Topics: What is really in the horrible Republican tax bill, and why that is Reason #1 to Take Congress Back in November; a new community-led effort to create a Public Bank in San Francisco; endorsement calendar for 2018’s super-important elections, including votes for Mayor, Governor, and District 10 Supervisor; officer nominations open (election in February).
WHEN: Tuesday, January 9th, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St
Dan Bernal, Congressional Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi‘s SF Chief of Staff, will discuss and answer your questions about the insanity of the past year on Capitol Hill.
Closer to home, familiar ally Jon Golinger will discuss and read from his new book: Saving San Francisco’s Heart: How to win elections, reclaim our city, and keep SF a special place.
Also: PHDC’s Executive Committee voted to support the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition‘s efforts to win pay increases for 25,000 low-wage workers in San Francisco, and will bring it to the membership for ratification.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 7, 7pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Hts
At Tuesday’s meeting, we’ll bring this year’s ongoing phonebanking directly into our club! If you’ve never phonebanked, or if you are phonebank-curious, this will be a fun and easy introduction, brought to us by our allies at DemocracyAction to what it’s like, and why it’s important. We’ll also hear about (and vote whether to support) efforts to raise San Francisco’s Living Wage.
And more: our PHDC booth at the Potrero Hill Festival Saturday, October 21st; a report from the Rock the Congress conference a couple of weeks back in Marin County, to unite Democrats as we head into 2018; what’s happening (finally, after 7 years, maybe some good news?) with the California DISCLOSE Act. We’ll also begin planning for our Holiday Party and our actions for the coming months. Join us on Tuesday!
WHEN: Tuesday, October 3, 7pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Hts
Food, drink, friends and great deals! Potrero Hill Democratic Club’s Party & “Shop Local†Silent Auction is always a celebration of and for the community – and a fundraiser for the club’s many educational and democracy-enhancing activities. We never solicit or accept money from candidates or campaigns we endorse – so this event and membership dues are it for us.
Check out the ever-growing list of generous donors here.
5pm – 8pm. Dogpatch Saloon, 2496 Third St at 22nd.
Evolve CA returns to PHDC: campaign manager Ian Fregosi will update us on the efforts, long supported by the Club, to close the corporate loopholes in Prop 13. Make It Fair in 2018!
We will also hear from Dotty Nygard, a leading challenger to Republican Jeff Denham’s congressional seat in California’s District 10. That district (Modesto, Tracy, Turlock, Oakdale, etc) is the closest Congressional district to San Francisco held by a Republican; in this blue-on-blue city, we know that supporting other districts is one of the most productive Resistance things we can do. What’s going on over there? How do we defeat the Republican next door? Come to Tuesday’s meeting to hear more and take action.
Also, City College Trustee Tom Temprano will remind us that Free City College is real, and classes start August 19! (Click the link to check out classes and sign up now!) And, we’ll discuss supporting the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition‘s efforts to win pay increases for 25,000 low-wage workers in San Francisco, including many people we rely on for crucial services. One more way to Make It Fair in 2018.
Join us Tuesday, as The Resistance turns to specific campaigns.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 1st, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St
Come hear from PHDC members and allies who went to the California Democratic Party convention two weeks ago in Sacramento: the drama, the frustration, the crucial issues.
Also, a discussion (with some guests) about the various efforts to flip legislative seats across the state and the country. In this blue-on-blue city, supporting other districts is one of the most productive ways to Resist. Democracy Action, Sister District, Swing Left, and others are organizing on this front; where do we go and what can we do to help? Find out, and take action.
WHEN: Tuesday, June 6th, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St
At Tuesday’s meeting, we welcome back Amy Farah Weiss of the Saint Francis Homelessness Challenge, featured in March 2016 on our illuminating, inspirational panel on interim homelessness solutions (video here), with an update on what the City is doing (or not doing) with our neighborhood encampments, and some new proposals that are now gaining momentum. 
Former Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, of the SF Democratic County Central Committee, will follow up on last month’s conversations (at PHDC and at the DCCC) about how the Democratic Party and our neighborhood club can work better together to fight Trumpism and corporate democracy at home and nationally.
Also also, we’ll hear more about the Rally for Inclusion coming up on Saturday, May 6.
And phone banking updates, and more! Come and catch up, the neighborhood Resistance is open to everyone at any time.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 2nd, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St
At our next meeting, we’ll have updates from the many Resistance fronts that have opened up, from single-payer healthcare in California to boycotts nationwide. And we’ll plan our next steps in joining the growing coalition for Sanctuary and immigrant rights, and in working with San Francisco’s Democratic Party to make the political infrastructure work for us.
Lorena Melgarejo, parish organizer for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Human Life and Dignity, will discuss what we can do to help right now, with local churches and on our own. We will also have a roundtable conversation, facilitated by PHDC board members, to discuss how San Francisco’s Democratic Party and our neighborhood Club can work better together to fight Trumpism and corporate democracy at home and nationally.
On Sunday, April 9, DCCC members Sophie Maxwell and Keith Baraka will be joining us at Sunday Streets in Dogpatch. You are invited to spend whatever time you can spare for some car-free fun, between 11am and 4pm. Email contact_us@phdemclub.org for more info, exact location, and/or to volunteer. Let’s spread the Resistance throughout the neighborhood! And register voters too.
WHEN: Tuesday, April 4th, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St
Two-plus weeks after the “inauguration,” we find that all the challenges we feared are coming at us, almost all at once. So for the foreseeable future, our Club will focus on ongoing, practical resistance against the Republican agenda in Washington, and the corporate agenda in Sacramento and City Hall. Each meeting will start with quick updates and specific upcoming actions, and then we’ll dive deeper into conversations with allies on specific subjects. This meeting featured:
• Combating Climate Change. Back in 2013, Citizens’ Climate Lobby appeared before the DemClub; as a result, we became the first organization in SF to endorse its proposed federal legislation, Carbon Fee & Dividend – which, considering the current climate (so to speak) looming in Washington DC, just might have a chance in today’s Congress (it’s both market-based and socially just). CCL volunteers Joni Eisen, Heath Massey, & Brendan Rhoan updated us on their progress, coupled with a call to action.
• Supporting Real Investigative Journalism. Michael Stoll and Daphne Magnawa of San Francisco Public Press, a local nonprofit, noncommercial news organization, described some of their work producing high-impact in-depth reporting projects on a wide range of topics.
• Saving Health Care. Carolyn Barden of California Nurses Association and Jonathan Meade of Healthy California discussed expanding health care, not cutting it, and why now is the time to move forward in California with Single-Payer legislation: Medicare for all.
For your ongoing convenience, find links to overall resistance info, and particular actions, in our current newsletter.
Potrero Hill Democratic Club 