Over the past few weeks there has been a great fuss over who will be the next Chair of the Democratic Party. For a little bit of the behind-the-scenes math, there are 24 elected and 10 superdelegates now on the DCCC. Therefore 18 is the magic number to win the Chair vote and 17 guarantees at least a tie. The progressive choice for Chair, Aaron Peskin, has already received 19 commitments.

In other words, the race for DCCC Chair is done, and we have entered a period much like the days following Barack Obama’s securing the 2118 delegates required for nomination for President. The question then was would Hillary Clinton gracefully step aside or would she would foolishly drag the Party into a floor fight at the Convention. Fortunately, Clinton did not heed the advice of certain backers like Gavin Newsom.

Here in San Francisco, Scott Wiener’s sleaze machine has hit high gear — accusing me and others of making threats. With the Chair vote now secure, it’s time for Weiner to call off the dogs for the sake of Party unity. Continuing to publicly attack other Democrats, whether through proxy or not, can only serve to tear the Party down. Call ‘em off, Scott.

Dancing With the One Who Brung Ya

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District 6 Supervisor Chris Daly
Photos by Luke Thomas

By Chris Daly

June 30, 2008

Because of you, tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for the president of the United States of America.

On the same evening that Barack Obama, a former community organizer, captured the Democratic nomination for president and its national party structure, our HOPE Slate for the local Democratic County Central Committee won 18 of 24 elected seats.

Just a day after Gavin Newsom, Hillary Clinton’s local campaign co-chair, foolishly encouraged a floor fight at the Democratic National Convention, Newsom’s slate for the local party was trounced– only winning 8 of 24 available seats. Across the country, Democrats have been voting for change. Hey, why not here in San Francisco too?

The battle for the local party was the most important race that received scant attention on Tuesday’s ballot. While San Francisco is known as a deep blue city, the local Democratic Party has played a relatively minor role in local politics– making endorsements, passing resolutions, and doing the occasional voter registration drive. At its worst, the Party was used as an extension of downtown, pushing bad candidates on an unsuspecting electorate while apologizing for Democratic leaders’ lack of resolve on important issues. Many good progressives have been knocking at the door of the local party for the past 8 years but never won a big enough majority to overcome our deficit of superdelegates (state and federal officials who have an automatic seat) on the DCCC. On Election night, it appeared as if progressives had finally broken through.

But in the intervening weeks, downtown has been moving heaven and earth to hold onto the Party and reelect their Chair, Scott Wiener. Some DCCC members who have committed to progressive candidates and causes have been targeted by downtown. With a powerful coupling of threats and promises (that have even included offers of Commission appointments), downtown’s candidate is still in the game. Despite his record of delivering for downtown, longtime progressive Jane Morrison has committed to vote for Wiener.

With this altering of the political landscape, downtown has zeroed in on center-left DCCC members, like Arlo “Hale” Smith, Laura Spanjian, and David Campos. A vote against Weiner would have the repercussion of losing them their support within the powerful Alice Toklas LGBT Democratic Club.

Despite dominating the election, the HOPE/Change Slate may be cracking in this rough and tumble political world. Some don’t seem to realize that getting elected is only half the battle in politics. Resolve in the face of stiff political winds is just as necessary for political success.

In the past weeks, I have personally reached out to colleagues on the DCCC to express the significance of the challenges ahead. An email that I wrote to Arlo “Hale” Smith outlines what is at stake for progressives. While my message of progressive discipline is clear, downtown is trying to use my negatives against us, claiming that “big, bad Chris Daly” is threatening others. Well, downtown can call it hardball if they want, but Bay Guardian Editor Tim Redmond seems to agree – this is about dancing with the one who brung ya.

The progressives ran a slate of candidates with the aim of changing the local party, the local party power structure and the local party’s political direction. If they’re serious about that, they should start at the top, and change the person in charge.

We didn’t endorse the progressive slate, and I didn’t vote for these people, just because they’re all friends of mine or because I think they’re all wonderful people. This was about issues – and the folks who won as a part of that slate, with the support of those of us who care deeply about those issues, ought to remember that when the vote for chair comes up.

There’s no doubt that the future of progressive politics in San Francisco is in the balance this year, and internal machinations of the Democratic Party will have a big effect on the outcomes. The vote for Chair next month sets the stage for the whole year. Progressives need to keep our eyes on the prize. Leadership from the Bay Guardian, the Sierra Club, the Tenants Union, and the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club have all staked similar positions. My email to Hale was in this vein…

Hale, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you are considering supporting Scott for DCCC Chair over Aaron. I tried to contact you by phone but was not successful, so I am sending you this email.

I can not stress enough what a nightmare it would be if this DCCC elected Scott as our Chair. I hope that you fully appreciate what this would do to reforms that you and I have discussed. Simply put, it would kill them before they even began. As a proxy for Leno/Newsom/Downtown, Scott would be in a position, through Committee assignments and agendizing, to squash any and all of our efforts to reform the Party.

I am very concerned that electing Scott Chair could compromise good progressive candidates for Supervisor this November. As Chair, Scott would be in position to influence close endorsement votes. I believe this would make it less likely that our candidates would win the endorsement of the Party. Even if our candidates are endorsed, Scott could stymie Party activities in support of them. Conversely, any bad Supe candidates (like Asha Safai in D 11), if endorsed, could be the beneficiaries of 3rd party donations to the Party controlled by the Chair (like that Lennar deal in the last cycle). In this way, they could effectively campaign beyond the spending caps, negating our system of public financing.

