Every weekday from 12:00–12:45 PM, Saikat hosts small video calls with voters. These are intimate conversations — usually just a handful of people — where you’ll have the chance to talk to Saikat directly, raise the issues that matter most to you, and connect with others who share your vision for San Francisco and the country.

See the video below to get an idea of what these calls looks like:

If you’re interested, you can sign up here! If you’d like to sign up for a call, but the current time doesn’t work for you, please fill out this form to suggest an alternative.

This campaign only works because of people like you. We’re excited to see you on a call!

In solidarity,
Nick Gebo
Saikat for Congress

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks at the Fighting Oligarchy rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on May 2, 2025.

 (Photo by Nathan Morris/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“Actually, Mr. Trump, ‘a lot of people’ say that millions of Americans fought and died to defeat dictators,” argued Sanders.

BRAD REED

Aug 27, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday once again mused about the benefits of being a “dictator,” and drew a quick rebuke from Sen. Bernie Sanders and other critics.

During a cabinet meeting, Trump responded to criticism that his deployment of the National Guard in Washington, DC to stop a fictitious crime wave against the wishes of local officials was dictatorial in nature.

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“So the line is that I’m a dictator, but I stop crime,” Trump said. “So a lot of people said, you know, if that’s the case, I’d rather have a dictator.”

Trump then insisted that he wasn’t a dictator but was rather just someone who “knows how to stop crime.” The president also said during the meeting that “I can do anything I want” because “I’m the president of the United States.”

Trump: "The line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crime. So a lot of people say, 'You know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator.'" pic.twitter.com/YZlFDZs9lq

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 26, 2025

The comments followed similar remarks from the president on Monday in which he claimed, “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.'”

Sanders took to social media and ripped the president for suggesting that a dictatorship would be acceptable.

“Actually, Mr. Trump, ‘a lot of people’ say that millions of Americans fought and died to DEFEAT dictators,” he wrote. “Ask anybody. We’d rather be a free country.”

In a separate post, Sanders laid out Trump’s authoritarian ambitions and challenged other lawmakers to stand up to him.

“Trump threatens and investigates his political opponents—Democrats and Republicans,” he said. “He says, in violation of the Constitution, that he has ‘the right to do anything [he] wants.’ Is there one Republican who has the guts to stand up to this rapid movement toward authoritarianism?”

Progressive veterans organization VoteVets made a similar point in its own criticism of Trump.

“Millions of Americans have worn the uniform and sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, not one man’s ego,” the organization wrote. “Trump is spitting on that sacrifice and shredding the values we served to defend.”

Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, however, warned that far too many of Trump’s supporters appear to be on board with making him their president for life, based on polling.

“That so many Americans who voted for Trump actually WANT a dictator, an authoritarian, a strongman to rule over them and rule over this country has never surprised me,” he argued. “Because for years, his voters have told me they wanted this. Yes, it’s hugely disappointing, but not at all surprising.”

CNN reporter Aaron Blake backed up Walsh’s contention with polling data showing that 44% of Republican voters surveyed this year don’t think courts should even be allowed to review the president’s policies, while 36% of GOP voters said they wouldn’t mind if Trump tried to “suspend some laws and constitutional provisions to go after political enemies.”

“Trump is more or less right that many people seem to want a dictator,” Blake commented. “They’re his people.”

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, argued that a strong public education system is one of the best defenses against tyranny in the United States.

“As Donald Trump throws around the word dictator, it’s a good reminder that the founding fathers warned about kings and dictators,” she argued. “In fact, they believed that public education was essential to a functioning democracy.”

Weingarten then posted a video in which she read from her upcoming book, called “Why Fascists Fear Teachers,” that features quotes from America’s founders about the crucial role education plays in guarding against dictatorship.

“Thomas Jefferson was an early advocate of free public education, and wrote, ‘Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… they are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty,'” said Weingarten. “Democracy and public education have been linked every since. You cannot have a country of, by, and for the people without a means for the public to prepare, not just for the privilege of that democracy, but the duties as well.”

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

BRAD REED

Brad Reed is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >

No Azure for Apartheid activists lead a rally outside Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington on August 26, 2025.

 (Photo by No Azure for Apartheid)

“Brad Smith is the face of human rights at Microsoft,” said one No Azure for Apartheid protester. “And yet Microsoft every day continues to abet this genocide.”

BRETT WILKINS

Aug 27, 2025 (CommonDreams.org)

Seven current and former Microsoft workers were arrested Tuesday after occupying the office of president Brad Smith to protest the company’s complicity in “the first AI-powered genocide” as Israel kills and ethnically cleanses hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.

