Registered Democrats who are running for office this November and are interested in being considered for the San Francisco Democratic Party’s endorsement were invited to complete the below questionnaires. Thanks to the San Francisco DCCC for collecting these documents from the candidates.
Candidates for Mayor
Candidates for District Attorney
Candidates for Sherriff
We hope you’ll join us for what should be a lively and crowded (with candidates) evening of political fun.
The event is free and is open to all.
Thursday, August 25, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
James Lick Middle School
1220 Noe Street, San Francisco, CA
We had a great time at the NVDC Summer Celebration! Loads of pols, members, and great food provided by Joe’s 24th Street Cafe. Check out all the photos on Facebook.
When: Wednesday, August 10.
Where: Joe’s 24th Street Cafe, 3853 24th Street @ Vicksburg
Time: 6:30 – 9:30
Suggested donation: $35
Joe is providing his great food.
No host bar.
Honorary Co-Chair
Event Sponsors
Friends of NVDC
There it is!
Join us on July 20 for our Muni Forum. We’ve got two excellent speakers who really know the ins and outs of public transport in the Bay Area.
Tom Radulovich is executive director of Livable City and a member of the BART board.
John Haley is Director of Transit at Muni.
Be there!
Wednesday July 20, 7:30 p.m.
St Philips Church
725 Diamond Street (off Elizabeth St)
We’re really excited to welcome Examiner columnist and City politics expert Melissa Griffin as moderator of the June 22 District Attorney Candidate forum! Melissa’s dual expertise in journalism and law should make this a fantastic night.
Melissa is one of the most sought after media personalities in San Francisco politics. She’s a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and writes the blog Sweet Melissa. In 2010, she moderated debates for the Supervisorial races in District 2, 8 and 10. In addition, Melissa co-hosts, with Chronicle columnist Beth Spotswood, the political satire program Necessary Conversation, the go-to site for those interested in local and national politics and social commentary.
The club will host a candidate form for candidates in the San Francisco District Attorney’s race on June 22, 2011.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Place: St. Philip Church, 725 Diamond Street, San Francisco.
Moderator: Melissa Griffin
Melissa is one of the most sought after media personalities in San Francisco politics. She’s a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and writes the blog Sweet Melissa. In 2010, she moderated debates for the Supervisorial races in District 2, 8 and 10. In addition, Melissa co-hosts, with Chronicle columnist Beth Spotswood, the political satire program Necessary Conversation, the go-to site for those interested in local and national politics and social commentary.
Candidates include:
George Gascon, San Francisco District Attorney (Incumbent)
Sharmin Bock, Prosecutor
David Onek, Senior Fellow and founding Executive Director at the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice
Each candidate will be asked to prepare 10-12 minutes of formal comments. Following the comments, each candidate will have a short time to refute, rebut and/or comment on other candidates’ comments.
30 minutes will be reserved for our usual Question and Answer session. As in the past, you are invited to forward questions now in advance to be presented by our President, Hunter Stern, or voice them that night.
Of course we invite your brief and succinct questions but ask that you withhold elaborate personal opinions. We need to maximize the candidates time with us.
Tim Paulson kicked off our Labor Union forum with a spirited defense of unions, informing the audience that workers in California and San Francisco were “under attack” and tracing the attacks back to large Wall Street banks that hope to gain by taking over pension funds. He expressed hope that, just as California – lead by union activists – had been able to stop the “red tide” in the 2010 national elections, the state would also be able to stop the Republican effort to “dismantle the government.”
Paulson pointed to Costa Mesa, California, a city that has recently laid off most of its workers and moved toward outsourcing and privatizing city funds as an example of lengths to which anti-union activists will go to stop union activity. He said these negotiations in Costa Mesa and San Jose are “really an attack on workers.” He said that kind of mistreatment of unions is now “trickling into the private sector.”
Paulson pointed out that San Francisco is nearly unique in that the city has brought its labor unions to the table to negotiate with Mayor Ed Lee and key city supervisors to work out a deal that will address debt and benefit concerns over a ten year span. Financier Warren Hellman is facilitating the effort.