The November Board races are my top priority and were a major impetus for pulling together our slate, lining up endorsements, and then pushing resources into the slate cards. Between Aaron Peskin, Michael Bornstein, and I, we moved tens of thousands of dollars to promote our entire slate, while investing very little in promoting ourselves.

Finally, if Scott is elected Chair after all that work electing progressives to the DCCC, the unity that we’ve developed among progressives would be instantly lost. I, for one, have already committed to make it my personal mission to make sure that any members voting for Scott never receive the endorsement of the Guardian, Tenants Union, Sierra Club, and Milk Club in subsequent races. Meanwhile, I am committed to fielding a progressive slate for DCCC in 2 years and plan on investing significant time and resources into it.

I hope that you decide to be with us by casting your first vote this session with Aaron.

In Struggle,

Chris Daly

As they pass the $4 million mark on their campaign, the Lennar Corporation has blown away every spending record posted in election history here in San Francisco. Lennar believes that San Francisco is for sale. It’s time for San Franciscans to send them a strong message that we are not!

This election cycle is full of big political fights. Certainly vote Yes on Proposition F to ensure that at least half of the new housing built in Hunters Point and Candlestick is affordable to everyday San Franciscans. Also vote No on 98 to protect rent control and our ability to preserve the environment in California. Don’t buy PG&E’s lies- make sure to vote Yes on Proposition E for greater accountability at our PUC. All Democrats should vote for a progressive Democratic County Central Committee, so that we can rebuild the Democratic Party up from the grassroots. Finally, vote for the progressive who’s been there for me and for progressive candidates and issues since I first was elected, Carole Migden for State Senate. The Bay Guardian may have endorsed the other guy- this is the one they got wrong this cycle.

Here’s the complete CHANGE Slate that you can print out and take with you to the polls. Happy voting!

I am proud of the CHANGE Slate and our program to elect progressive candidates and measures on Tuesday.

We all know how important this election is with the fate of rent control, development in the Bayview Hunters Point, and the Democratic Party in the balance. That is why I am appalled that Tim Redmond would take precious attention away from the issues that matter.

It is outright slanderous for Tim Redmond to call the CHANGE Slate card “fraudulent” in his latest blog headline. If you read Tim’s post, even he admits that the card does not boast a Guardian endorsement of Migden, although he claims that you have to read “the fine print.” What Tim doesn’t tell you is that “the fine print” is in 13 point font — much larger than the 8 point font required by ethics laws.

You can check out our card here.

Meanwhile, looking at the Bay Guardian slate, you could assume that I endorsed Mark Leno, as we both appear prominently on it. However, if you read the disclaimer you would find that appearance “does not necessarily imply endorsement of others” on the card. This is the way it’s done, and you don’t see me complaining about it.

On to what matters… This weekend through Election Day, progressives’ strongest coalition of tenant activists, affordable housing organizers, environmentalists, teachers, and City workers are being joined by the campaigns of progressive candidates including Carole Migden to turn out the vote to change San Francisco. Volunteer mobilizations with lots of shoe leather is how progressives win elections.

Unfortunately, the SF Bay Guardian slate does not represent this progressive coalition, because Mark Leno has sold out to Lennar and is recommending a Yes vote on Lennar’s Proposition G and a No on the community plan for affordable housing, Proposition F. It would be unfair to ask activists who have been working for months to qualify and pass Prop F to carry literature for Mark Leno. It is a mystery to me why the Guardian doesn’t get this.

Progressives need some big wins in the next two elections, in order to stay in play in local politics. These times call for greater levels of activism and discipline in the progressive community, including from our newspaper the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

I hope folks can get out to participate in our GOTV efforts in the next 4 days.

Progressives rarely spend as much money as our opponents and we usually don’t have the mainstream press with us. When we win elections, it is usually with shoe leather.

Right now, progressive campaigns for the DCCC are joining in coalition with tenant activists, affordable housing organizers, environmentalists, teachers, and City workers to change San Francisco. This turnout effort very well could decide the fate of both the local Democratic Party and even the future of the Bayview Hunters Point.

We will be delivering our message of change, with our CHANGE Slate, to progressive voters and getting out the vote. Please join us.

We are in the final stretch and will need lots of volunteers from now through Tuesday. Come to our headquarters at 2797 16th Street at Folsom, under the All Star Hotel, for these activities:

Friday 11 am - 7 pm: we need help all day to preparing materials and in the evening commute we will do street visibility.
Saturday 11 am: distributing literature in tenants neighborhoods the Haight, Mission and Castro, street visibility.
Sunday 11 am: distributing literature in tenants neighborhoods the Haight, Mission and Castro, street visibility
Monday 4 pm - 8:30 pm: distributing literature in tenants neighborhoods and at muni stops, street visibility

ELECTION DAY Tuesday, June 3rd: come at 11 am or 4 pm till 8:30 pm
Take Election Day off to help get out the vote! We will be going door to door to get out the vote and doing street visibility. If you can’t get off work, come after work.