Here are the endorsements for the November 3, 2020 general election made by member vote at the Potrero Hill Democratic Club meeting on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. City College Board Voters can choose up to four. TOM TEMPRANO SHANELL WILLIAMS ALAN WONG HAN ZOU State Propositions 14 – YES Stem Cell Research Institute Bonds. Initiative 15 […]

One key role of the Club is making informed endorsements. Primary endorsements for federal and state offices remain in effect for the General Election. We are sending questionnaires to local candidates and researching local and state measures to ensure our endorsement process is inclusive and informative. With so many candidates and measures this November, we’ll have two […]

The Presidential Primary Election is March 3, and we’ll be voting on our club endorsements in our January meeting. Join us to hear from candidates, review all the ballot measures, and vote on endorsements! Date: Tuesday, January 7 at 7 pm Location: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St Endorsements: Democratic Presidential Nominee [See […]

It’s Election Confidential time! Get the skinny on what it’s really like to campaign in a town where politics are deemed to be a blood sport. A conversation with Hill residents in the thick of it: Supervisor candidates Tony Kelly and Uzuri Pease-Greene, School Board candidate Monica Chinchilla, and Assessor-Recorder candidate Paul Bellar. Hot gossip […]

Potrero Hill Democratic Club’s endorsement season concludes with an evening of lively debate with 10 of the candidates running for the San Francisco Board of Education in November.  PHDC endorsement ballots will be counted immediately after the debate. Free on-site childcare will be provided. Spots are limited; reserve your spot here. (Thank you to PREFund […]

At Tuesday’s meeting, we’ll hear from candidates and representatives for local office campaigns and ballot measures, and vote on more endorsements. A little after 8 pm, we will have all the candidates for City College Board for a joint Q&A session. On Tuesday’s endorsement ballot (click the links for more info): SF Assessor: Carmen Chu* […]

  This November, we choose a new District 10 Supervisor. So, on August 28, please come and learn about four leading candidates’ visions for Potrero Hill, Dogpatch, the rest of District 10 and the City. Club members will vote on an endorsement the same evening. You’ll meet: Theo Ellington, Tony Kelly, Uzuri Pease-Greene, and Shamann […]

We’ll hear from representatives for state office campaigns and some ballot measures. PHDC board members will provide brief overviews of the rest of the measures. On the endorsement ballot (click the links for more info): US Senate: Kevin de León or Dianne Feinstein Governor: Gavin Newsom Attorney General: Xavier Becerra State Assembly, Dist. 17: David […]

First, a bit of Club biz: We’ll consider an amendment to our bylaws (introduced in March) to consider the possibility of a ranked-choice endorsement for ranked-choice elections, repeating the ranked-choice process of vote-counting after (and only if) a first choice has been determined. Then we’ll hear from representatives for and against local ballot measures, and […]

We’ve invited the candidates below to attend, using the roster of qualified candidates from the California Democratic Party (as a Democratic club, we cannot endorse non-Democrats in partisan races). U.S. Senate: Kevin de León, Dianne Feinstein, Pat Harris U.S. Congress: Shahid Buttar, Stephen Jaffe, Ryan Kjohasteh, Nancy Pelosi Governor: John Chiang, Delaine Eastin, Gavin Newsom, […]

  The nail-biting, the nightmares, the nonstop toxic “news” – will stop soon (at least, we hope so). You don’t want to be alone when you find out how it all turns out, do you? You don’t want to drink alone, do you? So, here are some ways to surround yourself with like-minded progressive types […]

US President and Vice President HILLARY CLINTON and TIM KAINE United States Senator KAMALA HARRIS US Representative, District 12 NANCY PELOSI California State Senator, District 11 JANE KIM Member, State Assembly District 17 DAVID CHIU SFUSD Board of Education RACHEL NORTON STEVON COOK MATT HANEY MARK SANCHEZ Trustee, Community College Board RAFAEL MANDELMAN ALEX RANDOLPH […]

From the Potrero Hill Democratic Club meeting of September 6: US President and Vice President HILLARY CLINTON and TIM KAINE US Representative, District 12 NANCY PELOSI Member, State Assembly District 17 DAVID CHIU Trustee, Community College Board RAFAEL MANDELMAN ALEX RANDOLPH TOM TEMPRANO SHANELL WILLIAMS AMY BACHARACH (5 candidates endorsed, for 4 seats – please […]

