Our July meeting was a field trip. We gathered in Dolores Park on July 4th with the patriotic purpose of protecting democracy itself. How? By registering voters; by campaigning for the California DISCLOSE Act: Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections; and by supporting the SF Mime Troupe in their 52nd year of smart, satirical musical theater. We had the old ironing board as our base of operations, moved among the crowd with our petitions and voter registration materials, and then 8 of us stayed to enjoy the SF Mime Troupe show “2012 – The Musical!” and a fabulous potluck picnic. Activism should be fun! Photo by Scott Cole.

WHEN: Monday, July 4th, 12:30pm meet & register voters, 2pm picnic & show
WHERE: Dolores Park, Dolores in from 19th St

…and ultimately may lead to people growing their own. We got the whole picture from Food & Water Watch‘s Adam Scow‘s presentation, “Sowing the Seeds of a Fair Farm Bill” in Congress: regulation of the multinational corporations; supporting family farmers; increasing access to healthy food in urban communities. Then we bought it home with comments from various neighbors who source food locally and sell it, grow it themselves to eat or give away, or provide other resources for healthy eating and would-be urban farmers.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 7th, 6:45pm sign in & socialize, 7:00pm start
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St

At this month’s jam-packed meeting, Sandra Schwartz (below, left), Peace Education Coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee, introduced the Campaign for New Priorities, which involves ending pointless wars, cutting the defense budget and re-directing the funds to actual human needs. The Club will vote whether to endorse its principles at the May 3rd meeting.

Next, we were treated to an inspiring and dynamic presentation from Alysabeth Alexander (below, center), Political Action Chair of SEIU Local 1021, on the Fight for a Fair Economy for working families and the whole endangered middle class, in Wisconsin and closer to home.

Bill Barnes was quickly elected to fill the position of 1st VP/Membership Chair, vacated when Isaac Bowers moved to DC.

Supervisor Malia Cohen (below, right) then joined us to discuss the latest at City Hall. Moreover, she has graciously agreed to show up quarterly to fill us in. All speakers’ presentations included typically lively Q&A.

Rebecca Shearin photos.

Part of the Governor’s proposed budget completely eliminates community Redevelopment Agencies. Have these entities been essential for job creation and community revitalization, or are they, as Governor Brown calls them, “futile”? How have they worked – or not – in the past? Is there an alternate plan if the Governor’s budget passes and these agencies disappear? A lively discussion with Arc Ecology Executive Director Saul Bloom, housing activist Calvin Welch, SF Redevelopment Agency Deputy Executive Director Olson Lee, and California Professional Firefighters Communications Director Carroll Wills, was quite informative, ultimately resulting in more questions than answers. Moderator was SF Chronicle political reporter Marisa Lagos. For coverage of the event, see Sarah Phelan’s article in the Bay Guardian.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 1st, 6:45PM sign in and socialize, 7:15PM event start
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro @ Southern Hts

Joshua Arce, Executive Director of non-profit civil rights org Brightline Defense Project, played an active role alongside intrepid community members in the long-drawn-out campaign to get rid of the dirty Potrero power plant. He discussed the campaign and acknowledged the activists who were fighting for years before he joined them.

The results of the last meeting’s brainstorming program ideas & issues for the coming year, compiled and organized, were put up on the stage. People added new ideas and stuck dots by their top choices.

Erin Miller, the new Project Manager of SFMTA’s Eastern Neighborhoods Transportation Implementation Planning Study (EN TRIPS), gave a brief introduction and overview of the plan to minimize transportation impacts of anticipated growth, and invited people to a town hall meeting the following evening.

At the end of the meeting, voting members elected 2011 Club Officers.

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.