Sponsored link
Friday, March 29, 2024

Sponsored link

UncategorizedCitywide tenant convention: "This is the start of a...

Citywide tenant convention: “This is the start of a movement”

48hillsantispecpost
This poster was part of the campaign for an anti-speculation tax sponsored by Sup. Harvey Milk in the late 1970s. Gary Kell did the artwork, Dean Anderson produced it, and La Raza Graphics did the silkscreen work. Thanks to Calvin Welch for saving it.

By Tim Redmond

FEB.10, 2014 — Among the old-timers at the San Francisco tenants convention Saturday, the same question kept coming up: When was the last time we saw this many people – and such a diverse cross-section of the city – at a political event? It’s been a long time.

“This reminds me of the Community Congress in 1975,” which led to district elections of supervisors, longtime organizer Buck Bagot said.

The doors had to be closed about 20 minutes after the session started, since the Tenderloin Community School couldn’t hold any more people. It’s hard to count a crowd that size, but I’m pretty sure 500 people were on hand, including six supervisors (John Avalos, David Campos, David Chiu, Malia Cohen, Jane Kim, and Eric Mar).

And it’s not a one-time thing, either: The convention was the culmination of a series of neighborhood meetings across the city, and is a sign that a re-energized tenant movement is going to change local politics this year. There were so many young people, so much energy, such a feeling that the epidemic of evictions that is transforming communities is not inevitable. That it’s possible to fight back, and win.

“This is going to have follow-up,” one veteran of decades of  local progressive struggles told me. “This isn’t going away.” (more after the jump)  

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our FacebookTwitter, and Instagram

Tim Redmond
Tim Redmond
Tim Redmond has been a political and investigative reporter in San Francisco for more than 30 years. He spent much of that time as executive editor of the Bay Guardian. He is the founder of 48hills.

Sponsored link

Featured

Bilal Mahmood puffed up his resume—and the Chron doesn’t seem to care

Neuroscientists say he's not a 'neuroscientist' (he's not an 'economist,' either)—but the dailies still let his claims stand without challenge.

102-year-old heroine Betty Reid Soskin’s journey premieres on Bay Area stage

Writings and songs by the nation's oldest park ranger and longtime activist form base of 'Sign My Name To Freedom.'

With Castro Theatre out, massive Frameline LGBTQ+ film fest gets creative

New executive director Allegra Madsen takes on fresh challenges with an agile attitude—and innovative locations.

More by this author

In mayoral race preview, supes reject Breed veto of Peskin zoning bill

Mayor's move was all politics, not policy, most board members agree.

Can SF get an independent study of toxic risk at Hunters Point?

Plus: Preserving history on the waterfront, and preserving the waterfront from sea-level rise. That's The Agenda for March 24-31

Hundreds rally for Preston kick-off

Spirited event seeks to draw a clear line between the billionaires and the rest of the city.
Sponsored link

You might also likeRELATED