19 endorsements down, 33 to go!  Just last week, Club members and friends completely filled the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House (capacity 239) to see the only post-primary State Senate debate between Supervisors Jane Kim and Scott Wiener.  After the debate, PHDC voted to endorse Jane Kim for State Senate.  The rest of our November endorsements […]

The State Senate race between Supervisors Jane Kim and Scott Wiener resulted in a whisker-thin margin on Potrero Hill, and in the June primary overall.  In this close race, it looks like the only face-to-face debate the candidates have scheduled for November’s election was at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House on August 23rd! Potrero Hill […]

November 8th is about a lot more than Hillary Clinton vs. the toxic clown car of today’s Republican Party.  There are 17 state ballot measures (and more than two dozen local measures on the way) and candidate races throughout the state, Bay Area, and the City. As always, PHDC has you covered.  For Tuesday, August […]

Some of our endorsed candidates for the SF DCCC came for a meet-and-greet. The SF Democratic County Central Committee, the governing body of the SF Democratic Party, registers voters and makes endorsements. Their citywide election mailers powerfully influence Democratic voters to support or oppose particular candidates and ballot measures. But we believe the DCCC has […]

Candidates who have submitted completed questionnaires will appear in small groups at regular intervals, to present and answer questions. Come and meet them! Ballots are due at the end of the meeting, and will be counted immediately. WHEN: Tuesday, April 12, at 7pm WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, downstairs in the Game Room, 953 De […]

Tuesday, April 5th: Judicial candidate forum, Presidential primary, ballot measures – RESULTS The forum of candidates for Superior Court Judge, Office #7 – Paul Henderson, Victor Hwang, Sigrid Irias (counterclockwise from left, photo by John O’Neill)- was moderated by attorney & PHDC board member J.R. Eppler. Presidential Primary candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were […]

★ Proving that Ed Lee is NOT running unopposed, Mayoral candidates Francisco Herrera,  Amy Farah Weiss, and Dan Kappler (write-in), discussed  issues vital to San Franciscans. ★ Actually unopposed candidate City Attorney Dennis Herrera spoke briefly about his accomplishments in office. ★ These props weree covered (click on titles for summaries): B –  Paid Parental […]

The club voted on the following endorsements at its September 1st meeting. Endorsements for propositions or candidates for a single office require at least 60% of votes cast. San Francisco Propositions A  – YES – General Obligation Bond Election – Affordable Housing C – YES – Expenditure Lobbyists Ordinance D – No position – Mission […]

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1st, 6:30pm. Housing and Good-Government night at PHDC. Props A, D, F, I, J, & K (housing) and C & E (good government) were covered. There were mini-debates on the more contentious propositions: D – Mission Rock, former Mayor Art Agnos vs. Jon Golinger; F – Short-Term Residential Rentals, Dale Carlson vs. George […]

The Community College Board candidate forum included three of the five candidates running for one open seat (left to right): Wendy Aragon, Alex Randolph (appointed incumbent), Tom Temprano – brilliantly moderated by PHDC VP Loretta Lynch (at right).   The Sheriff candidate debate featured all three candidates (left to right): John Robinson, Ross Mirkarimi (incumbent), […]

The first Tuesday of the month is our regular meeting night, but this Tuesday is Election Day. Our beautiful meeting space will serve (beautifully) as a polling place. Club members are urged to spend some time and energy getting friends and neighbors to the polls. Turnout will be everything. Pick a campaign to help with, […]

The meeting was mostly devoted to actively promoting PHDC-endorsed candidates and campaigns, like those of David Campos for Assembly, Tony Kelly for Supervisor, Daniel Flores for Judge, John Rizzo for Community College Board, and Shamann Walton for School Board. They, and reps of several Proposition campaigns, came to say a few words, distribute campaign swag […]

            At the Tuesday, Sept 2 ballot measure endorsement meeting were state and local ballot measure speakers pro and con, with Q&A of course. We covered local propositions A, B, D, J, & K and statewide propositions 1, 2, 45, 46, 47 and 48. Club endorsements for November are here. […]

Arguments pro and con for a variety of measures on the November 4th ballot made for an engaging evening of mini-debates. There was a literal turf battle (at right, Mike Murphy & Donald Collins argue real vs. fake grass in the parks), the Pier 70 development height limit increase, an attempt to “balance” transportation priorities (oh, […]

Candidates for District 10 Supervisor shared their ideas, expertise, and love for the neighborhoods of District 10 Wednesday at the Neighborhood House in an intense debate, ably guided by moderator Marisa Lagos of the SF Chronicle. All five official candidates held the standing-room-only audience rapt. Candidates, left to right: Ed Donaldson, Marlene Tran, incumbent Malia […]

PHDC was there with endorsed-campaign swag, voter registration forms, 94107 t-shirts and CA DISCLOSE Act petitions.

