ready for the full breakdown of state propositions & local races? Keep reading! 

Statewide Ballot Measures

Props 30 & 38 - Temporary Taxes to Fund Education & Tax to Fund Education and Early Childhood Programs - Yes These are both taxes on (mostly) the rich which will plug the gaping hole in CA’s education budget. If both pass, the one with the more votes wins -- and they’re both pretty good.  We wish Sacramento would find a more consistent way to fund education (like repealing Prop 13!), but in the meantime vote ‘Yes’ to keep our schools above water. For the kids, yo! Prop 31 Two Year Budget + Sketchy Business - No So this calls itself a nonpolitical “good government” Prop - it changes timing on some State budget stuff, gives local governments that band together “authority to develop their own procedures for administering state programs” (including the opportunity to ignore state law, which is worrying) and a bunch of other misc stuff. Hidden in with the innocuous bits is a clause that gives the Governor power (in a “fiscal emergency”, which happens like every twenty minutes in CA) to “slash spending”, i.e. cut vital programs and services. Unilaterally. As much as s/he wants. This sounds like a right-wing Trojan Horse to us...vote No! Prop 32 Screw Unions and Protect Corporations HELL NO! This is the evil stepson of the terrible Citizens United Supreme Court decision that allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited $ in elections. Citizens United treated corporations & unions the same (gave them more rights to political speech) when they really aren’t (since when you give money to the political action committee of your union you’re trying to make a statement & you have a say in what it is, whereas when you buy groceries at Safeway you’re not & you don’t). This Prop plays a similar trick - it pretends to reduce the political power of both unions & businesses but really just hoses unions. It prevents either from taking contributions for political advocacy via payroll deduction. But corporations don’t do that - they just use money from their profits. Since unions have no profits, they ask members to contribute to their political work - and most members do so by deducting $ from their checks. Banning that cripples unions but allows corporations to continue to spend unlimited money to block safety & environmental laws, elect friendly politicians, & generally screw over people like you. We are the 99% - Hell No on 32! Prop 33 - Auto Insurance Companies. Prices Based on Driver's History of Insurance Coverage - No This again? CA voted it down once in 2010 & the same insurance magnate paid for a signature drive to put it back on the ballot this year! This allows insurance companies to raise your car insurance rates if you have a gap in coverage...because, for instance, you decide to ride a bike instead for awhile, or have a financial crisis so sell your car & go without. Lamesauce. Vote No. Prop 34 Repeal the Death Penalty! - HELL YES! We’re not a fan of the f-ed up prison industrial complex, racial disparities in sentencing, or the systematic problems with our justice system. We’re also not a fan of killing people. Enough said. Proposition 35 - Human Trafficking. Penalties - Reluctant No So, um, this is awkward. We aren’t actually PRO human trafficking. Prop 35 would increase prison terms for human traffickers, require convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders for life and hand over the keys to all their internet accounts for life. While well-intended, Prop 35 doesn’t address behavioral problems, and it fuels the growth of the CA prison system. The wording is vague and has unintended consequences. It further criminalizes sex workers, most of whom are women, transgender and immigrant people. It will discourage sex workers from seeking help, and it channels money into victim’s services and non-profits that work hand-in-hand with law enforcement, ICE and Homeland Security (forget about safe harbor). We say, reluctantly, no. Proposition 36 - Reform Three Strikes Law! -  HELL YES! The messed up “three strikes” law mandates an automatic life sentence for your third felony...no matter what it is. This reforms the law to only impose a life sentence when the third felony conviction is for serious or violent crime. Our prison system is packed & unfair - we say hell yes! Proposition 37 - Label Genetically Modified Foods - YES GMOs? OMG! What are we eating? This would require all products that contain GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) to say so on the label. It’s not a warning label - just an FYI, to help keep people more educated about what they’re eating. Monsanto and all the huge food corporations are funding the campaign against it - big surprise. California is one of the largest consumer markets in the US, so if we start requiring labels identifying foods, the whole nation will benefit.  We say yes :) Prop 39 - Close “Multistate” Corporate Tax Loophole - Yes Right now, multi-state businesses (like Internet retailers or big chains) can pick how to pay CA’s corporate income tax, and so they may pick a formula that’s cheap for them. This prop would close the loophole, & would generate $1B a year! Some of that money’s promised for education and clean energy, which sounds good to us. Prop 40 - Reaffirm the State Redistricting System Ugh! Again? The voters first created the Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2008, and upheld it in 2010. Leave it alone, already. This prop basically just says it again, “Senators can’t cherry pick their districts.” Voting yes affirms the Commission’s borders. This is so old news that even the people who worked to get this on the ballot threw in the towel in mid-July, but the zombie proposition lives on. We say yes.... again. (Fun Fact: We actually opposed the 2008 proposition that created this Commission because it excludes anyone under the age of 23 and anyone who’s recently changed political parties.)

