PHDC NEWSLETTER
ISSUE #73  JANUARY, 2015
Dear , PHDC logo

Please join us February 3rd for another evening of refreshments, camaraderie, possibly conflicting opinions, and civic engagement. 

We invite you to join PHDC for calendar year 2015. Membership is a bargain at $25 per year for residents, $20 for non-residents. More info on the web site Membership page. Thanks.

Joni Eisen, President
Meeting Tuesday, Feb 3: Club members who happen to be elected officials, electing PHDC officers, & more

Did you know that the District 10 Supervisor, the City Attorney and the Sheriff are all our neighbors - and PHDC members? The Club has invited Supervisor Malia Cohen, City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi separately to address members and guests on their current and future projects. Supervisor Cohen will submit her goals and priorities for the next term via a summary document available at the meeting. Audience Q&A will follow each (actual) speaker's remarks.

Club business will include election of 2015 officers; nominations remain open through the first few minutes of the meeting. If you want to run for office, please become a member, then reply to this newsletter. Click here for a description of Club Officers' duties, paraphrased from the Bylaws.

More: Current members of the Executive Committee are reviewing the Bylaws and will submit suggestions for amendments, which will then be considered at the March meeting. Executive Committee Member-At-Large Loretta Lynch will propose a way to improve outreach to voters during the next election cycle. 2nd VP Bob Boileau will update us on the Eden Foods boycott. Yours truly, prior to meeting one-on-one with the public affairs consultant for Potrero Power Plant property owner NRG, will solicit input from members on what they would like to see in the "mix" of this mixed-use development.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 3rd at 7pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St @ Southern Heights
Coming soon: Sunday streets 2015 season = super opportunities for registering voters
March 8 on the Embarcadero, then April 12 in Dogpatch and May 10 in the Mission present excellent opportunities for PHDC volunteers to register voters during the car-free extravaganza opening miles of streets to non-motorized fun. The best thing is when you snag a first-time voter! If you want to help, please reply to this email or sign up at the March 3 meeting.
Jan 6th meeting followup

PHDC started off 2015 with topics that certainly engaged the audience. Dale Carlson of  Share Better SF discussed a proposed ballot measure his coalition of affordable housing advocates and community organizations is creating. The intent is to expose and mitigate the real impact of Airbnb and other illegal hotels and to hold them accountable in San Francisco.  

Evolve-ca  

Emil Margolis, organizer with Evolve-California, described how his group has taken over the campaign to reform Prop 13. They want to insure that commercial property pays its fair share; this would repair the damage the state's education system has suffered through decades of Prop 13- caused underfunding. PHDC members, longtime supporters of such efforts, voted to endorse the current Reform Prop 13 campaign. 

  

 

Club member and Deputy City Attorney Ron Flynn (far left), a key member of the prosecution team, gave an update on  the recent trial of the people vs. the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. He was cautiously optimistic about the judge's impending ruling on the fate of City College - and rightly so! Ten days later: Citing ACCJC's 'significant unlawful practices,' court gives City College new accreditation option. Congratulations Ron, Dennis and the whole team (shown above)!    

 

Members of the Executive Committee shared brief "job descriptions," as we opened nominations for 2015 officers.



Potrero Hill Democratic Club