Ken Tray of the United Educators of San Francisco echoed many of Paulson’s concerns. He cited a recent New York Times editorial by Dave Eggers and Ninive Clements Calegari as a helpful way of understanding the skewed view the role of teachers in our country’s schools. Tray considers defined pensions and health benefits as an essential part of the social contract. He pointed out that the four furlough days forced upon San Francisco public schools could be considered a city-endorsed general strike. The attack on teachers actually has to do with an attack on the social contract,
not on teachers performance,” Tray said. Pensions, he added, are really a very small part of the public sector’s financial problems.
Both speakers said that Jeff Adachi’s failed 2010 Prop B and his planned “Son of B” are examples of the types of attacks unions are forced to endure. They said that Adachi’s failure to bring union voices into his ballot process indicates his disregard for their work.
Supervisor Elsbernd was unable to attend because of a schedule change on the day of the event. He was meeting with the mayor on Wednesday evening to discuss these very issues.
Update:
Mayor Ed. Lee and Supervisor Elsbernd have introduced pension and health benefits reform measure for the November 2011 ballot.
Unions – boon or bane? But this is San Francisco, could that even be asked in San Francisco? This isn’t Wisconsin, Indiana or Ohio after all. Nevertheless, questions are being asked in light of deficits and the need for further budget cutting.
In that light we have invited a very knowledgeable panel to discuss the state of unions in San Francisco and in California. Our panel will be represented by Tim Paulsen, Director of the San Francisco Labor Council; Ken Tray will speak for the United Educators of San Francisco; Sean Elsbernd, San Francisco Supervisor from the Sunset District, will talk from a somewhat more conservative point of view (for San Francisco), perhaps discussing whether union health benefits and pensions are part of the problem.
About Our Panelists:
Tim Paulson joined the San Francisco Labor Council as its Executive Director in September 2004 and was just re-elected to a new three year term. The San Francisco Labor Council is the center of labor activity in San Francisco and is comprised of 150 local unions, representing over 100,000 working men and women in San Francisco. The mission of the Council is to promote social and economic justice for all working people. As Executive Director, Tim leads and coordinates labor’s political activities, organizes events and rallies, and supports affiliates in their bargaining and contract negotiations when necessary.
Tim has over two decades of extensive experience in the labor movement. Before joining the San Francisco Labor Council, Tim worked as the Political Director and Assistant Executive Officer of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council. At the San Mateo CLC Tim directed all political activities of the Council and coordinated a wide range of Council activities, including the staffing of the Council’s Airport Labor Coalition, a monthly convening of unions which monitors and coordinates labor activities at SFO.
A Journeyman Tilesetter since 1981, Tim served as a principal officer and business agent for the 45-county Bricklayers, Tilelayers, and Allied Craftworkers Local 3 and was Apprenticeship Coordinator for the Northern California Tilelayers and Tile Finishers Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
Ken Tray is currently Political Director for United Educators of San Francisco and a teacher of Advanced Placement Psychology and Government at Lowell High School.
In the last few years, UESF has emerged as a powerful voice of teachers whose special interests are their students and San Francisco Public Schools. During a 25-year teaching career in San Francisco Ken received a Fulbright teaching position (’95-’96) in Belfast, Northern Ireland and, for a number of years, served as a Teacher on Special Assignment and a Mentor Teacher coaching and supporting the classroom work of his fellow educators.
Mr. Tray is a longtime Delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council and active in numerous teaching and union organizations throughout California.
Supervisor Sean Elsbernd represents San Francisco District 7. The people of District 7 elected Supervisor Elsbernd to the Board of Supervisors in November 2004, following his August 2004 appointment to the Board by Mayor Gavin Newsom. Supervisor Elsbernd currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Rules Committee and Chair of the Transportation Authority’s Finance Committee. Additionally, he sits on the Health Service System Board and the Retirement Board serving City employees and City retirees. Finally, Supervisor Elsbernd has served on the Budget and Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors in each of his two complete years as a member of the Board.
Our next program is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 and will feature what promises to be a lively discussion about labor unions.
Speakers will be announced soon.