Local Ballot Measures Prop A -  Parcel Tax to Save City College - Yes This asks all property owners in SF to pay $79 a year to fund our (struggling but essential) community college. You or someone you know has probably taken classes at City, & it’s a lifeline for adult students, low income folks, & English language learners. Let’s save it! Prop B - Bond for Park Construction & Repair - Reluctant No It makes us sad to vote ‘against parks,’ but we have three good reasons. First, Rec & Park needs money to hire more gardeners, rec directors, lifeguards, etc...but this $ is only for construction/repair. Second, we don’t like how Rec & Park prioritizes renting out parks and rec centers to private groups. Park advocates have been fighting for years to keep these facilities free and public. What good are fancy new parks if we’re going to lease them to private groups? Third, this was originally scheduled for 2014, and right now they still have money from the last bond. Let’s try again in two years. Prop C - Affordable ‘Housing Trust Fund’ - HELL YES! When redevelopment agencies were dissolved, everyone rallied to find a new source of income to build affordable housing. Prop C will recapture property tax $ meant for those agencies, plus some of the new cash from Prop E (see below). It’d guarantee $1.2 billion over 30 years for affordable housing - we say hell yes! Prop D - Consolidate Odd-Year Elections - No endorsement This was a tough one, so we’ll leave it up to you. Right now, the City Attorney and Treasurer are elected in odd years, but not the same one that the Mayor, District Attorney and Sherriff is. This prop changes the election cycle so they are all elected in the same years. To sync things up, it shortens the term of City Attorney and Treasurer to two years from 2013-2015, but then they go back to being four year terms again. Some of us think it’s a great idea: electing the less-sexy City offices in the higher turnout Mayoral election years, save the City money, and save us all from election fatigue! But some of us also thought it was better to have City Attorney and Treasurer in their own election where the Mayor’s race wouldn’t distract from them. So, choose your own adventure! Prop E - Reform the City’s Business Tax - HELL YES! This would replace the City’s payroll tax (a tax on how much businesses pay their employees) with a tax on their gross receipts (how much money businesses make). This is has been in the works forever and we’re stoked it’s finally on the ballot. The payroll tax discourages businesses from hiring people. It’s also a flat (regressive) tax: small businesses pay the same rate as Wells Fargo and the Gap! And lots of fancy pants professionals (lawyers, architects, doctors, etc.) avoid the payroll tax because they’re considered “partners” not employees. The gross receipts tax will be progressive: big corporations pay a higher rate than Mom & Pops, and businesses that earn less than $1 million annually are exempt. Plus it’ll make SF $28M more a year, which we could seriously use for Muni or parks or other good stuff. Cool. Prop F - $8M to Study Hetch Hetchy Tear Down - No Right now, MUNI and all City-owned buildings get their power from the no-pollution-emitting O'Shaughnessy dam, which is awesome. Plus, the water is really tasty :) This Prop would allocate $8m to study what would happen if SF, which owns the dam, destroyed it and drained the Hetch Hetchy valley to have ‘a 2nd Yosemite.’ But actually doing that would cost billions, we’d lose green power, we’d have to spend more on electricity, and we’d use more energy pumping the water here. Plus the valley’s been submerged for nearly 100 years. We’d rather spend $8m on environmental priorities closer to home (like reducing asthma-causing pollution in poor neighborhoods) than on studying a plan to create a park for relatively wealthy hikers to enjoy decades from now. Prop G -  Symbolic Stand Against Corporate Personhood - Yes It’s really simple: corporations are not people, my friend. The idea of “Corporate Personhood” is a legal fiction that goes way, way back to scribbles in the margins of a note by Chief Justice Waite in 1886. If Prop G passes, it would be City sentiment that corporations do not have the same constitutional rights as real, alive, human people and should be subject to political spending limits. Of course, this wouldn’t be binding -- it’s just a policy statement. Still, it’s nice to say how we feel, so we say vote yes.

