SF Rising Action Fund’s Statement on Local Election Results
SF Rising Action Fund is excited that Connie Chan, Myrna Melgar, and Jackie Fielder have been elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors! We are also hopeful about Chyanne Chen’s race in District 11 which will come down to the final votes in the coming days. Incumbent Supervisors Chan and Melgar, along with Jackie Fielder faced opponents who were backed by big corporations and ultra-wealthy donors – some of whom are the same right wing donors funding the MAGA vision of destruction for working-class families and immigrant communities. Which is why we are so excited that they won their uphill battles! They will be a powerful voice for everyday people in San Francisco, stand up to corporate and billionaire greed, and center the needs of tenants, immigrants, and working families. These victories show us that though opponents may try to buy our elections, when organized, voters will elect candidates who share their vision, not automatically whoever has the most money.
While we are celebrating these wins, SF Rising Action Fund is disappointed that Sharon Lai and Supervisor Dean Preston lost their elections for District 3 and 5 Supervisor. Additionally, Supervisor Aaron Peskin lost his race to become San Francisco’s next mayor to Daniel Lurie. Once again, in these races, we saw big billionaire and corporate money show up, including Daniel Lurie pouring in $8 million of his own money as the heir to the Levi’s fortune and $1 million from his mother, making it one of the country’s most personally expensive campaigns ever. We know that when we are up against big money in politics, we have to keep building a long term infrastructure to win elections through people power.
With the losses in District 3 and 5, we do not have a majority of people-powered candidates on the Board of Supervisors or in the Mayor’s office, which means critical resources for our community are on the line. We are ready to defend things like rent control, smart public safety solutions, and our status as a sanctuary city.
Despite these losses, we are proud to have had teams of canvassers on the ground speaking to over 2,500 voters in English, Spanish, and Tagalog, talking to them about some of our endorsed candidates and reminding community members of their power to vote.
We are committed to continuing to build power for working-class communities and communities of color against corporate greed and look forward to growing our movement of working people in San Francisco, long before the next election takes place.ok forward to growing our movement of working people in San Francisco, long before the next election takes place.
