By Tim Redmond
Steve Jones and I had a lot to say about the election, but in retrospect, we left something out.
The progressive victories owed a lot to labor and tenant organizers, but also to the Democratic Party — and since I haven’t in the past been prone to praise the local party, I think it’s worth special mention.
The progressives took over the Democratic County Central Commitee this year, and elected Aaron Peskin chair, and you can see the results: The party raised money and put out slate mailers in the key districts, supporting Eric Mar, John Avalos and David Chiu. With the barrage of downtown attacks in those districts — and the close margin of victory in District 1 — the party, by linking Mar, Avalos and Chiu to the Obama campaign, helped make the difference.
It’s a new Democratic Party in this town, and that’s one more thing to celebrate.