Progressive Umbrella Group Unites to Reign
A couple of years ago, incensed by the blatancy of Brown’s second-term pandering to big business and development, San Francisco’s political left managed an unprecedented level of unity that came “this close” to sweeping Matt Gonzalez into office as San Francisco’s first Green mayor.
Since then, virtually anyone with any interest whatsoever in local politics has been looking to the left with either trepidation or excitement, anticipating the advent of “the next big thing:” the candidate or cause capable of again motivating San Francisco’s impressively numerous and exceedingly disparate progressives to get behind it en masse-to forsake their familiar factionalism in favor of presenting a unified front.
But when Gonzalez surprised his supporters by opting out of local politics, and Newsom stunned them by weighing in with support for gay marriage, and then moved on from there to walking a union picket line in apparent defiance of Willie Brown’s legacy of cozy coexistence with Big Business as Usual, it was starting to look like the wait might be a long one.
As it turns out, though, it wasn’t necessarily about waiting for that potentially elusive next big thing and then rallying around it, but rather, about getting started without it. About organizing proactively to develop a coalition with enough political clout not only to determine the next big thing, but also to exercise no small degree of control over it-be it candidate or cause. About renewing the alliance that came together behind Gonzalez, and then building on that base to produce an even larger, better unified progressive bloc. About crafting a collective agenda for San Francisco’s direction, setting priorities, and then working to ensure that the appropriate resources be put into place to implement programs and policies that reflect those priorities. It’s about change on a massive scale, or to quote Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi: “It’s …more than just policies and agendas-it’s about the beginning of a revolution.”
Who Said That?
It’s here. It’s queer… and straight and everything in between or none of the above; and it’s young and vocal or elderly and vocal or either (or neither, for that matter) and silent, but deep (or decline to state on a form, but quite willing to speak up in person); and it’s every kind of differently -abled, and strikingly talented to boot: it writes, speaks, sings, dances, juggles, flies, plays, paints, sculpts, designs, sews, knits, darns, and damns (but never with faint praise); it’s Green, Red, Black, Brown, White, and Blue, and every other conceivable hue, literally and metaphorically. Don’t think for a moment that it’s all things to all people, though, because it’s definitely opinionated. And its ambition is rivaled only by its determination.
It’s called the San Francisco Peoples’ [sic] Organization (SFPO), and its aim is to unite San Francisco progressives of every imaginable affiliation. To be the ultimate umbrella organization over this Rainbow City’s multiplicity of multihued, multicultural groups, And if its inaugural event was any indicator, it just might manage to do precisely that.
In fact, aside from the incongruity of the venue (St. Mary’s on Cathedral Hill) and a single disruptive attendee, a small blonde who appeared to the casual observer to have it in for Daly (something about his implication in the oppression and objectification of exotic dancers?!?), the event was impressive on every level, from endorsements to attendees to speakers to entertainment to, yes, actual tangible accomplishments.
It only seems appropriate, though, in attempting to assess the performance of an organization seeking incredibly broad-based backing to offer a range of reactions as to its relative success.
That said, here’s the SFPO’s own take on the event, as it appears on the organization’s website.
Over the course of the day, hundreds of progressive activists and dozens of community-based organizations and labor unions packed the conference center at St. Mary’s Cathedral. Participants attended a dozen issue-based workshops, where they discussed priorities and passed resolutions; formed identity-based caucuses; elected new board members; adopted bylaws; enjoyed inspiring, fiery speeches from Medea Benjamin, Mike Casey, Matt Gonzalez, Jeff Adachi, Norman Fong, Tim Paulsen, and Ross Mirkarimi; and reveled in the performances of Hallie Montoya-Tansey and Michael Franti. Everyone was visibly excited and energized, and it was incredible to see hundreds of people show up before 10am for a full day of activities.
The preceding account could come across as a tad too self-congratulatory, but, in fact, it pales beside the SFBulldog. H. Brown’s predictably idiosyncratic take, concluding a lengthy listing of “movers and shakers” present, offered the following speculation as to the event’s historical significance:
“…the others [local activists not present] will have to pull a Woodstock as the years go by and claim they were here when SFPO was born… These people represent the majority of San Franciscans… This may be billed as a ‘general’ meeting but there are at least 50 people here who either head their own organizations or have their own audiences… The lesson here is that the ‘Gonzalez base’ held together and wants another fight. And… they already know each other and have plenty of time to get their shit together to support any of the candidates and issues they choose. This crowd can raise millions and put tens of thousands of people on the streets in no time. They can produce teams of dancers and musicians and artists at the drop of a hat.
…The space seated 500 and was filled with a transient crowd throughout the day. 475 of the 500 bag lunches were gone in a flash. I’m guessing anywhere from 600 to 900 people attended at least part of the gathering. Perhaps, most tellingly, no one was paid to go. It wasn’t like Newsom’s ‘Project Connect’ where hundreds of people on the City payroll show up as ‘volunteers’ intent upon keeping their jobs.
It was a wondrous sight.”
Uniting Around Diversity
But good people, good ideas, and goodwill notwithstanding, the fact remains: It’s no easy task to create a cohesive power base when the organizations and individuals that have to come together are so diverse… and, as mentioned earlier, in numerous cases, so opinionated with it. Just think for a second about the difficulties inherent in drafting a mission statement that would respects the agendas of all without bruising the sensibilities of any.
Better yet, take the following simple quiz:
- Which, if any, of the following terms would you use to describe yourself (please check all that apply)?
- _ Liberal
- _ Leftist
- _ Populist
- _ Progressive
- _ Activist
- _ Anarchist
- _ Radical
- _ Revolutionary
- Which of the preceding would you be offended (or even enraged) to find yourself described as?
- How would you choose to refer collectively to a group containing people such as yourself in order to avoid being inaccurate, inappropriate, or offensive?
Or, for those who don’t test well, the humorous approach:
Question “How many progressives does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Answer “We’ll never know; they’re still polling their constituencies.”
The point is simply this: The inherent difficulties are obvious, the potential pitfalls numerous. That said, so far, the SFPO has been little short of miraculous in its ability to finesse the former and avoid the latter…all while continuing to move forward with tangible steps toward achieving real change. In fact, if it manages to continue along its present course, the last laugh in local politics may well belong to the SFPO.
Anne