Much has been written about how Jane Kim beat San Francisco’s “progressive machine” last week to win the District 6 Supervisor race.  But a precinct analysis of the election results tells a far bigger story, and explains how she pulled it off.  Just like Howard Dean’s Fifty State Strategy helped Democrats win nationwide, Jane Kim was everywhere – and conceded no part of District 6.  Debra Walker carried the North Mission and a few progressive pockets, but racking up margins in some core precincts is not enough when your opponent actively contests every neighborhood.  Kim beat Walker in the Tenderloin (where she had a better operation), and easily won the Chinese precincts – but also carried places like Treasure Island and the Western Addition.  And as Jane’s field coordinator for condos in Eastern SOMA, I’m very proud she won those precincts by a landslide – as we were the only campaign to show up.  These were the Rob Black voters of 2006, but Kim proved that even a progressive can win those neighborhoods – if you bother to talk to them.

The changing demographics of District 6 has been talked about for years.  Chris Daly first won the seat with 81% of the vote, but that was before places like Rincon Hill and Mission Bay got thousands of new condos.  By 2006, Daly was in trouble.  Progressives suddenly had to turn out Tenderloin SRO residents in droves, just to save his re-election.  

I was part of that effort four years ago, and it was both physically and emotionally exhausting.  We managed to get SRO turnout to match the citywide average in that election (which is incredible), and Daly won.  But the map could not have been more polarizing – with Rob Black sweeping the newer SOMA precincts, and Daly winning progressive strongholds.

Back then, a lot of us knew that 2006 was the “final hurrah” for the Chris Daly coalition.  If progressives were serious about keeping District 6, they must learn how to round up “more than the usual suspects” – regardless of who the candidate would be.  Winning in progressive places like the Tenderloin and North Mission would no longer be enough.

One of the keys to Jane Kim’s success was that the campaign never conceded a single neighborhood — forming a Fifty-Nine Precinct Strategy that met voters in every corner of District 6.  Arguably, because she lacked the big progressive institutional endorsements, it was the only way she could win to outmaneuver Debra Walker.

Like Chris Daly, Jane Kim won the Tenderloin – because she had a base of SRO tenants and immigrant families.  It takes months of campaigning for a candidate to build trust in that neighborhood, and Kim’s relationship with local community organizers made that possible.  Walker campaigned in the Tenderloin, but Kim beat her there by 140 votes.

Of course, Kim’s campaign had a formidable “Chinese team” – whose outreach to the District’s Chinese voters allowed her to rack up huge margins in two SOMA precincts, as well as pad her Tenderloin numbers.  But she also had a Pilipino team that organized that community in SOMA, and Russian phone-bankers reached out to its senior population.

As the favorite of progressive institutions like the Bay Guardian, the Labor Council and the SF Democratic Party, Debra Walker had a huge advantage in the North Mission and Western SOMA – where many voters follow the slate-cards.  But Kim had a strong field presence there, which kept her losses under control.  She won two Mission precincts and tied in a third, while holding Walker’s lead in four Western SOMA precincts down to six votes.

District 6 has the Tenderloin, SOMA and North Mission – but some voters live in pockets that don’t fall into those neighborhoods.  Kim campaigned in those areas, such as the Freedom West Homes in the Western Addition.  Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, whose District 5 borders the housing project, took Jane canvassing there one day – and we learned many voters in that precinct mistakenly thought Mirkarimi was their Supervisor.  Kim won that precinct, as well as hard-to-reach parts of District 6 like Treasure Island – and house-boats in Mission Bay.

When I agreed to lead the Jane Kim campaign’s volunteer “condo team” for SOMA, I assumed it was to make sure we did not get slaughtered there.  After all, these were the Rob Black voters who almost threw out Chris Daly four years ago.  With Theresa Sparks getting Downtown money and the Mayor’s endorsement, they would be her natural supporters.

That turned out not to be the case.  On the one hand, we were lucky that Sparks did not campaign much.  But frankly, Debra Walker’s campaign was invisible in South Beach.  And as we knocked on doors in high-rises near the Ballpark and Cal-Train station, we found a surprising level of support.  On Election Day, voters at 4th & King told us we were the only campaign they knew about.

