Potrero Hill Democratic Club

Upcoming: Endorsement Meetings Sept 7th & 14th

joni — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:59:12 +0000

The first two Tuesday evenings in September will be entirely dedicated to speakers and member voting, at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro.

Tuesday, Sept. 7, 7PM: Candidates, and some state propositions, a few of which can fairly be described as no-brainer (Props 23, 25, 26). Candidates for Board of Education, Community College Board, and Assessor-Recorder will speak briefly and answer questions. Regular members in good standing (new members must have joined at least 60 days before voting) will vote on all candidate races on the Nov 2nd ballot.

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 6:30PM: Local and state ballot measures, speakers pro and con.

August 2nd & 3rd: District 10 Candidate Forums at 6:30PM

joni — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:17:25 +0000

The Neighborhood House was definitely the place to be Monday, August 2, and Tuesday, August 3, when both evenings were devoted to candidates vying for the office of Supervisor for District 10. It was standing room only the first night, and a full house the next – a total of about 250 people (a record for the Club, now in its 4th year of existence). Moderated by Keith Goldstein, President of Potrero Hill Association of Merchants and Businesses, the events gave the candidates a chance to highlight their strengths and show their differences.

Candidates who appeared, with website links if available:
Monday, August 2: Malia Cohen, Kristine Enea, Nyese Joshua, Steve Moss, Eric Smith, Lynette Sweet, Stephen Weber
Tuesday, August 3: Isaac Bowers, Espanola Jackson, Chris Jackson, Tony Kelly, DeWitt Lacy, Geoffrea Morris, Diane Wesley Smith, Marlene Tran

You can see video segments of both nights by Linda Post on You Tube here and here.

Complete videos of both nights by Joseph Schaller are here, where you can see the whole 2 nights by clicking on “Play all videos” near the top of the page, or pick and choose among the segments.

Photos from Tuesday (top) and Monday, by Linda Post:

Click here to see more photos.

Thank you to the generous donors to our July 17th Members Party & “Shop Local” Silent Auction!

joni — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:15:14 +0000

Gina Abrescy/3 Energies Massage & Bodywork • Aperto • ARCH Drafting Supplies Inc • Bell & Trunk Flowers • Caffè La Stazione • Jo Cangelosi • Chat’s of San Francisco • Chiotras Grocery • Collage Gallery • Connecticut Yankee • Cup of Blues • Joni Eisen • Kristine Enea • Farley’s • Goat Hill Pizza • The Good Life Grocery • Horatius • Peter Linenthal • Moshi Moshi Sushi & Grill • Mr and Mrs Miscellaneous • Pawtrero Hill Bath House & Feed Co. • Pera • Photography by Emily Payne • Post & Parcel, Inc • Potrero Chiropractors & Acupuncture • Quince Spa • The Ramp • Rocketfish • Salazar & Heath Inc • San Francisco Center for the Book • Marlene Tran • Yield Wine Bar

June 1st: SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi et al.

joni — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:30:34 +0000

At our last meeting, Public Defender Jeff Adachi (right), recently named Public Defender of the Year by the Public Defenders Association, presented his ideas on how to alleviate the city budget shortfall by reforming the pension system.

Click here to watch 2-part video by Linda Post.

Our May meeting ran too late to vote on defeating the November water bonds, so Adam Scow (below left) of Food & Water Watch was back with a brief review before the vote: NO on the water bonds.

Two more candidates for District 10 Supervisor introduced themselves: Chris Jackson and Marlene Tran. We discussed various other items of Club business and future fun. Photos by Rebecca Shearin.

WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St @ Southern Heights
WHEN: Tuesday, June 1st, at 7:00PM

May 4th: Some Updates, Some Introductions

joni — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 01:24:44 +0000

The Club revisited and further explored three issues that we have examined in the past, ranging from within the district to statewide – and of course they’re all related.

In District 10, there has been ongoing concern about the environmental impacts of development in the Bayview. We continued that discussion, this time with members of POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights) Jaron Browne and Neesie.

The citizens of San Francisco are moving toward the ability to pool their purchasing power to buy electricity from more sustainable sources – unless PG&E succeeds in effectively wiping out all competition with the deceptive Prop 16. “Community Choice Aggregation” is now known as CleanPowerSF, and was described by Caroline Teng of SF LAFCo.

Then, following up on our panel discussion of the California water crisis, Adam Scow of Food & Water Watch gave reasons to flush the state water bond on the November ballot. however, it was to late to vote on an endorsement either way, so Adam will return June 1st.

At the beginning of the meeting, Alex Tourk from Why Tuesday introducing the idea of adding Saturday as an election day, and in the middle, Isaac Bowers and Rev. Nina Pickerrell, candidates for District 10 Supervisor, introduced themselves.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 4th, at 7:00PM
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Heights

Monday, April 19th: Another Endorsement Meeting

joni — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 04:23:00 +0000

The members of Potrero Hill Democratic Club voted at the April 6th meeting to have the opportunity to hear all candidates for the SF Democratic County Central Committee in District 13, not just the ones who have never been elected to public office. All candidates were therefore invited to schedule an appearance. Twenty-three candidates were heard from, 21 in person and 2 through surrogates. The following candidates passed the 60% threshold and got the club’s endorsement: Keith Baraka, David Campos, David Chiu, Hope Johnson, Rafael Mandelman, Aaron Peskin, Debra Walker.

