Following a brief business meeting and further discussion of Lennar’s plans for Bayview/Hunters Point/Candlestick open space and development, the club welcomed Jeff Adachi, California’s only publicly elected Public Defender. See our calendar for details.

Meeting Audio and Photos »

First, Leah Pimentel (right) of GRID Alternatives described their program, which provides qualifying lower-income homeowners with photovoltaic systems to produce clean electricity – without increasing monthly household expenses.

Next, Saul Bloom, Executive Director of Arc Ecology, and Arthur Feinstein (left) of the Sierra Club explained their alternate concepts to Lennar’s plans for Bayview/Hunters Point/Candlestick open space and development.

Finally, Quintin Mecke, Communications Director for Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, and David Beaupre of the Port of San Francisco sought and won the Club’s support of AB 1176, to enable adequate financing for the cleanup, restoration and development of Pier 70.

Meeting Audio and Photos »

The statewide Special Election is Tuesday, May 19th. Speakers for our April 7th meeting were District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell (right) to discuss potential local effects of the budget, plus Rick Wathen of California Teachers Association and Beyond Chron Managing Editor Paul Hogarth (below, left and right), both of whom spoke in detail about the six propositions, for and against respectively.

Club endorsement votes were tallied at the end of the meeting: NO on 1A, 1C, 1D, and 1E, and no position on 1B and 1F.

There was also an update by Chris Jackson of the SF Labor Council, on Bayview/Hunters Point development plans as they pertain to SB 792.

Meeting Audio and Photos »

What do Community Choice Aggregation and rebuilding Potrero Terrace & Annex have in common? They both are in the planning stages, and both are seeking community input to make the ideas become reality.

Laura Hahn of the Sierra Club Bay Area chapter spoke about the former, and Ben Golvin of Equity Community Builders spoke about the latter.

Laura Hahn with the Sierra Club

Ben Golvin with Equity Community Builders Photos: Quint King

Meeting Audio and Photos »

Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi Photo: Quint King

Supervisor Mirkarimi, despite feeling under the weather, gave an energetic presentation highlighting some of his main interests, then fielded plenty of audience questions. We heard from Jean Cosby of the Neighborhood House about their upcoming fundraiser, of which PHDC is a sponsor, and also elected officers for 2009.

Meeting Audio and Photos »

Anti-Prop 8 activist Dave Chandler spoke eloquently and movingly about his family’s experiences before and after the civil rights disaster Prop 8. The ad hoc committee on peaceful neighborhoods described its first meeting about research and potential collaborations to help make our neighborhoods safer. We tabled the District 10 Supervisor candidate speculation – it’s way too early. Members approved a letter to Speaker Pelosi in support of Clean and Fair Elections (full public financing) for congressional campaigns. Officers were nominated; there’s still time for more nominations at the beginning of our next meeting, February 3rd. Old business, new business, refreshments & cameraderie, at the usual time and place.

Dave Chandler against Prop 8 Photo: Quint King

Meeting Audio and Photos »

President-elect Obama, you’ve got the job! Now the real work begins. What do we expect from the Obama administration? Let’s savor the victory, but make sure our new President hears from us. At the meeting, we also heard about Greenpeace’s plans for the new administration, as well as the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress. Details on our calendar.

Anna Wagner from Greenpeace Photos: Rebecca Shearin

Meeting Audio and Photos »

Let’s make sure the Club’s endorsements actually mean something. Please donate your time, energy or or other resources to our endorsed campaigns. Links to many of those campaigns are in the sidebar at right. Then celebrate at Election Night Parties!

On October 18th at the annual Potrero Hill Festival, Club members campaign (and sell T-shirts!) as neighbors and friends enjoy a beautiful day on top of our Hill. More photos here.

The time: 5:30. The place: the venerable Connecticut Yankee. This time our first-Tuesday-of-the-month meeting coincided with the second Presidential Debate. We ate, drank and made fun of certain statements. And connected with some reps of the campaigns we’ve endorsed.

The next first-Tuesday is ELECTION DAY. No PHDC meeting. Get out there and make a difference, then celebrate your efforts at a party!

Our September 2nd meeting, starting at 6:30PM instead of 7:00, featured local candidates for Board of Education and Community College Board (read the candidates’ questionnaires here), as well as speakers on four contentious ballot measures. Endorsements from that meeting have now been made.

Prop A (SF General Hospital Bonds) PRO by Dr Jeff Crutchfield & others

Props C (City Employees on Charter Boards), E (Signatures Required for Recall), F (City Elections in Even-Numbered Years) PRO by Jake McGoldrick

On September 9th, we considered the other 18 local ballot measures. Those endorsements will be published by Sept 17th.

For MP3 Audio and Photos of the Sept 2nd meeting,
click HERE.

For MP3 Audio and Photos of the Sept 9th meeting,
click HERE. More info about local ballot measures can be found at SFGov.

The ballot for the November 4th Presidential election will be a whopper. Tuesday, August 4th was our first endorsement meeting for that election. We had outside speakers pro and con for the more controversial state propositions, and club members gave overviews and recommendations on other measures. Members had a week to turn in their ballots; results are on the right. A useful reference for anyone pondering how to vote is the Secretary of State’s website.

The Honorable Quentin Kopp former SF Supervisor and State Senator, Chair of High Speed Rail Authority

City candidates and ballot measures will be dealt with at TWO September endorsement meetings, Sept 2nd (local candidates) and Sept 9th (local propositions).

