Establishment Politicians Use Democratic Party Committee to Cling to Power

City Hall has not been able to enact the policies needed to make our city affordable, safe, and welcoming. How could this happen when we pride ourselves on our progressive values?

Two words: Career Politicians

We are a group of community activists who do not want the status quo to continue. That’s why we formed the Grassroots Progressive Movement to challenge these Career Politicians.

The Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) is the most important political organization in San Francisco that most voters have never heard of. The DCCC influences every aspect of Democratic politics within our city — from who gets elected to City Hall and what ballot propositions are endorsed to which organizations get party resources and support. The SF DCCC shapes every local policy affecting San Franciscans.

San Francisco voters registered with the Democratic party will elect the next cohort of 24 DCCC members on March 3, 2020 in the Presidential primary election. Members elected to serve four year terms on the DCCC should be progressive, grassroots activists who want to do the work of strengthening the Democratic Party in San Francisco by engaging and activating local communities. However, the reality is that career politicians are running for DCCC to serve themselves, party insiders and their agenda — not the activists of the San Francisco Democratic Party.

The Problem

At least 7 out of the 11 Board of Supervisors are running in this race; in addition to a Community College Board Representative, the Public Defender, a Bart Board Member, the Sheriff, a School Board Representative and current candidates seeking public office. There are enough elected officials running you would think it was the Presidential Primary. To be clear though, the majority of our elected officials do a good job, but they should not be on the body that is designed to be part of the check and balance system.

Why is this bad for YOU?

The status quo hurts San Franciscans because it lacks accountability and fosters political patronage.

Lack of Accountability

• San Francisco is a one-party town and grassroots activists and organizers are the ones who hold politicians accountable. Right now, these City Hall insiders are working to stifle dissent among those who do the work in the community by pushing them out of the DCCC election. Without accountability, how can we make sure that the elected officials do what we elected them to do?

Staying in Power

• The DCCC controls the Democratic Party’s endorsement for city offices. The Democratic Party’s endorsement can make the difference between winning and losing close races. If you are an elected official, a seat on DCCC helps you and your political allies hold onto power. Though it is a violation of the party’s own bylaws to vote on something you have a vested interest in, this doesn’t seem to stop the dozen-or-so elected officials who run for the DCCC every cycle.

Political Patronage

• City Hall politicos run but don’t want to do the work. In the last DCCC race, many elected officials resigned their seats and installed their allies as their replacements. The game plan is infuriating: Get a seat on the DCCC and gift it to a political patron. This should not be the norm.

Change is Possible

The current system has led to political paralysis, and if unchecked, will foster corruption.

That’s why we are running.

We are a group of grassroots progressives who care more about service than politics. We are here to tell the career politicians that it’s time to return power back to the people; to welcome accountability, and to build an organization that builds the bench of progressive democratic leadership for San Francisco instead of centralizing power to a few established players.

We hope we’ll earn your support and your vote.

Signed — -

Austin Hunter — https://www.austinhunter.org/

Cyn Wang — Under Construction

Jane Natoli — https://www.janenatoli.com/

Mick Del Rosario — https://www.mickdelrosario.com/

Nadia Rahman — https://nadiarahmansf.com/

Seeyew Mo — https://www.seeyewmo.com/

Shaun Haines 力是亮 — www.shaunhaines.net

Steven Buss — https://www.buss2020.org/

Tyra Fennell — https://www.tyrafennellsf.com/

William (Anubis) Daugherty — Daugherty363@gmail.com/ 415–654–8318

All non-elected officials running the SFDCCC race are welcome to sign onto this article.