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November 2022 Endorsements

Prop A, Retiree Supplemental Cost of Living Adjustment; Retirement Board Contract with Executive Director – YES

These people deserve the benefits; should have happened sooner.

Prop B, Public Works Dept and Commission, Sanitation and Streets Dept and Commission – No Position

Prop C, Homelessness Oversight Commission – No Position

Prop D, City Approval of Affordable Housing – NO

The new YIMBY plan to build affordable housing: just redefine “affordable” to mean “affordable to rich people.”  Opposed by Race & Equity, Anti-Displacement Coalition, United Educators, Housing Equity, the Tenants Union, PODER, and many more.

Prop E, Affordable Housing Production Act – No Position

A better competing bill than D, but still might encourage demolition of currently affordable housing, causing displacement.  On the other hand, if E gets more votes, it nullifies D.

Prop F, Library Preservation Fund – YES

Extends the current set-aside.

Prop H, Elections in even numbered years – YES

Join Common Cause and LWV in fighting election fatigue.

Prop I, Uses of the Great Highway and JFK Drive – NO

Ten years ago, the city adopted a plan to prevent the west side’s sewage treatment facilities from falling into the ocean as a result of climate change. This bill does away with that plan, putting taxpayers on the hook for $80 million to come up with a new one.  It would also reopen JFK and the Great Highway to car traffic as they were before the pandemic.

Prop J, Golden Gate Park Access and Safety Program – YES

This would keep a portion of JFK drive and connecting streets closed seven days a week for recreational purposes, essentially as they are now.  It would have no effect on the Great Highway, which would also continue to operate as presently.

Prop L, Transportation Sales Tax – No Position

Yes, we are still a transit-first organization and generally support MUNI; however some of our members feel the SFCTA, MUNI’s oversight body, does not have a good plan and is spending our money badly. They feel a NO vote would send them a message. I any case, the half-cent sales tax still goes on for another eight years.

Prop M, Tax on Keeping Residential Units Vacant – YES

San Francisco has a housing crisis AND 40,000 units being kept vacant.  This initiative would tax those units (with some exceptions) and use the money to build affordable housing.

Prop N, Golden Gate Park Underground Parking Facility; Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority – YES

Give the city the power to set reasonable rates for the parking garage.

Prop O, Additional Parcel Tax for City College – YES



SFT endorses David Campos

San Francisco Tomorrow supports David Campos in the April 19 Assembly runoff.  We believe David will do the best job of ensuring that the city can continue to decide its own future.  While we join others in wanting more housing to be built here, we do not believe the state is in a position to sufficiently appreciate our issues with displacement and other problems, or has enough interest in making sure any housing built will be affordable to those who live and work here.  The city already has 44,000 empty units that are either unaffordable or are intentionally kept vacant by the owners.  We believe that housing should actually house people, not just serve as investments for Russian oligarchs.

We also think Matt Haney is doing a fine job as District 6 supervisor and would like to keep him there.

You can support David’s campaign here.



Some upcoming SFT events

Championing a labor activist

SFT Board member ClaireZvanski is among the women being honored at San Francisco District 11 Democratic Club’s Labor Day Picnic. Monday, September 6, 1pm to 4pm in McLaren Park at the John Shelley Picnic Area A (West). Rsvp and order lunch here.

Celebrations of Life for SFT long-time beloved board members who have passed on

Denise D’Anne
Friday, September 10 at 2pm. San Francisco Columbarium, 1 Loraine Ct near Stanyan and Anza. You must rsvp to attend: email Denise’s grandson Geoff at thegreenladydenise@gmail.com

Jane Morrison
A celebration of Jane’s life had been scheduled to be held at Delancey Street, but has been postponed due to the virus surge. Stay tuned to find out when it will be rescheduled.



2020 Holiday Party

PartyHead

Join us for San Francisco Tomorrow’s Virtual Holiday Party

When: Wednesday, December 9, 5:30-7:30

Where: Castello di Zoom, of course! (if you’re not set up for Zoom, a phone # will be available)

Donations: Please donate to the SF-Marin Food Bank or other CovID relief charity – we don’t need the money this year and a lot of others do!

We’ll send the zoom link and phone numbers out before the event.

What can you bring? We’re not providing food or beverages this year, so you’ll need to bring your own! To your own house!! Also, we’d like to have a San Francisco photo display – use your favorite photo of the city as your virtual background!

Reserve your virtual table here.



Our November 3 Endorsements

Supervisor, District 1 Connie Chan
Supervisor, District 3 Aaron Peskin
Supervisor, District 5 Dean Preston
Supervisor, District 7 Myrna Melgar
Supervisor, District 9 Hillary Ronen
Supervisor, District 11 No recommendation*
Local Propositions
A, $487m bond – housing, parks streets Support
B, New Department of Sanitation and Streets with Commission Support
C, Removing Citizenship Requirements for Members of City Bodies Support
D, Sheriff’s oversight Support
E, Removing Policy staffing mandate from charter Support
F, Business Tax Overhaul Support
G, Youth voting in local elections Support
H, Streamlined permitting for neighborhood commercial uses Support
I, Real estate transfer tax Support
K, Affordable housing authorization Support
L, Business tax based on highest/lowest paid staff Support
RR, CalTrain sales tax Support
State Propositions
15, Prop 13 split roll Support
16, Overturns 1996’s Prop 209 Support
17, Expands voting rights to former prisoners Support
18, Constitutional amendment to allow 17-year-olds to vote Support
21, Expansion of rent control options Support
The following three measures are bad on their own merits, but additionally we strongly resent the constant attempts to overturn legislation by appealing to low-information voters.
22, Uber/Lyft exemption from employee benefits Oppose
23, Kidney dialysis Oppose
24, Overturns CA privacy laws Oppose
25, Referendum on bail elimination Support

* No recommendation: did not reach the 60% threshold



R.I.P. Denise

Denise2016

When it rains, it pours.  Contact  thegreenladydenise@gmail.com to sign up for the memorial.