Granted, we did get the occasional condo voter who asked questions like “where does Jane stand on sit/lie?” or “how is she going to pay for this?” – and I have no idea if those people ended up voting for her.  If asked, we did not pander – we told them the truth, even if it lost us some votes.  But we focused on pitching her biography as a Stanford and Berkeley graduate, who is a civil rights attorney.  And Jane Kim was the kind of young professional these voters could relate to.

The election results were staggering.  In the thirteen precincts that make up South Beach, Mission Bay & Eastern SOMA, Kim won handily with 1,113 votes – followed by 823 votes for Sparks, and 564 for Walker.  In the Ranked Choice Voting tabulation, Sparks supporters preferred Kim – and Kim even beat Sparks among the Matt Drake voters.

An important lesson for progressives is not to fear those District 6 condo voters – but to instead set aside your pre-conceived notions, and come to their neighborhood.  A lot of them voted for Jane Kim, even if they knew she’s a progressive – because she was there.

Yesterday, the blog Live-SoMa – which covers local neighborhood and political issues – offered its analysis:  “While [Jane’s] opposition thinks she won because she’s young, pretty, articulate, and so on (all great qualities to have as a politician), I still think it had more to do with her overall presence throughout the Community.  It’s as if she made it her personal mission to hang a flier on every door in District 6, and she certainly tried to shake every hand – moreso than any other Candidate.  I even saw her walking down the hall in my building one Sunday Afternoon, and we’re all renters … renters don’t vote!”

On Friday night, after the Ranked Choice Voting tabulation confirmed her the winner, Jane Kim had a party for her supporters – which I attended.  “Anyone could have done what we did,” she said, “but it takes a lot of work.”

Campaigning in all 59 precincts is a lot of work.  Executing a Fifty-Nine Precinct Strategy is a lot of work.  Conceding no neighborhood is a lot of work.  But anyone can do it …

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron, where this piece was first published.  He lives and works in San Francisco’s District 6, and considered running himself for the seat this year – before backing out and supporting Jane Kim.

(Joe is a great guy and would make an excellent City Council member. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

This is going to be a diary about my friend Joe Shaw, who is running for Huntington Beach City Council and the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.  It’s a diary I promised myself to write because Joe is one of my dearest friends who has been there for me over the last couple of years in ways that no one else has.  

But let me start with the story of the Blosa Chica Wetlands via the Bolsa Chica Land Trust…

Satellite photo via Google Earth

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed in 1992 by a small group of Californians who believed that one of the last standing wetlands ecosystems in Southern California was worth preserving for future generations. The Land Trust now includes more than 5000 members from throughout California and twenty other states.

The mission of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is to acquire, restore and preserve the entire 1700 acres of the mesa, lowlands and wetlands of the Bolsa Chica, and to educate the public about this natural treasure. The Land Trust conducts educational programs to build awareness about the role of the Bolsa Chica wetlands system in the natural and urban environment, and tell the story of its rich history. The Land Trust’s Bolsa Chica Stewards have been working since 1996 on the mesa re-vegetation project.  Over 2000 volunteers have spent thousands of hours replanting the mesa. More than 8,000 native plants have been planted at the Bolsa Chica Mesa. Over 15,000 volunteer hours have been logged. Volunteers of all ages are bringing the Mesa back to life.

Huntington Beach is where I grew up and the Bolsa Chicas are a big part of HB life, the beaches, the surfing and the other amazing ecological preserves (Joe is also a docent at the Shipley Nature Center).  And many residents in Huntington Beach and Orange County have fought for years to restore this amazing ecosystem.

Wetlands are important for many reasons, they actually sequester more CO2 than Rain Forests and provide habitats for many migrating birds on their way to the artic, some of which are endangered (Brown Pelicans, Snowy Plovers, Peregrine Falcons, White-tailed Kites, and Light-Footed Clapper Rails).  

Wetlands help prevent beach erosion and also help a great deal with urban run off mitigation before that water reaches our oceans.  It is also an amazing place to find a huge amount of biodiversity, from plant to animal life and is so important as environmentalist to protect and preserve.