Board of Supervisors, District 1: Eric Mar Eric Mar is a thoughtful progressive whose presence on the Board of Supes ensures a slim majority for crucial stuff like rent control, clean energy, and Healthy SF. Downtown interests and real estate developers are pouring tons of cash into his opponent’s campaign, drooling at the chance to cash in on more condos. The City we love relies on Eric Mar - let’s keep him. Board of Supervisors, District 3: David Chiu

Board of Supervisors, District 5: No Endorsement In light of the recent political shit storm in D5, we have decided to not endorse a candidate. We won’t leave you completely hanging. Check it out -- the District 5 Action group put together a helpful questionnaire and comparison of the candidates: http://www.d5action.org/election_resources

Although the League will not make an official D5 endorsement, we need to make it clear that we cannot stand behind the politics of London Breed. She supported the civil-liberties squashing Sit/Lie law, she supported the shady Lennar development deal in Bayview/Hunters Point, and she is receiving massive funding from big landlords. While we were conflicted about Julian Davis and other candidates -- one thing we all agree on is: “Anybody but London Breed”.

Board of Supervisors, District 7 #1 Norman Yee Current Prez of the Board of Education, Norman’s been an active proponent for early childhood education, pedestrian safety, local hire and keeping families in SF.  He won’t be leading the charge on the left, but he’ll be a stark improvement on the Board.

#2 Francis Xavier Crowley A middle of the road candidate, he’s competent and has a lot of union support. Board of Supervisors, District 9: David Campos We didn’t endorse Campos the first time around, but he’s been a solid ally and has stood up for things we care about, including progressive taxation, clean municipal power, immigrant and worker rights, free MUNI for youth, and healthcare for all. He’s also running unopposed, so...four more years! Board of Supervisors, District 11: John Avalos He coulda been our Mayor - damn!  But he’s repping the Excelsior, OMI, and the progressive movement and we love us some Avalos, so we’ll take what we can get. He’s also running without an opponent - auto-win! BART Director, District 7: Margaret L. Gordon She served as Oakland Port Commission for five years after being a leader in the anti-idling efforts in West Oakland (trucks keeping their engines on while waiting at the Port is a huge smog & asthma creator). She’s a no holds-barred activist...let’s get her in there to shake up the sleepy-headed BART Board of Directors meetings. We sure wish she’d been on the BART Board during the Oscar Grant shooting aftermath... BART Director, District 9: Tom Radulovich He’s the head of Livable City and has been a consistent voice for smart investments to make BART better for everyone. From making sure the agency is properly pricing parking, to more reasonable bicycle rules, he’s looking out for the riders. Member, Board of Education (4 seats)  Sandra Lee Fewer (Incumbent) - Sandy is holding it down! We need to re-elect her fierceness to the Board of Ed.  A former community organizer, she is the Board’s no-nonsense mama bear, pushing through A-G requirements and working like a mo-fo to close the achievement gap. Gladys Soto - We liked that Gladys (a mother of 2) is focused on bringing more diversity, equity and parent representation to the Board. Shamann Walton - A challenger with the right priorities: the achievement gap, equity, & finding more funds for our schools. Kim Garcia-Meza - Kim has deep roots in the classroom and in the community.  When she’s not running her own school, she’s fighting for equity and access on the SFUSD’s Bilingual Community Council.  And she’s the pick of Teachers 4 Social Justice! Member, Community College Board  (4 seats) William L. Walker - He’s a longtime youth activist, and the current Student Trustee on the Board (ie, he’s currently repping the students but has no vote). Queer, African-American and passionate as hell, we need more representation like this on the Board. Steve Ngo - Not an original fave of ours, Steve has earned our respect with his intelligent debate on tough issues and his commitment to protecting ESL and ethnic studies courses. Chris Jackson - From kickstarting Gateway to College to securing funding for green jobs for CCSF students, Chris has been solidly repping the southeast side of town. Rafael Mandelman - A queer activist lawyer, Rafael is the former president of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club (the progressive GLBT political org in the City) and member of the Board of Appeals. He’s smart, committed, and a great guy.