We thank all the candidates for taking the time to speak to us, and for their dedication to making a difference in San Francisco.

WHEN: Monday, April 19th, at 7:00PM
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Heights

Tuesday, April 6th Endorsement Meeting

joni — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:28:26 +0000

Speakers on local and state propositions included State Senator Leland Yee and SF Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, Sierra Club’s John Rizzo, and Planning Commission President Ron Miguel. We had appearances by candidate for Insurance Commissioner Hector De La Torre, candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry Aceves, and a campaign rep for Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Tom Torlakson. Candidates for the SF Democratic Central Committee spoke to us, but the membership voted to postpone voting on that race to a later meeting, to which the Club will invite all 30 candidates. Here are our endorsements so far for the June 8, 2010 Statewide Direct Primary Election.

India Baseline Shoreline;Endorsement Voting: Judicial Forum

joni — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:00:31 +0000

India Basin is the waterfront neighborhood just south of Potrero Hill which extends from Heron’s Head Park (formerly Pier 98) to Hunters Point Shipyard, and from the hilltop to the shore. This shoreline remains largely undeveloped, and the neighborhood underserved. At our March 2nd meeting, Kristine Enea from the India Basin Neighborhood Association presented its Shoreline Community Vision, illustrated with brochures, but technical difficulties prevented the showing of slides.

The endorsement process for the June 8th Primary Election kicked off for PHDC with reps from two campaigns for Attorney General: Kamala Harris and Chris Kelly. Following an introductory talk by City Attorney Dennis Herrera, we held a judicial forum of the seven candidates for the two contested seats on San Francisco Superior Court: Linda Colfax, Harry Dorfman, Roderick McLeod, Robert Retana for Seat 6; Dan Dean, Michael Nava, incumbent Richard Ulmer for Seat 15.

Audio and Photos:

[[Show as slideshow]]

Photos: Quint King ( for individual photos click HERE )

Chris Kelly For CA Attorney General represented by Liz Larter

SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera on the importance of Superior Court Judges

Kamala Harris For CA Attorney General represented by Chris Cunnie

FORUM: Judicial Candidates For County Of San Francisco Superior Court Of California

Announcements

Quint King
Webmaster, Potrero Hill Democratic Club
quintking@gmail.com

Repair California, Protect Starr King Openspace, and more

joni — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:00:04 +0000

John deCastro of Repair California discussed the campaign for what some consider to be the only way to make sweeping changes to state government and wrestle our state back from special interests: a “limited” Constitutional Convention, only focused on governance issues. Update: Due to lack of funds, the campaign has withdrawn its initiatives.

Starr King Openspace is a serpentine grassland habitat which literally belongs to all residents of Potrero Hill. Caroline Bird, President of the Board of the newly-revamped nonprofit, and Andie Grace, another board member, described the recent changes and opportunities.

Three more District 10 Supervisor candidate introductions, amending Club Bylaws, nomination and election of 2010 Officers, and various announcements and updates rounded out a very full agenda.

Audio and Photos:

[[Show as slideshow]]

Photos: Quint King ( for individual photos click HERE )

Announcements And Officer Reports Joni Eisen

Repair California John deCastro

Starr King Open Space Caroline Bird and Andie Grace

Supervisor Candidate Lynette Sweet

Supervisor Candidate Espanola Jackson

Supervisor Candidate Tony Kelly

Announcements: Civil Grand Jury, Redistricting Commission, more

Photo: Linda Post

Congratulations to the newly elected Potrero Hill Democratic Club Officers!
Pat Cleveland, Bill Barnes, Dewitt Lacy, Rachel Schapira, Quint King, and Joni Eisen.

Quint King
Webmaster, Potrero Hill Democratic Club
quintking@gmail.com

CA Majority Rule

joni — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 02:00:36 +0000

That is, bring it back! California is the only state in the nation which requires a 2/3 vote for both revenue and budget. Just one sentence will fix that: “All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by majority rule.” That, in essence, is the ballot proposition for November 2010 submitted to the Attorney General by author and UC Berkeley linguistics Professor George Lakoff.

Sonoma State University philosophy Professor Teed Rockwell of the CA Majority Rule campaign spoke to us about bringing sanity back to the state legislative process. The Club endorsed the initiative. If you would like to sign the San Francisco petition to get it on the November ballot, please email contact_us@phdemclub.org .

Also, one more candidate for Supervisor in District 10 introduced herself and spoke briefly.

Audio and Photos:

[[Show as slideshow]]

Photos: Quint King ( for individual photos click HERE )

Call to Order and Officer Reports Joni Eisen

Restore CA Majority Rule Teed Rockwell

Supervisor Candidate Geoffrea Morris

New Business Joni Eisen

Announcements Joni Eisen

Quint King
Secretary, Potrero Hill Democratic Club
quintking@gmail.com