But unfortunately, the Wetlands is endanger again from more development issues.  

HB Planning Commission Votes Against Bolsa Chica,

and Allows More Housing on the Mesa

Commission votes 4-3 to change open space zoning to residential

to benefit bankrupt developer Hearthside Homes.

Bolsa Chica, and the people of Huntington Beach lost a round Tuesday night in the battle to maintain open space zoning on part of the Bolsa Chica Mesa; a zoning that protected the area from development.

When Commissioner Elizabeth Shier-Burnett implored her fellow commissioners to explain what public benefit could come from changing the zoning, she got no good answers, but four commissioners voted to change the zoning anyway.

Planning Commission Chair Blair Farely, Commissioner Shier-Burnett, and Commissioner Tom Livengood are to be commended for their votes against the zone change.

Commissioners Janice Mantini, Fred Speaker, John Scandura, and Barbara Delgleize voted to change the existing zoning on the land that protected it from development so Hearthside Homes, the developer currently in bankruptcy, could profit.

This however, is not the end of the story. This issue will be appealed to the City Council. The Trust will work very hard to educate our council members as to the reasons the environmental studies were inadequate, as well as to why the zoning on this land should not be changed. As soon as we know when the City Council meeting on this issue is scheduled, we will let you know!

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust was formed 18 years ago to preserve Bolsa Chica, and we remain true to our mission. If necessary, the Trust will take our fight all the way to the courts to protect the land on the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

This is it, this is why we need Joe.  Three of the four votes on this commission are running for City Council and could very well collect donations from the very developer that could profit from building these homes on the buffer zone that boarders the Bolsa Chicas.

There is a reason for a buffer zone.  And there is a reason why Huntington Beach ensures every time there’s an open seat that they have to run someone who will protect the Bosa Chica’s from further land development.  This battle is never ending.

But why support Joe Shaw?  Joe’s not just some guy in Huntington Beach, he’s a long time Kossack, joeesha user id? 2344. His first diary? I am a delegate.  Joe’s a professed Deaniac and he’s still highly involved in our local DFA chapter.  He emcee’s meetings and I go so I can see him in person now and again.  I said I loved my Joe.

Joe is an environmentalist’s dream.  He got an early endorsement for the Sierra Club for one thing.   He’s served on the board for the Orange County League of Conservation Voters.  He not only planted his own Native Garden, he’s promoting it as part of his campaign (and Charlotte, Gary and I were there to help dig the holes and plant the natives that day as well!).  

Joe also worked his ass off for Debbie Cook’s Congressional campaign in 2008, one of the greenest candidates in Orange County ever.

Joe Shaw also works on other local campaigns, supports so many in the County and is involved in Central Committee and is still a State Delegate.  When my husband Gary ran for State Senate in 2008, Joe was one of the very first people to go to Gary and say, how can I help?

This is Joe Shaw.  This is my dear friend.  He wears his heart on his sleeve and he will jump over the moon to help anyone who needs it.  I want to help him.  I can’t donate money to his campaign because of my own financial circumstances.  I can give time and I can write diaries.  This is the diary I wanted to write.

Joe is also an openly gay man in Huntington Beach, not one of the most liberal cities in Orange County, California.  But he’s out and he’s proud and he is also involved in the GLBT community and has been for years.  I could go on forever why I love Joe and couldn’t ever tell you how much he’s helped me personally over the past few years.  But he has.  So I want to help him.  It’s why I fought Prop 8 so much, it’s why I want to fight here for him.  It’s why I am I so lucky to have people who understand my passion for the environment and who get me, my love of blogging and support that effort (Hello, Joe put up OC Progressive along with Gus so I could write locally).

I don’t know if I have anyone as good of a friend as Joe in my life right now.  And I don’t know if I could think of life without him at this point.  He’s been my rock and if I need someone to talk to, there’s Joe.  If I need a hug, or a scream.  I have Joe.  Everyone needs a friend like Joe.

