It was exhausting marathon weekend at the #CADEM convention with the SF Reform Democrats crew. It was a politically and emotionally charged experience, and the first time as delegates for most of us.
The good news: Three resolutions proposed and supported by SF Reform Dem delegates were heard on the convention floor and PASSED! I was proud to co-author our Medicare for All resolution with Alysabeth Alexander Tut and support Deepa Varma’s two housing resolutions to protect renters from no-fault evictions and excessive rent increases, and to restore state funding for affordable housing.
I was also proud to support Kimberly Ellis in her race for state party chair. She is currently behind Eric Bauman by 62 votes, and has not conceded despite the Bauman campaign declaring victory. At a speech in Caesar Chavez Park, Kimberly announced that she has requested an audit to validate votes before she concedes. There remains a question about the validity of many of the proxy votes that were cast. The party, to its credit, is allowing the audit.
Now, here’s my issue and the hard truth of all of this. It’s not about the outcome here. Of course I wanted Kimberly to win, and was especially excited as a new delegate by her energy and ideas for making the party more democratic.
But the party handled this entire situation poorly. Period. The final General Session was a fiasco. After an hour delay, business began without any mention of the situation with the chair’s race and no agenda provided. The chair repeatedly overruled points of order and questions from delegates from the floor. In the end, in a mumbled statement, the new CDP officers were announced. Any motion for a recount was deemed out of order or overruled.
Now, of course, that’s typical of parliamentary procedure. But what this felt like was the Democratic Party once again sticking its head in the sand and not recognizing the situation before them.
This was a house divided. And a house deeply concerned about the fairness of a democratic election. Yet there was no attempt at assuaging those concerns, no move to increase transparency and explain the situation in a way to defuse the growing discontent in that room. It felt completely similar to how we saw the DNC operate in 2016.
When there’s grassroots energy and movement for change or calls for accountability, the party doesn’t bend. It seems to just continue on in its old ways, in its maintenance of power, and it bulldozes on, stifling dissent along the way.
I think if the Democratic Party doesn’t learn to bend, it will break. And that was clear by the disappointment of many who left the room during that General Session. I’m still wrestling with how we can best confront the system and make it more transparent, responsive, and inclusive of the grassroots. The call for Democratic unity should not discount the need for a reality check. It’s time for a man in the mirror moment for our Party.
I don’t understand. Kimberly lost. So how is that a reflection of the Party being in trouble? If she had won it would still be the very same Party just with a different Chair. The same values, the same mechanics, the same operation, the same staff, and the same huge victories that have given us every Statewide Elected office and 2/3 majorities in the Assembly and the Senate.
I won’t even get into Emerge and their empowering of extremely Moderate and Conservative Democrats. London Breed, Malia Cohen, Amy Bacharach among them
Who is “we”? if you want another shallacking like the one Hillary delivered, stay narrow minded and repeat old patterns that don’t work.
your comments are irrelevant.
Whew, you sure are stern. Chillax, pal. Until you learn the lesson of dialogue, reconciliation, kindness and more you will never be happy.
Thanks for this excellent and thought provoking article Peter Gallotta.
We will continue to ask good questions about how best to move forward and how to engage the people to organize and compel all electeds to listen to the voters.
Totally agree sebra leaves.
sure, go ahead. we want you to. Do the hard work to get on all 50 states ballots. You are not a majority or even a large minority. You are not the base or “the people”. you are not the public at large. Until you learn those lessons you will always be on the outs.
sorry kids, you blew change up since 2000. You’re quickly becoming irrelevant.
Let this be notice that you’re still a minority and quickly running out room to be part of, rather than ejected from the party entirely.
Any suggestions for the name of a new party. Thoughts how such a party would avoid the pitfalls of the current party? Is there perhaps something in political parties in general that makes them all unresponsive to the public?
Time for some new parties to form if the big two aren’t open to change. Money no longer talks or walks. Voters are ready for changes. If the parties don’t see that, they are in trouble