This letter is the first official statement of the League of Pissed-Off Voters regarding our endorsement in District 5. We’ve been credited with both maintaining our original endorsement -- and for pulling it -- even though no members have spoken directly with candidates or the press about a final decision. So, listen up, people because this is it.

We are committed to making San Francisco a livable city with a heart. A model city for the rest of the country, one that will do what's right in spite of a toxic political climate: empower women and people of color, legalize gay marriage, reform campaign finance, create a sanctuary city, give school board voting rights to immigrant parents so they can make decisions that affect their children, uphold rent control and policies that prioritize small businesses over corporations, and reject BS policies like stop and frisk and voter suppression that are trending nationally. This is why we need progressives in this town.

In light of recent events, the League of Pissed-Off Voters has reevaluated our endorsement and decided to not make any official endorsement for District 5 Supervisor. The voting process to change our endorsement was difficult, emotional, and frankly, really trying on everyone. Our bylaws weren’t designed to respond to a political shit-storm as crazy as this one (we’ll revisit our bylaws after the election). Some of us are standing by Julian Davis, some of us believe we should pull our endorsement, and some of us are really having trouble wrapping their heads around this tough issue. It’s hard and complicated and emotional -- but we won’t let that fuck up the League and all that we’ve built and all that we believe in.

What we can all agree on, is that politicians are whole people. When we vote to endorse candidates, it is with the understanding that people are flawed. People fuck up. People grow. People change. We stake our reputation on progressive values like restorative justice that invests in this process of healing people instead of locking them up and throwing away the key. When we invest in people, we hold them accountable and don’t throw them away with yesterday’s scandal-packed newspaper when there is an opportunity for growth and healing.

We know that Julian Davis shares the same political goals of the League, and he’s been a member for many years -- but allegations of sexual harassment need to be taken seriously. Attempting to silence those who speak out is never, ever okay. We believe that a true progressive leader should work to find understanding. His public statements since these allegations show that he’s not qualified to be a leader in District 5. We have voted to withdraw our #1 endorsement of Julian Davis.

We think that regardless if Davis wins, loses, or drops out of the race, he needs to do some serious soul searching over this and make amends--both with the women he has offended and with all of us who have spent too many tough hours agonizing over this. We haven’t seen any indication that he’s doing that yet.

We have voted to not endorse any candidate for District 5 Supervisor. In our original vote, Christina Olague and John Rizzo tied for 2nd. Their responses to our questionnaire show they share our values, and they have impressive histories of good work in the City. But Rizzo doesn’t seem to be generating much excitement, and Olague turned a bunch of us off when she endorsed Ed Lee for mayor. We urge District 5 voters to do their own research to find candidates that they feel comfortable ranking in this race and serving the residents of District 5.

The District 5 Action group put together a helpful questionnaire and comparison of the candidates: http://www.d5action.org/election_resources

Although the League will not make an official D5 endorsement, we need to make it clear that we cannot stand behind the politics of London Breed. We respect the work she’s done in the Fillmore and Western Addition, and we think she is sincere in wanting to help the District as Supervisor, but her responses to our questionnaire show major disagreements with the League, and with the other major candidates in the race: she supported the civil-liberties squashing Sit/Lie law, she supported the shady Lennar development deal in Bayview/Hunters Point, and she is receiving massive funding from big landlords. While we were conflicted about Julian Davis and other candidates -- one thing we all agree on is: “Anybody but London Breed”.