Meeting Audio and Photos »

At our July 1st meeting, back in our usual room at the Neighborhood House, we featured speakers from the Proposition 13 Reform Task Force, a group concerned about the continuing adverse impact of Proposition 13 on California government. They drafted a resolution as a prelude to passing a ballot initiative to change California’s property tax laws by removing non-residential commercial property from Proposition 13’s tax shelter. They say that this change would produce billions of dollars in revenue that could be used for local needs.

Photo: Rebecca Shearin

Meeting Audio and Photos »

By all means help get out the vote for your favorite candidate or campaign. Then grab a drink, salad or dessert to share and head on over to 824B Carolina – behind the Neighborhood House this time, since our regular venue is being used as a polling place. Pizza’s on us.

Special guest Barry Hermanson will speak about the need to reduce military spending. More details about the meeting are on our calendar.

Meeting Audio and Photos »

These were the topics covered at our May 6th meeting. Below, Superdelegate Alicia Wang shares insights about Party machinations.

Photo: Rebecca Shearin

Meeting Audio and Photos »

At our meeting Tuesday, April 1st, there were 8 local and 2 state ballot measures to consider. These included two pairs of competing measures: one about development in the Bayview, the other about eminent domain in California. There were candidates to consider, too; State Senator isn’t the only contest on the ballot. At the Neighborhood House for speakers and Q&A, members and guests enjoyed an informative evening of civic engagement. Check out the Club’s endorsements.

Photo: Rebecca Shearin

Meeting Audio and Photos »

March 4th was the date, The Nabe was the place to be when Police Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, Assemblyman Mark Leno, Senator Carole Migden and former Assemblyman Joe Nation vied for your vote. Philip DeAndrade moderated this leg of California’s hottest legislative race. Around 90 people showed up – our biggest event yet. Click on Blog at left to read an article about the event in the Bay Area Reporter.

Photo: Rebecca Wilkowski

Members voted as follows: First round IRV, counting 1st choices only: Leno 21. Migden 14, Nation 3, No Endorsement 2, total 40 votes cast. 2nd round: Eliminating the votes for Nation and No Endorsement, those voters’ second choices added 1 each to Leno and Migden, and 2 to Alioto Veronese (one voter had no 2nd choice). Since Alioto Veronese, like Nation and No Endorsement, got less than 15% of the vote, his votes were eliminated.

Final count: Leno 22, Migden 15. 24 votes were needed to make the 60% endorsement threshold. So the Club’s official position is: No Position. You can still click on the candidates’ photos at upper right, except for the one who dropped out, to go to their web sites.

Meeting Audio and Photos »

Our regular February meeting coincided with the Primary Election in California – and 23 other states! After voting, members, neighbors & friends gathered for a potluck at the Nabe to watch the returns. We also elected officers for 2008. Below are scenes from the event, which was held in the downstairs game room; our regular meeting room was being used, of course, as a polling place.

Photos: Linda Post

On January 8th, 2008, the Club held its endorsement meeting for local and state propositions that will be on the February 5th California Presidential Primary ballot. Here are our endorsements. Read about what the speakers had to say in the minutes of the meeting.

With such a strong field of candidates, no one thought our Club would be able to endorse just one. Twenty-seven members (out of 42 eligible) cast their ballots using ranked choice voting at our December 4th Party Endorsement Party. After several rounds Edwards remained the front runner, exceeding the 60% threshold when he and Barack Obama were the only two left standing. (Interested members are encouraged to volunteer by contacting the SF John Edwards campaign). Below are scenes from the event, including the reps from six presidential campaigns.

The California Presidential Primary is February 5, 2008, just two months away. Please join us for an exciting and festive Tuesday night meeting, at 7PM at the Neighborhood House. Speakers have been invited from all eight Democratic Primary campaigns to present and take questions. Written questions are being accepted now. Club members’ votes will be tallied at the end of the evening. For more details, please check our calendar.

If you want to help clean up the disastrous Cosco Busan oil spill on San Francisco Bay, here is where you can find out how to get the necessary training and updates.

Our meeting night falls on Election Day. Our club strongly endorsed a NO vote on Measure H, which the San Francisco Planning Department estimates will put 20,000 new vehicles on our city’s streets. That means more traffic, more air pollution, and the problems associated with both: more danger for pedestrians, childhood asthma, and global warming. Now let’s back our endorsement with action. For details of what you can do on Election Day and the days leading up to it, see our calendar.

District Attorney Kamala Harris was the featured speaker at our October 2nd regular meeting. Photo by Rebecca Wilkowski.

Andrew McGuire, Executive Director of Health Care for All – California, spoke at our September 4th meeting, describing the difference between the plans getting all the press and real, single-payer, universal health care. After his presentation and a lively Q & A, the membership voted to endorse Sheila Kuehl’s bill. Now that the Club has endorsed SB 840, we can actively promote the campaign to get it passed. To learn how you can get involved, click here.

Members listened intently to Assemblyman Leno’s discussion on a range of topics from our state budget deficit to the prison crisis. More details can be found in the August minutes.

Assemblyman Leno represents the 13th District, which includes Potrero Hill. One of the first openly gay men ever elected to the Assembly, he currently chairs the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which oversees all bills with a fiscal impact on the state. While in the Assembly, Leno has fought for better schools and access to higher education, a cleaner and sustainable environment, universal affordable and quality health care, improved transportation, renewable energy, Clean Money, safer streets, and equal rights for all Californians. He is challenging Senator Carole Migden (speaker at our May meeting) for the District 3 State Senate seat.

Speakers from both sides of a contentious issue debated the proposed helipad at San Francisco General Hospital, making for a lively evening.

Details of the meeting and more information relating to the helipad are in the June 2007 minutes.

The San Francisco General Hospital Helipad website is: www.dph.sf.ca.us/helipad
The Helipad opponents’ website is:
www.stophelipad.org