{"id":49928,"date":"2026-08-28T12:23:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49928"},"modified":"2026-08-28T12:23:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T19:23:26","slug":"s-f-dems-overwhelmingly-vote-to-oppose-billionaire-tax-defying-state-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/08\/28\/s-f-dems-overwhelmingly-vote-to-oppose-billionaire-tax-defying-state-party\/","title":{"rendered":"S.F. Dems overwhelmingly vote to oppose billionaire tax, defying state party"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Plus: Local Dems back public bank and Sunset Dunes, but go against affordable housing measure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" by\u00a0Junyao Yang<\/a><\/strong> August 27, 2026 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
San Francisco residents gathered at the Asian Pacific American Community Center in Bayshore to deliver public comment on issues like Prop. G and Prop. 40, as the San Francisco Democratic Party votes on its endorsement. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The San Francisco Democratic Party, as predicted<\/a>, voted 17-4 on Wednesday evening to oppose the upcoming California billionaire tax \u2014 and, in so doing, made the rare choice to buck the state Democratic Party, which had narrowly endorsed the proposition in early August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vote fell along a neat progressive\/moderate divide. The local chapter took the step two months ago to alter its bylaws<\/a> to allow itself to diverge from the state party\u2019s endorsement on California ballot measures. Previously, the local chapter\u2019s convention was to follow the state party on statewide ballot measures and candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prop. 40, or the billionaire tax, would levy a one-time, 5 percent tax on some 200 billionaires who lived in California on Jan. 1, 2026. Most of the money would be spent on health care, patching up a $30 billion hole in Medi-Cal due to federal cuts after President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill.\u201d The rest would go to education and food assistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the Democratic County Central Committee, the local party chapter, said California would suffer from billionaires fleeing the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[My union is] particularly disturbed, because we feel it sets up an uneven playing field for California,\u201d said Patrick Boileau, a DCCC member and the political director of the Operating Engineers Local 3. \u201cThe billionaires that are going to be taxed with this measure also have the ability to vote with their feet and move out of California.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supervisor Matt Dorsey put it bluntly: \u201cThis is terrible public policy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Found<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lanier Coles, a DCCC member who was diagnosed with a chronic neurological disorder at 28 and had trouble getting healthcare coverage, said she opposed Prop. 40 because it is not \u201ca long-term viable solution to provide affordable healthcare.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Democrats win Congress this fall and the White House in 2028, she said, they will \u201cpass enduring legislation\u201d to fund and expand the Affordable Care Act and tackle federal tax reform to address inequalities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is how we will get to a place where more Americans, more working-class people will have access to healthcare for the long term,\u201d she said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be dead,\u201d quipped a Prop. 40 supporter in the audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you lost to Trump twice,\u201d added another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"D10<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"People
A man holds a \u201ctax the billionaires\u201d sign in the audience, among supporters of reopening the Great Highway, at the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee\u2019s endorsement meeting on Aug. 26, 2026. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But for the minority of supporters of the billionaire tax on the body, the tax cannot wait. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCalifornia needs this money now,\u201d said Michael Nguyen, a progressive DCCC member. \u201cThere are reasonable questions here around implementation, long-term revenue projections, but those questions cannot become an excuse for doing nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gordon Mar, another member, agreed. \u201cThe bottom line is Prop. 40 is the only proposal before voters and on the table, more generally, that approaches the scale of this crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suzanne Jimenez, chief of staff at the health care labor union SEIU-UHW that pushed for the measure, called the local party\u2019s vote to oppose Prop. 40 \u201cshameful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey have put the interests of a few hundred billionaires ahead of the healthcare needs of their fellow Californians,\u201d Jimenez wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"LivingProof_Joel300x250x2.jpg\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The state ballot measure was endorsed by the California Democratic Party and the California Federation of Labor Unions and other elected officials including Senator Bernie Sanders. But it has faced formidable opposition from Gov. Gavin Newsom; his likely successor, Xavier Becerra; Planned Parenthood; and several labor unions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the tax is estimated to bolster state revenue by tens of billions of dollars, according to the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office<\/a>, it could also lead to \u201congoing\u201d deficits of less than $1 billion per year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposing the billionaire tax could be a boon for the DCCC: It may benefit from heavy spending by tech billionaires already pouring<\/a> millions of dollars into defeating the measure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign fighting the tax could pump money into the DCCC that the body would then use to put out slate cards, which would promote other candidates and measures the San Francisco Democratic Party has endorsed, unrelated to the tax. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter tonight, we will be moving into full-blown campaigning mode for our endorsed candidates and campaigns,\u201d said Nancy Tung, the chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Youth<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The DCCC, in a symbolic vote, then went on to unanimously pass a non-binding resolution for a \u201cnational wealth tax.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is something that we can actually do that will make an impact on income inequality in this country,\u201d said Eric Kingsbury, who introduced the measure with Emma Hare. \u201cI ask that all of you join me in pushing for this tax that would be actually workable, viable, and not something that would hurt the economy of one city or county or state.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others called it performative politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a resolution. It doesn\u2019t have to go anywhere,\u201d said Hene Kelly, 84, the regional director of the California Democratic Party. \u201cWe\u2019ll work on it for years and years and years. I would like to have something before my 85th birthday and this won\u2019t do it for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just be honest with ourselves: The resolution is just basically shouting into the void and may or may not go anywhere,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cProp. 40 will be at the voters in November.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The local chapter also voted to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n