Jane Morrison Passes

JaneMorrison

Jane Morrison, queen of San Francisco and California Democratic politics, died this weekend, just two months after celebrating her 100th birthday. Her passing truly marks the end of an era in San Francisco politics. Jane became active in Democratic politics in San Francisco in 1952, when she worked on the Adlai Stevenson campaign. She was a tireless campaigner and fundraiser for San Francisco politicians for the next six decades, including working to elect her husband Jack to the Board of Supervisors in the 1960s.

Jane and I joined the board of San Francisco Tomorrow together in 1992, a year after the death of Jack, a major force in the organization for many years. Already in her 70s, Jane threw herself into SFT issues, particularly those championed by her husband. She served on the Port’s Waterfront Plan Advisory Committee in the 1990s to ensure the protection of the waterfront as a publicly accessible open space, successfully campaigned for Saturday closure of JFK Drive, and supported the extension of Caltrain to the Transbay Terminal.

Jane served as president of SFT for several years, resigning only to become chair of the Democratic County Central Committee after the 2000 election. She remained one of our most active board members, directing fundraising activities, editing the newsletter and supporting progressive candidates. The parties at her Woodland Avenue home were legendary. She remained active until her mid-90s, but has been housebound for the past few years.

Jane worked on multiple causes and campaigns in her long life, but what she really collected was people. This became clear to me when the SFT board decided to put together a tribute to Jane on her 100th birthday in April. Although the pandemic changed our initial plans to film on location at some of Jane’s favorite San Francisco haunts, nearly 60 people sent in videos or photographs to include in a Happy Birthday video. Rest assured that she was able to view the video several times in the months since her birthday.

I’ll miss my friend of 28 years – and I’m sure I’m not alone in that feeling.

I know that Jane wanted a big memorial service and a procession led by the Green Street Mortuary band. That of course, isn’t possible in the current environment, but we’ll keep you advised of anything that is planned.

Good-bye Jane! Rest in power.

Jennifer Clary

President, San Francisco Tomorrow



Can we get this fixed, please?

white-silence-equals-white-consent-black-lives-matter-d001029987283

It’s just like the mass shootings crisis: murders occur, then large demonstrations, prayers are offered up, promises are made, and then… nothing!  At the very least, we need to break the power of the police unions this time.



Happy Birthday Jane!

Thanks to everyone who shared their reminiscences and birthday wishes.  And a special thanks to Jay Wilson and the other members of our posse who spent so much time putting this video together.

Bonus! Barry Hermanson is organizing a party to perform a socially distanced rendition of the Hill Sisters’ birthday song in F (or whatever the hell key Barry can manage) out front of 44 Woodland at 11:30 Friday morning.  415-255-9494. Be there or be square!



Reminder: Time to create your video for Jane!

JaneMorrison

It will only take a few minutes. We are all awash in negativity nowadays, but here’s something super-positive you can do for Jane Morrison, SF and California Democratic icon who has worked tirelessly to improve our world for most of the century she’s been around. How has she influenced your life? She will turn 100 on April 17th, and will receive the video compilation on that day. The date is approaching fast!

Deadline to submit: April 10th

Assignment: Make a 2-minute (max) video for Jane, to Jane

Suggested subjects: Happy birthday, I so appreciate…, remember when…, etc. Think about Jane, smile and reminisce!

Tips: Identify yourself by name. If using a phone, hold it in horizontal position. Use the hi-res option if possible.

Email: Send videos to Jay Wilson at strewthmate@gmail.com . If that doesn’t work for some reason, simply email Jay to tell you how to send another way.

We don’t want to leave anyone out; please pass this invitation along to anyone who may want to participate. Help us make Jane’s centennial a real celebration!

Here is a sample video for you.



Help Us Celebrate Jane Morrison

NancyNJane2

Does hanging out at home have you climbing the walls?  Is social distancing getting you down?  Then we have a project for you – one that you can accomplish without leaving your home!

As some of you are aware, our long-time president Jane Morrison is celebrating her 100th birthday next month.  It’s a notable occasion, but one that we must celebrate remotely – and, with your help, we will.

The Jane Centennial Project is our way of celebrating Jane’s birthday even though we can’t physically be with her.  We’re seeking videos, photos, and written material chronicling Jane’s impact on your life. Here’s how you can participate:

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Update on the City’s Response to the Climate Emergency

In mid-December, SF Climate Emergency Coalition sent a second letter to the Mayor and Supervisors, signed by 11 organizations including SFT, about why all-electric buildings are essential to achieving the City’s climate emergency goals. Supervisor Mandelman’s ordinance incentivizing developers to build all-electric, passed before the end of 2019, is in effect now.

Supervisor Mandelman agreed to duplicate the legislation – so that electric-ready amendments electric_cookingcould be considered for new mixed-fuel buildings. He also committed to drafting a natural gas ban in new construction by this April. However, while such a ban is moving through the requisite channels, too many buildings already approved for development but not yet permitted would still use fossil fuel. As an interim fix, we advocated amending the duplicate ordinance with an electric-ready requirement as soon as possible.

The city now has over 73,000 new housing units in the pipeline – the vast majority in the eastern neighborhoods, where climate change has most affected residents least able to cope. If all these projects are not required to be at least electric-ready (equipped with the necessary electric infrastructure for a seamless future switch to electric appliances), we are missing a huge opportunity to reach our climate goals while protecting people’s health. Electric-readiness will also protect consumers from future higher utility bills and expensive retrofitting.

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