Last week, Supervisor Dean Preston was the lone “no” vote on a city budget that increases police funding and defunds the social housing we won at the ballot box in 2020. Many politicians in San Francisco talk about the need to look for alternatives to the police, but Dean was willing to vote no on this budget because it gives close to a billion dollars per year to the system that exists to imprison and punish San Franciscans.
Police do not make us safer. This is clear to anyone who saw the police brutalize people in the streets last summer. Dean understands this, but many in City government are not willing to stop the militarized police from expanding.
And while rent relief is a short-term fix to the housing crisis, the long-term solution is building affordable social housing. Let’s be clear: the Mayor and other forces of capital are blocking affordable social housing that the voters already approved.
Dean is the only socialist Supervisor in City Hall, but he won’t be the last. If you want to see this City have more abundant affordable housing and a more compassionate and effective approach to public safety, join DSA to help elect more people like Dean.
Upcoming Events
? Friday, 7/30 (5:00 p.m.): National DSA Jumpstart Socialism for a New Tomorrow telethon
? Saturday, 7/31 (2:00 p.m.): Keep the Promise: Healthcare is a Human Right
? Monday, 8/2 (6:00 p.m.): Ecosocialist Book Club: Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s As Long as Grass Grows
? Monday, 8/9 (5:30 p.m.): Ballot Measure Campaign: Electoral Politics 101
? Wednesday, 8/11 (7:00 p.m.): August Chapter Meeting
Announcements
Send Us Your Ideas for 2022!
We’d like to hear from you! As part of our chapter priorities, we passed a priorities resolution to draft two ballot measures in 2022. We’d like to hear your ideas to build a San Francisco for all, not the rich. Fill out the survey here.
Check out National DSA’s Jumpstart Socialism for a New Tomorrow Telethon on July 30
Ready for a socialist future? Step 1: Hold a National Convention to set our priorities. Step 2: Fund the work! National DSA is kicking off the National Convention with Jumpstart Socialism for a New Tomorrow, a telethon starting Friday, July 30 at 5:00 p.m.. We’re organizing to win and that’s worth celebrating! Join in, and use the link here to donate to fund the chapter’s work!
Keep The Promise: Healthcare is a Human Right
Join virtually this Saturday, July 31, at 2:00 p.m. to demand Governor Gavin Newsom to #KEEPTHEPROMISE of Medicare and to bring forward the single-payer solution. You can also attend in-person at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater in Oakland where they will build a memorial for lost loved ones. Register here.
Ballot Measure Campaign: Suggestion Form and Electoral Politics 101
DSA SF’s newly-elected electoral board is holding the first in a series of chapter discussions on our ballot measure campaign! This session will be on Monday, August 9th from 5:30-7 p.m. and will cover the nuts and bolts of ballot initiatives – both on what it takes to get them on the ballot and what it takes to win. Register here.
Reading Groups
Ecosocialist Book Club: Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s As Long as Grass Grows
Join the DSA SF Ecosocialist Committee’s book club biweekly on Mondays in August – August 2, August 16, and August 30 at 6:00 p.m. -7:15 p.m. We’re reading and discussing Dina Gilio-Whitaker’s As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock. Open to all! Register now using the link here.
