Happy 2011! PHDC’s first event of the year was a successful & fun joint meeting with our D10 cohorts from the recently-formed Harvey Matthews Bayview Hunters Point Democratic Club. To begin, the crowd broke up into small groups (photo below by Linda Post) to brainstorm program ideas for the coming year. Many issues came up; we’ll organize the data soon and report to both clubs.

2010 Census data have been published, and redistricting looms in San Francisco. Three veterans of the last redistricting wars, Espanola Jackson, Tony Kelly, and Ron Miguel, shared their thoughts and experiences.

Both clubs took nominations for 2011 officers – elections to be held later.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 4th at 7PM
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Hts

Congratulations to Malia Cohen, who, after a wildly unpredictable race against 20 other candidates and many rounds of ranked-choice vote tallying, has been named the winner! We were pleased to welcome her as a special guest.

Before Supervisor-elect Cohen arrived, the meeting began with processing the recent election – but time did not permit more than a rather spirited discussion of the merits and faults of the ranked-choice system itself. Plans for the coming year will be a topic for the beginning of next month’s meeting. Thanks to those who brought food items for our annual collection for the San Francisco Food Bank!

WHEN: Tuesday, December 7th at 7PM
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St

We invited candidates and reps from the various Club-endorsed campaigns to the Neighborhood House with literature & campaign swag, to say a few words and answer questions. It was another chance to get to know some candidates and issues better. We introduced the cool blue door hanger (photo at right by Linda Post) designed by Rebecca Shearin, listing PHDC’s endorsements. It’s being walked by volunteers all over the Hill and Dogpatch.

Also, on the 9th anniversary of the Afghanistan war, some of us wrote letters urging Speaker Pelosi to insist on a clear timetable for U. S. military withdrawal.

We’re looking forward to tabling at the Potrero Hill Festival Saturday, October 16th. See you there.

On Tuesday, Sept. 7, Club members voted on some state propositions and all candidates on the Nov 2nd ballot. Candidates for Board of Education, Community College Board, and Assessor-Recorder spoke briefly and answered questions.

In order to be endorsed, a candidate must receive 60% of votes cast. In just two rounds of hand-counted instant-runoff voting, Tony Kelly won PHDC’s endorsement for District 10 Supervisor.

Complete list of all Club endorsements is here.

The first two Tuesday evenings in September were entirely dedicated to speakers and member voting, at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro.

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 6:30PM: We had speakers pro & con, with Q&A, for State Propositions 19, 20, 22, and 27, and all local Propositions: AA through N. Complete list of endorsements for the November election is here.

The Neighborhood House was definitely the place to be Monday, August 2, and Tuesday, August 3, when both evenings were devoted to candidates vying for the office of Supervisor for District 10. It was standing room only the first night, and a full house the next – a total of about 250 people (a record for the Club, now in its 4th year of existence). Moderated by Keith Goldstein, President of Potrero Hill Association of Merchants and Businesses, the events gave the candidates a chance to highlight their strengths and show their differences.

Candidates who appeared, with website links if available:
Monday, August 2: Malia Cohen, Kristine Enea, Nyese Joshua, Steve Moss, Eric Smith, Lynette Sweet, Stephen Weber
Tuesday, August 3: Isaac Bowers, Espanola Jackson, Chris Jackson, Tony Kelly, DeWitt Lacy, Geoffrea Morris, Diane Wesley Smith, Marlene Tran

You can see video segments of both nights by Linda Post on You Tube here and here.

Complete videos of both nights by Joseph Schaller are here, where you can see the whole 2 nights by clicking on “Play all videos” near the top of the page, or pick and choose among the segments.

Photos from Tuesday (top) and Monday, by Linda Post:

Click here to see more photos.

Gina Abrescy/3 Energies Massage & Bodywork • Aperto • ARCH Drafting Supplies Inc • Bell & Trunk Flowers • Caffè La Stazione • Jo Cangelosi • Chat’s of San Francisco • Chiotras Grocery • Collage Gallery • Connecticut Yankee • Cup of Blues • Joni Eisen • Kristine Enea • Farley’s • Goat Hill Pizza • The Good Life Grocery • Horatius • Peter Linenthal • Moshi Moshi Sushi & Grill • Mr and Mrs Miscellaneous • Pawtrero Hill Bath House & Feed Co. • Pera • Photography by Emily Payne • Post & Parcel, Inc • Potrero Chiropractors & Acupuncture • Quince Spa • The Ramp • Rocketfish • Salazar & Heath Inc • San Francisco Center for the Book • Marlene Tran • Yield Wine Bar

At our last meeting, Public Defender Jeff Adachi (right), recently named Public Defender of the Year by the Public Defenders Association, presented his ideas on how to alleviate the city budget shortfall by reforming the pension system.

Click here to watch 2-part video by Linda Post.

Our May meeting ran too late to vote on defeating the November water bonds, so Adam Scow (below left) of Food & Water Watch was back with a brief review before the vote: NO on the water bonds.

Two more candidates for District 10 Supervisor introduced themselves: Chris Jackson and Marlene Tran. We discussed various other items of Club business and future fun. Photos by Rebecca Shearin.

WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St @ Southern Heights
WHEN: Tuesday, June 1st, at 7:00PM

The Club revisited and further explored three issues that we have examined in the past, ranging from within the district to statewide – and of course they’re all related.

In District 10, there has been ongoing concern about the environmental impacts of development in the Bayview. We continued that discussion, this time with members of POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights) Jaron Browne and Nyese Joshua.

The citizens of San Francisco are moving toward the ability to pool their purchasing power to buy electricity from more sustainable sources – unless PG&E succeeds in effectively wiping out all competition with the deceptive Prop 16. “Community Choice Aggregation” is now known as CleanPowerSF, and was described by Caroline Teng of SF LAFCo.

Then, following up on our panel discussion of the California water crisis, Adam Scow of Food & Water Watch gave reasons to flush the state water bond on the November ballot. however, it was to late to vote on an endorsement either way, so Adam will return June 1st.

At the beginning of the meeting, Alex Tourk from Why Tuesday introducing the idea of adding Saturday as an election day, and in the middle, Isaac Bowers and Rev. Nina Pickerrell, candidates for District 10 Supervisor, introduced themselves.

WHEN: Tuesday, May 4th, at 7:00PM
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Heights

The members of Potrero Hill Democratic Club voted at the April 6th meeting to have the opportunity to hear all candidates for the SF Democratic County Central Committee in District 13, not just the ones who have never been elected to public office. All candidates were therefore invited to schedule an appearance. Twenty-three candidates were heard from, 21 in person and 2 through surrogates. The following candidates passed the 60% threshold and got the club’s endorsement: Keith Baraka, David Campos, David Chiu, Hope Johnson, Rafael Mandelman, Aaron Peskin, Debra Walker.

We thank all the candidates for taking the time to speak to us, and for their dedication to making a difference in San Francisco.

WHEN: Monday, April 19th, at 7:00PM
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Heights