The big news out of the Democratic Party, of course, is the deadlocked vote on the Engardio recall—which happened in part because the Chinese community in the Sunset organized to push the DCCC members who won on a conservative slate last year not to oppose the recall.
The 11-11 vote, leaving the party out of the recall, also happened because some members who might have supported Engardio—including Sup. Bilal Mahmood and state Assemblymember Matt Haney—didn’t show up and didn’t send a proxy. In essence, they ducked the vote. That gave the edge to the pro-recall folks.
This one was tough for the party: The sentiment on the West Side, particularly among Chinese voters, appears overwhelmingly favorable to the recall. A poll by Sunset United Neighbors, a representative said at the meeting, showed that 83 percent of respondents voted for Engardio—and 73 percent now support the recall.
Many of those voters also supported the West Side members of the billionaire slate that took control of the local party last year. If they had voted against the recall, it would have left a huge opening for progressives to take back the party; one mailer showing all of the West Side (Assembly District 19) members who voted with Engardio would have been political poison.
In fact, if we assume (as more and more people are coming to agree) that Engardio may not survive the recall, the conservative billionaire types seem to be ready to throw him under the bus to preserve their control over the Democratic Party and the Board of Supes.
Mayor Daniel Lurie has said nothing about the recall. Engardio is getting some Big Tech money, but the likes of Abundant SF and Neighbors for a Better SF are, at this point, backing off a bit. Abundant SF put up $5,000 against the recall, records show, but not the kind of big money that could make a difference in this race.
There’s another aspect of the meeting that the news media have largely ignored: Labor leaders showed up to denounce Tung for her attempts to undermine the state’s protections for immigrants.
Representatives of SEIU Local 1021, SEIU Local 1015, and the San Francisco Labor Council called out Tung.
Rosa Shields, political director for the Labor Council, said the organization “was very disappointed” by Tung’s move at the state party level. “Do not circumvent Sanctuary City policies,” Shields said.
So Tung as party chair is in a precarious position: She alienated some of her big-money backers by voting not to endorse in the recall, and she alienated labor by trying to undermine sanctuary policies at the state level.
If the recall succeeds, Lurie will also have a dilemma: He wants support for his plans to upzone the West Side, but the voters who have organized for the Engardio recall are largely against that approach. And an appointed supe who is a strong Yimby, like Engardio, might not survive the next election.
The Engardio recall has scrambled local politics—and possibly in a way that the billionaires can’t control.
