SF Rising Action Fund: 2018 June Endorsements Announced

San Francisco has a critical election coming up on June 5, 2018. Will the voters of San Francisco elect someone who can truly turn the tide on the affordability crisis, or will we have more of the same? With soaring rents, increased cost of living, lack of affordability, displacement of working-class families — we need leadership that is progressive and can stand up to forces like big developers, corporate lobbyists, greedy landlords and the Police Officers Association. This will be a historic election that will set the course of our city for the next decade.

What does it mean to be progressive? Though the label “progressive” has been misused and abused in San Francisco politics, our city desperately needs the values and policies that represent authentic progressivism. Our city needs strong tenant protections and community-led development; transformative education and living-wage jobs; quality and affordable housing, public transit and& healthcare; safe and healthy neighborhoods. With the future of the city at stake in this election, we cannot afford another four years of elected leadership whose allegiances and actions too often reflect big-monied interests over working-class communities of color.

London Breed. Our vision for progressive governance includes the elected leadership of native San Franciscans, of women, and of working-class people of color. Especially given the mass displacement of Black families and poor people, someone like London Breed, with her lived experiences, appears so promising. However, despite her personal experience, we have been consistently disappointed by her track record as a Supervisor the last five years. Her positions have landed her on the side of corporate interests again and again, instead of standing with families who needed real protection against evictions and rising rents.  She did not support ballot measures that would regulate Airbnb (Prop F), or stop housing speculators from driving up rents (Prop G). She opposed legislation that would regulate “tenant buyouts” which displace thousands of San Franciscans, and opposed increasing relocation funds for tenants who were evicted by the Ellis Act. The legislation passed for Sanctuary City, Inclusionary Zoning for more affordable housing, and even a non-binding resolution against Police Brutality were all substantially weakened by London Breed. For these reasons, we cannot support her for Mayor.

Like many, we also recognize that the Board of Supervisors’ decision to support Mark Farrell over London Breed for Interim Mayor was problematic. For us in the social justice movement, it was particularly difficult in this historical #metoo #blacklivesmatter #sanctuaryforall moment. We are committed to lifting up and empowering women, people of color, and oppressed peopleindividuals. But in choosing our leaders, individuals’ identities cannot outweigh their actions and policy decisions that affect our communities and families. We do not take these decisions lightly and have weighed our choices deliberately.

Who are we endorsing? After a lengthy process of countless internal meetings and discussions, we have decided to dual endorse Jane Kim and Mark Leno for Mayor. Here is why.

This dual endorsement is crucial because we believe that progressives must work together in order to win. We know that we will not agree 100% with any candidate but we believe in building toward progressive governance where we can shape the agenda together. By building a movement together, we are strong enough to build a city that truly is for everyone and fight the monied interests who seek to carve up San Francisco for their own gain.

Jane Kim cut her teeth in community organizing with working-class youth in Chinatown; she has the values and vision that represent the San Francisco we want to build together. With her tenure on the San Francisco School Board to the Board of Supervisors, she has and will continue to stand up to corporations, real estate interests, and tech moguls. Her leadership in passing Free City College, tenant protections against evictions,  and championing the fight for free childcare shows her deep commitment to working-class communities of color. Her ability to work with a broad range of stakeholders has been impressive, but most of all she has been there for our communities when we have needed her.

Mark Leno has demonstrated his leadership most recently as a State Senator and we saw him in action when he authored the $15 minimum wage, fought for universal healthcare, and the repeal of the anti-tenant Ellis Act. As a senator, Leno also supported Prop 47 in 2014, which resulted in lowering the prison population and investing millions in preventative programs. In our meetings and interviews with Leno, he was a good listener and problem solver, and demonstrated a real understanding of the issues that San Franciscans face. He is aligned with our mission and values and we would be excited to see him as our next mayor of San Francisco.

The future of the city is at stake. Please join San Francisco Rising Action Fund in supporting Jane Kim and Mark Leno for your top two choices for Mayor! (To learn more about how rank choice voting works, visit www.fairvote.org)

JUNE 2018 ENDORSEMENTS

Mayor: Dual Endorsement for Jane Kim & Mark Leno