And here’s what a Snowy Plover looks like, one of my favorite birds of the Bolsa Chicas.  We saw some babies when Charlotte and I visited the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, unfortunately they might be very busy soon because of the River of Oil in the Gulf.  This rescue center specializes in animals affected by oil spills.  Another great resource in the heart of Huntington Beach.

Yep, this is where I’m going to ask you to give five or ten bucks to Joe, for me, for his community and for the Bolsa Chica’s.  Even if I only raise $50, it is worthwhile because I love my Joe.  So does my daughter Charlotte, by the way.

Crossposted from OC Progressive

This has been another eventful week for me and I wanted to share something I wrote for our new local blog, I think it’s universal and true for many here so that is why I share it.

Orange County, California is still a solidly red County but those of us living in “The OC”, who are proud progressives, want to find a public space to voice our ideas and to push our agenda locally and eventually on the state and federal levels.  Not only that but we want to encourage our fellow progressives to run in local elections and support them up that harrowing climb to higher office.

As we all know, none of this can happen though until many things are fixed about our election financing process and so on, but the progressive blogosphere has somewhat leveled the playing field but supporting such candidates and generously funding their runs for office.

Anyone Can Blog?

I thought of Ratatouille and the line that “Anyone can cook” when I read Paul Anderson’s piece Blogging Done Right…

In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.

Source

So, just because anyone can blog does not mean the product put before you will be the highest of journalistic standards, it doesn’t have to be.  There is a reason that Freedom of Speech is in the First Amendment, anyone can blog.

I think there is a misnomer about bloggers in general.  I don’t think many of them feel they are creating news or reporting on news in an original way but I do think they are taking what’s out there and attempting to make sense of it.

The past eight years has been filled with a lot of misery for progressives.  It was a bitter fight in 2000 and many felt cheated and that the “system” failed them miserably.  The media was not doing its job to ask the right questions, if it had been, maybe there might have been a different outcome.

You see the blogosphere in many ways thinks the Fourth Estate failed Americans by not asking enough questions, they felt that they were not doing their jobs either.  

Too many blogs these days just deconstruct some news organization’s content and spew out a bunch of conspiracy theories. Most of the time I think, who cares what you think? And that’s because a lot of the bloggers aren’t very informed. I like the Atlantic bloggers, like Andrew Sullivan, because they’re journalists and they have informed opinions when they comment on someone else’s work. That’s called perspective.

Source

This is true, I read it often on the Daily Kos but because blogs like this are on the “rating” system, the readers are able to separate the wheat from the chafe and those diaries rarely make their way to the Recommend list.  Usually when they do, the comments themselves are far better than the gaggle of quotes from other news sources and the sorry excuse for commentary.

But blogs have become more than just this, they’ve become a place to gather and collectively scratch our heads.  There are so many who felt completely ostracized by our last Administration that this was what was needed to fill that gapping maw of information or any really intelligent questioning of flawed policy.

But that’s just it.  The news, those “journalists” have an obligation to remain impartial, yes?  Isn’t that the point?  It’s really not that they didn’t comment on what was happening; they just didn’t ask enough questions.

Bloggers don’t have the obligation to keep their point of view a secret.  There is no unspoken vow of impartiality (which, if you’ve read the content of the Register, you’d realize that it’s non existent in some places) to the subject matter.  We are able to rail against the questions asked, the answers and the disappointing outcome of the whole ordeal.

Blogging was born out of a need to fill in the gaps and those “conspiracy theories” such as torture is illegal and the war in Iraq was a mistake, those aren’t theories, those are realities that many on the right refuse to recognize.

Universal Health Care?  The stories we share about young girls dying because they’ve been denied treatment from their insurance company and those who can’t get insurance because of pre-existing conditions, those stories are meant to push people into action.  Those stories are put into a context to where many can understand that a Country such as ours should not allow anyone to die because the free market deems it a necessary loss.  

I could go on and on about the topics of concern to bloggers who have, through their tenacity, made voices like mine relevant.  Elected officials pay attention to the blogosphere because they know that there is a knowledgeable voting block behind the stoic lines and blocked in quotes.  They know that the power of these free media outlets has driven the most important issues to the headlines and to the chambers of Congress.  