The housing situation in our fair City is dire and fast-changing. Housing prices explode; protests against evictions escalate; legislation is introduced at state and local levels; lawsuits are filed by the City Attorney.  San Francisco leads the nation in income disparity. Participants in a thought-provoking discussion, which included plenty of audience Q&A, were: Tim Colen,  […]

A discussion with Democratic candidate for Secretary of State Derek Cressman (above left) and former SF Supervisor Christina Olague, surrogate for Dem candidate Alex Padilla, was  moderated by PHDC’s  J.R. Eppler, who so ably presided over the Assembly candidate debate last month. Audience members asked their own questions. Here’s a link to the video of this […]

Potrero Hill Democratic Club presented a lively and informative debate between the two Supervisors running to succeed Tom Ammiano in the State Assembly, District 17: David Campos and David Chiu. The two Davids, both Harvard-educated attorneys, agreed that they agreed on a lot – and also tried to bring their differences into sharp focus.  Moderator, […]

It was back to politics on Tuesday: Leaders of organized labor spoke about the movement’s relevance. PHDC’s regular monthly meeting featured Mike Casey (left), President of the San Francisco Labor Council, and Michael Theriault, Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council. Though frequently in solidarity, their respective organizations are not always in […]

San Francisco’s Municipal Election is November 5, 2013. It’s true that the three citywide officers who are running for election or reelection are running unopposed – but that’s no reason not to take advantage of a great opportunity to meet them face-to-face, find out what they’ve done and intend to do, and ask them anything […]

We met on the first Wednesday instead of the Tuesday, because that’s when the first Presidential Debate happened. We enjoyed food, drink, friends, neighbors, campaign speakers, strange debate performances and door prizes at the Connecticut Yankee that night. WHEN: Wednesday, October 3, 6 – 8pm WHERE: Connecticut Yankee, 100 Connecticut St @ 17th    

Tuesday, Sept 4, 6:30 – 9pm: Ballot measure endorsement meeting. State and local ballot measures, speakers pro and con. Q&A of course. Check out the results of voting here. To be endorsed, a proposition or candidate must get 60% of votes cast. Tuesday, Sept 11, 7 – 9pm: Candidate endorsement meeting. Candidates for Board of […]

The agenda was jam-packed with appealing, enthusiastic candidates for San Francisco Democratic Central Committee, Assembly District 17. With 30 or so people running for 14 seats, it’s very hard to gain the required 60% for endorsement. We are grateful to all who showed up. We also were pleased to welcome David Levitt, Democrat running for […]

What better way to spend Day of the Dead than to contemplate Death to the Mega-Banks? Too big to fail? Uh-uh. Too big to exist. Just in time for Bank Transfer Day, PHDC presents a panel discussion on how to let your money work for the good of the community, instead of for the benefit […]

Dennis Herrera for Mayor, David Onek for District Attorney, and Chris Cunnie for Sheriff, plus Ken Tray of UESF for Yes on A and No on H came by to touch base, to thank the Club for its endorsement, and to let us know how we can help their campaigns. We previewed our door hanger […]

Mayor DENNIS HERRERA District Attorney DAVID ONEK Sheriff CHRIS CUNNIE San Francisco Propositions A – YES School Bonds B – YES Road Paving and Street Safety Bonds C – No position City Pension and Health Care Benefits D – NO City Pension Benefits E – No position Amending or Repealing Legislative Initiative Ordinances and Declarations […]

SEPT 6th at 6:30pm: CANDIDATES. The District Attorney candidate forum featured (above, left to right) George Gascón, Sharmin Bock, Bill Fazio, and David Onek. Their submitted questionnaires are here. PHDC Secretary, attorney J.R. Eppler, moderated. Photo by Jean Bogiages. There were then separate presentations, each followed by Q&A, from candidates for Sheriff, Chris Cunnie, Ross […]