We learned a fair amount from the Working Families Party Congressional forum Monday night, particularly about Saikat Chakrabarti’s role in San Francisco politics.
Most of the questions from the floor were pretty predictable, and most of the responses were about what we have come to expect. Chakrabarti gave a strong presentation, and made clear that he knows a lot about federal policy. He answered most questions in a way that the WFP would support.
But one person asked the key question: The Working Families Party voted to support Dean Preston for Supervisor, Cheyanne Chen for Supervisor, and Aaron Peskin for mayor. Saikat supported Bilal Mahmood, Michael Lai, and Daniel Lurie. Why should the Working Families Party support him?
Chakrabarti admitted that supporting Lai was a mistake. He said he didn’t know enough about the guy. (Not a good sign for someone who wants to represent SF in Congress). But he said that Mahmood “is a progressive” and spoke about his support for the billionaire tax.
He also said he thinks “Lurie has been okay.”
This is so disappointing.
Mahmood is not remotely a progressive. Not only did he, with Chakrabarti’s support, oust the one Democratic Socialist on the board, but if you follow his votes, he has been a classic neoliberal.
He voted in favor of every housing deregulation measure, and opposed Sup. Connie Chan’s attempts to protect tenants and small businesses.
Lurie has prioritized cops over everything. He has pushed, with Mahmood’s support, a Rich Family Zoning Plan that promotes exactly what the AOC wing of the Democratic Party has opposed: Private market-based solutions to economic crises.
There are two possible explanations for this–and Chakrabarti’s staff, despite my repeated efforts, has declined to make him available for an interview. (UPDATE: Chakrabarti’s staff just called me and said they have been sending emails and did so before this story, but I can’t find them in my inbox. Could be a problem on my end. Either way, they are now working to set up a meeting.)
Maybe he’s not as much of a leftist as he says. Maybe he likes neoliberalism and prioritizing police over teachers. That seems entirely inconsistent with his past.
Or maybe he’s just clueless about San Francisco politics. Maybe, after living here for a few years, and doing almost nothing to help the local left (which so could have used this kind of money), he got duped by the likes of Mahmood and Lai and Lurie. That’s not encouraging for someone who would take a seat that traditionally has had a lot of influence on local politics.
Saying he thinks Mahmood is a “progressive” and Lurie is doing “okay” puts Chakrabarti in direct opposition to almost all the San Francisco left.
Weird place to be in this Congressional race, when his paid canvassers are selling him as another AOC.
Full disclosure: My daughter works on the Connie Chan for Congress campaign.