And when the local means of news gathering refuses to recognize an entire voting populace then that “free market” will create an alternative such as the OC Progressive. Concerned citizens believe it’s time that the right questions were asked of those who represent us and that our opinions, even if in the minority (Although I’m starting to think that’s not the case either) are valid and just as important as those of the editorial board at the OC Register.

And I’m honored to be included in the same breath as Joe Shaw and Gus Ayer as fellow bloggers.  Both showed tremendous support for Gary, my husband, when he ran for State Senate (As did hundreds of others, to us that election was a huge win)and have encouraged me to keep writing and pushing my own unique point of view.  I just hope with my limited time (Working parent) I can contribute, just a bit, to this new community and encourage others to do the same.

(Don’t forget Gary’s ActBlue page. – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

That’s right, I’m a candidate’s wife, it happened rather quickly too.  Well, I’ve been married to the guy for almost ten years, but the candidate part has unfolded in just a few days.

Now, why am I not the candidate?  Oh, it’s a long story and I’ve not been as good of a Democrat as my husband has been, really.  I am still registered as Decline to State.  Yes, how is that for a confession?  But Gary, my husband, has been registered as a Democrat for many years and he unabashedly calls himself a party loyalist.

So how did this come about?  Let me tell you…

We live in Orange County, Ca.  It is a red County to many but emerging to be more purple than anything else.  I started my political blogging last year when I decided to get involved in the Presidential Primaries.  I chose my candidate and I was off and running.  I found my voice during this time and was and still am a proud contributor to EENR.  It made me sane.

I also decided to get involved in local politics because in order to make real change we need to be aware of the political atmosphere closest to home.  It’s the sort of change we can have more influence over and it also can lead to a more involved community and electorate.  And, it was time to let Orange County know that there were many more proud Democrats than ever thought of before.  

Gary and I live in the California State Senate district number 33.  When a call to run was sent out last week I thought, well why not? Oh, that’s right I was ineligible.  But to think that no one was going to run as a Democrat seemed unimaginable to me. If a Democrat doesn’t run then how can a Democrat win?

That’s when I asked my husband if he had any interest in running.  Yes, that was it.  He said he’d think about it and I got him to talk to my contact in the Orange County Democratic Party Friday morning.  The next thing I know, he’s putting on a suit jacket and filing paperwork at the County’s registrar office! (How is this for a moment, Gary wanted to purchase some information from the Registrar but he didn’t have fifty cents in change on him.  He went to his car and a Republican running for another position in the County said he would have given him the money!  Gary got the change from his car and purchased the information on his own though.)

Okay, some of you know me, but who is this Gary guy?  What makes him think he can run for office?  Why not I say?  Gary has a Ph.d (UCI in Ethnomusicology) a Masters (Claremont College in Conducting) and a Bachelors (Chapman College in Conducting also) and is a tenured Professor at Cerritos College.  He’s great with people and one of the smartest people I know.  It’s a little annoying at times but he’s also smart enough to know not to make others feel dumb.  I’m hoping I can get him to come by and tell you more about himself, but for now, that’s just a little bit.

Most importantly, I’m really proud of him for taking this leap.  It’s a leap in my in my mind because it’s intimidating, especially when the last Republican took this district by almost 22%!  It also doesn’t help that there are 20% more registered Republicans than Democrats, but who lets things like pesky numbers stop them?  If a Democrat doesn’t run then how can a Democrat win?

My understanding is that there are two Republicans running in the Primary and both have raised half a million dollars each.  It seems like I’ve heard this one before but instead of 100 million dollar candidates, we have 500 thousand dollar candidates.  It’s still a half million more than what we have. (Mimi Walters is the Republican that is expected to win the nomination).

So what is next?  I have a stack of paperwork, forms and handouts and I set up our ActBlue page and it went active today!  I just had to fax over the applications Gary submitted to the Registrar to show that we are, indeed running for office. Wow, just typing that out is rather bizarre.

