From the San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters (Also known as the League of Young Voters)
January 11, 2011
Re: Open letter to our friends on the Board of Supervisors about Ed Lee
Dear Supervisors Avalos, Chiu, Campos, Kim, Mar, and Mirkarimi,
Damn what a crazy week, huh? A week ago, we barely knew who Ed Lee was. Now we know that a lot of people who we respect consider him to be an accomplished progressive leader. That makes us hope that he’ll be a welcome breath of fresh air–more open and less defensive and vindictive than his predecessor.
But then we hear that Ed Lee is unlikely to make substantial changes to the current administration. And that bums us out, because that’s what we’ve been fighting for these last eight years.
It’d be hard to throw a rock in City Hall without hitting a Department in need of fixing:
– The Rec and Park department seems largely focused on turning our open spaces into money making ventures. Along the way, they line up their supporters like a political campaign while ignoring those who disagree with them.
– “Old boys club” cultures persist in the police and fire departments. Cliques and favoritism that hurt morale and productivity are rampant throughout city departments, particularly in Muni.
– The Ethics Department has shown little ability to investigate possible violations by campaigns that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to influence elections.
The list goes on and on. We need a Mayor who is ready to shake things up, bring in new leaders, and hold them accountable, and we have no idea if Ed Lee is going to be that guy. We’re not asking you to oppose Ed Lee as an interim Mayor. We get it that it’s a done deal. But we are asking you to push him to make the changes that we’ve been fighting for all of these years. You can start by asking him to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting on January 11 and ask him direct questions about his plans. Do it in the public forum of the Board chambers so we can all learn about our new Mayor and get his answers on the record. What changes will he make to the Department heads? What are his plans for closing the budget deficit? If there’s a Spring special election, will he put any measures on the ballot?
We worked our asses off to help get you elected. We put our reputations on the line when we told our friends that you were the kind of leaders who shared our values and would make us proud in City Hall. We’ve sacrificed evenings and weekends to stop strangers on the streets and interrupt conversations in bars to tell people about how cool you are. If you give a free pass to an interim Mayor who continues the status quo for the next year, we’re not sure how we’ll explain that on our next bar crawl.
This last week has kind of blown our minds. We want to hear your take on all of these changes, and we’re hoping that you can lead the way in continuing our fight to make San Francisco the fair, prosperous, and fun city that we all dream of.
Sincerely,
the San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters.
About the San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters
The San Francisco League of Pissed Off Voters is an all-volunteer chapter of a national organization (the League of Young Voters) that works in key cities and states to make politics relevant, fun, and meaningful to young people–especially those traditionally shut out of the political process. Our age range is from late teens to early thirties. We meet young people where we live, work on issues that affect our lives, and provide tools and training to make young people players and winners in the political game. We also organize voters, support candidates, and hold them accountable once they’re in office. We have made voter guides for the last twelve San Francisco elections. For the November 2010 election, we distributed 40,000 printed copies of our voter guide, focused on direct person-to-person outreach. Our goal is build a permanent, progressive, youth-driven campaign.
The Hunger Site
January 13, 2011 at 11:27 am
I think David Chiu has already sent progressives a message about how much he values our support. Supposedly we still have a progressive majority, but all of the major committees are now either headed by moderates or have a moderate majority.
He probably thinks he’s really clever now. It puts him in the drivers seat. But wait till November when progressives abandon him in his runs for higher office, and downtown still supports someone even more right wing.
January 11, 2011 at 6:35 pm
Our so called progressive supervisors ( Avalos, Chiu, Campos, Kim, Mar, and Mirkarimi), need to be held accountable for their actions! What are the consequences for San Francisco politics, now that the progressive base in San Francisco is reeling in doubt and confusion, even betrayal!!!!
January 11, 2011 at 4:04 pm
I think you, the League, might need to consider the role that your own somewhat ill-considered voter guide played in all this.
January 11, 2011 at 3:15 pm
Bravo, League! Because your principles are only meaningful if you adhere to them when it’s the hardest.
January 11, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Wow, you are expecting a lot from an interim mayor. I expect Mayor Lee to spend most of his time in office grappling with San Francisco’s budget problems, which will be made worse when the state budget is finally passed. According to Governor Brown, much of the programs handled and funded at the state level will be dumped on counties and cities without a clear indication as how these programs will be funded. Mayor Lee will be lucky to keep his head above water.