PHDC NEWSLETTER

ISSUE #85 ✧ JANUARY, 2016

Dear ,

Guns and sugar - how sadly American. This Tuesday, we will take up both topics. We hope to see you there. There are some exciting plans afoot for the rest of 2016 as well.

Besides your lovely presence and vibrant participation at PHDC events, we would love to have your dues. Our rent at the Nabe has more than doubled, and other costs of running the club have gone up too. But PHDC dues are still the bargain they were when we started this club 9 years ago: $25 per year for residents ($10 per additional household member), $20 for affiliates. If you can, please consider joining online now, or at the meeting February 2nd. Thank you.

Joni Eisen, President

Potrero Hill Democratic Club

Next meeting Tuesday, February 2nd: guns ''n' sugar

Robyn Thomas, Executive Director of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, has been keeping up the good fight in the face of daunting challenges. Earlier this month, she stood with President Barack Obama as he issued a series of executive actions to curb the 117,000 shootings that take place every year in the United States. It's been about three years since Robyn has appeared at our club, and it's time for another conversation. Photo: FogCityJournal.

Robin Dean, an activist for the soda tax last time around, will talk about the new, revised and possibly more passable version now gathering signatures in San Francisco. It's called The Sugary Drinks Distributor Tax Ordinance.

Club business:
✧ Updating the Bylaws to comply with a new requirement of the CA Democratic Party
✧ Election of 2016 officers. Final nominations will be called for at the beginning of the meeting; the election will occur later in the meeting. Nominated so far:

President - Joni Eisen

1st Vice-President (membership) - Tony Kelly

2nd Vice-President (political action) - Bob Boileau

Secretary - Gary Horowitz

Treasurer - Audrey Cortes

Tech Officer - John O'Neill

Officer-At-Large - Kim Christensen

Officer-At-Large - J.R. Eppler

Officer-At-Large - Eliana López

Officer-At-Large - Monisha Mustapha

Additional nominations are welcome.

WHEN: Tuesday, February 2, 7pm
WHERE: Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, 953 De Haro St @ Southern Hts

Voters have a right to know: Who's really funding that political ad?

Just over six years ago, the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision opened the campaign spending floodgates by equating money with speech and corporations with people. Increasingly huge amounts of money pour into elections every year, much of it dark money, hidden behind misleading committee names. The Voters Right to Know Act, a statewide initiative being circulated by volunteers and paid signature-gatherers, would end the secrecy and require political ads to disclose their top three actual funders. Find out more about the initiative here.
petition signing

The initiative needs hundreds of thousands of California voter signatures by April in order to qualify for the November ballot. Promoting clean and fair government is one of Potrero Hill Democratic Club's founding missions; if you would like to help us get this crucial proposition on the ballot by asking family and friends to sign the petition, please reply to this email or come to PHDC's Feb 2nd meeting and pick up however many petitions you can use. Thank you, PHDC members who are already helping to get signatures!

January 5th meeting followup

City College Trustee John Rizzo, recently returned from testifying in DC against the deservedly disgraced accrediting commission, gave an update on the situation at CCSF. With the help of PHDC's mascot. Photo: John O'Neill.

District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell discussed the Shared Schoolyard Project, which he revamped in 2012 to open playgrounds to the public on weekends, with the goal of expanding it to 80 schools. Club members voted to endorse the program.

PHDC Executive Committee member Audrey Cortes gave her impressions of the Paris Climate Change Conference, which she attended with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaff. PHDC president yours truly talked about the Voters Right to Know Act (see above) and collected signatures to help put it on the November ballot. Nominations opened for 2016 Club Officers (election to be held in February).
donkey dots

Members pinned dots on the donkey to vote for the topics & issues they would most like the Club to take on or revisit. Top dot-getters (in alphabetical order): affordable housing crisis, Black Lives Matter, homelessness, income gap, labor issues, overturning Citizens United, preventing gun violence, voter education via endorsement meetings. We'll do our best.

R.I.P. Espanola Jackson

The City lost an unforgettable, relentless and completely charming activist two days ago. Espanola Jackson was one of a kind. She made her voice heard everywhere, speaking up for the rights of her Bayview neighbors to a livable environment. There will be a public memorial service February 4th from 5:30 to 7:30pm at Grace Tabernacle Community Church, 1121 Oakdale. Rest in peace.