Both Gary and I have decided that we will run the best campaign possible even though getting that “D” on the ballot is an important first step.  The next thing to do?  Yes, raise money.  Grassroots is an understatement here but I also hope we can hire a Campaign Manager and a Treasurer so we can do it right.  If a Democrat doesn’t run then how can a Democrat win?

So, Gary’s politics?  I can’t speak for him directly, but I can tell you he’s a progressive and I’ve actually witnessed his “progress” over the last ten years.  Being a teacher has made education a priority for him, not only higher education my primary as well.  When we have more details on an actual platform (I can promise you this, it will be more detailed than Ms. Walters and it won’t simplify the issues either, there are complex and varied issues facing not just Southern California, but the entire State), you will be the first to know.  Well, maybe the second or third.  We don’t even have a website yet!  I couldn’t wait to share the news and I really wanted to talk about this, if a Democrat doesn’t run then how can a Democrat win?

Gary was impressed with Edwards and as far as I know, he was going to vote for him, but when John suspended his campaign he voted Obama.  

Gary’s ActBlue Page.

And, the candidate and his daughter Charlotte…

Cross posted from The Daily Kos

After seeing Gila’s latest story on The Liberal OC, I’ve been thinking. I know, I know. That’s a REALLY scary thought. But trust me, it’s not scary.

All too often when we think of the netroots, we think of those big, glitzy, glamorous national blogs with all those hundreds of thousands of User IDs. We think of that huge convention in Chicago that just ended. We think big, and we think national. But when you really look at the big picture, the national scene is only a small part of it.

The SF Chronicle just caught onto this, and I’m glad to see them noticing. There’s a giant segment of the netroots that hasn’t been noticed much, but is nonetheless making a huge difference throughout California, and throughout the nation. Follow me after the flip for more…

Some people who blog think the blogosphere has a tremendous impact on elections. I am not one of them. In general, I believe the impact of blogs today on who gets elected is miniscule. Their influence will likely increase as time goes on, but at the moment I think their effect on elections amounts to little more than an asterisk.

That’s part of what Gila has to say today at The Liberal OC. And you know what? She’s right. Whether we like it or not, the national blogosphere only has so much of an impact on elections and campaigns right now. Perhaps that will change some time in the future, but I don’t see it happening now.

Yes, the netroots is a big asset in terms of raising money and exciting the base. However, it can NOT be substituted for institutional donors on fundraising matters. And no, the netroots isn’t a proven vehicle to win votes. So on this matter, Gila is correct.

However, I make a conditional exception for local blogs.

And once again, Gila is spot on in her observation. While everyone is focusing on the big national blogs, they are all missing the one area of the blogosphere that’s having the most impact on politics, which is THE LOCAL BLOGOSPHERE.

The SF Chronicle takes a look at what happened with Say No to Pombo in CA-11 last year, and at what happened in a recent special election for State Senate in New York. In both cases, the local blogs brought to attention stories that the mainstream media ignored, and they ignited local readers to become local activists. I guess The Albany Project makes a huge difference in New York State, and all of us know in California just how instrumental the local netroots was in taking down Richard Pombo.

But of course, these aren’t the only examples of the local netroots making the real difference. After all, everyone here in Orange County knows that without the stellar coverage of local blogs like The Liberal OC, the Tan Nguyen psychodrama would have never become such a huge story. And of course, stories like Claudio’s “Ignorance to Enlightenment” series at Orange Juice have jump started countywide discussions on the intersection of faith and politics. Oh, and if you need another good example of what happens to a politician who ignites the fury of the blogosphere, see what’s been happening to Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen.

So what does this all say? It says that local blogs can be quite instrumental in influencing the political dialogue online AND offline. It says that local blogs can be key in making or breaking a local politician’s career. It says that just as all politics is local, all local politics can be strongly affected by what’s happening on the local blogosphere.

So what does this mean for us? This means that we should not be afraid to tackle local issues, and discuss local politics. Local affairs may not be “sexy” enough for the big national sites, but it’s the local politics where the local netroots can have the biggest impact.

Don’t believe me? Ask the New York State Democratic Party, or ask Richard Pombo, or ask Janet Nguyen (or Tan Nguyen for that matter!). They can tell you all about it. : )