The protesters gathered at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington and declared a “Liberated Zone” inside Building 34, which they renamed the Mai Ubeid building in honor of a Palestinian software engineer killed by Israel in Gaza in 2023. Demonstrators sounded noisemakers, draped banners, and delivered a “People’s Court Summons” to Smith. They chanted, “Microsoft, Microsoft, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!”

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Seven protesters who locked themselves inside Smith’s office were arrested by Redmond police. Other current and former Microsoft workers joined community members at a rally outside the building.

“Microsoft continues to militarize its campus to harass, brutally attack, and violently arrest its workers and community members,” No Azure for Apartheid organizer and former Microsoft worker Abdo Mohamed told the Seattle Times.

⚡️ BREAKING: Microsoft employees and other demonstrators with the No Azure for Apartheid movement are currently occupying the office of company president Brad Smith. Workers say they have re-established a “Liberated Zone” inside Microsoft’s executive Building 34, renaming it the… pic.twitter.com/cf5vA2lgKm

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 26, 2025

The arrests came on the same day that Bloomberg revealed that Microsoft asked the Federal Bureau of Investigation for intelligence on pro-Palestinian protesters targeting the company, worked with local law enforcement in a bid to thwart demonstrations, and deleted internal emails containing protest details and words like “Gaza.”

Tuesday’s action followed a protest last week at which around 20 No Azure for Apartheid activists were arrested after setting up an encampment on the grounds of Microsoft headquarters. Earlier this month, protesters staged a demonstration at a Microsoft data center in the Netherlands that is reportedly being used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to plan airstrikes on Gaza.

The No Azure for Apartheid protesters are calling on Microsoft to “cut ties with Israel, call for an end to the genocide and forced starvation, pay reparations to the Palestinians, and end the discrimination against workers.”

“We are here because Palestine must be free, the genocide must end, the apartheid must end, and everything that’s happened to the Palestinian people over the past 75 years must end,” declared one No Azure for Apartheid organizer in a video of Tuesday’s occupation that was posted online. “It must end and this is how we must end it. We must occupy the people who are letting it happen.”

“We are here today not because we want to be here, it’s because we need to be here,” he said. “Brad Smith is the face of human rights at Microsoft. And yet Microsoft every day continues to abet this genocide.”

“Every Palestinian phone call in the last few years has been stored on Microsoft servers,” he continued as the other protesters shouted, “Shame!”

“That is a disgrace! That is untenable! There is no way to justify that,” the protester asaid. “Every time we have come with these problems… Microsoft has dragged their feet.”

The activist also pointed to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and the IDF’s largest intelligence unit.

“Satya has dragged his feet. Brad has dragged his feet. Satya met with the head of Unit 8200 and that led to this plan to store Palestinian phone calls on Microsoft servers,” he said.

A a joint investigation published earlier this month by The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call revealed that Unit 8200 is storing 11,500 terabytes of data containing roughly 200 million hours of Palestinians’ phone call recordings on the Azure servers in the Netherlands. According to the article, former Unit 8200 head Yossi Sariel traveled to Microsoft headquarters in 2021 to meet Nadella.

“What happens as a result is that every phone call is recorded, it is transcribed from Arabic, it is translated, and it is used for targeting,” the protester said.

Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation detailed how Israeli forces are using artificial intelligence and cloud computing systems sold by US tech giants including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Open AI—which makes the popular ChatGPT chatbot—for the mass surveillance and killing of Palestinians in Gaza.

In addition to US tech, the IDF uses its own AI system called Habsora to automatically select airstrike targets at an exponentially faster rate than ever before. A November 2023 investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call cited an Israeli intelligence source who said that Habsora has transformed the IDF into a “mass assassination factory” in which the “emphasis is on quantity and not quality” of kills.

Following the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, IDF officers were told they could order any number of strikes as they believed were legal, with no effective limits on civilian harm. This led to massacres in which dozens or more civilians were killed in single strikes, often using US-supplied 1,000- and 2,000-pound bombs.

Microsoft said earlier this month that it has launched an investigation into how Unit 8200 is using Azure. This, after the company said in May that an internal review “found no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and [artificial intelligence] technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.”

Big Tech’s profiteering from Israel’s annihilation of Gaza and occupation, settler colonization, and apartheid in the West Bank has sparked numerous protests, including by employees of complicit companies. At least dozens of workers at companies including Google, Meta, and Microsoft have been fired for Palestine advocacy. Others have resigned in protest.

Hossam Nasr, a former Microsoft software engineer, was fired after organizing an October 2024 “No Azure for Apartheid” vigil. Microsoft engineer Ibtihal Aboussad and another worker, Vaniya Agrawal, were fired after interrupting speeches by company executives.

Responding to Tuesday’s protest, Smith said, “Obviously, when seven folks do as they did today—storm a building, occupy an office, block other people out of the office… that’s not okay.”

“There are many things we can’t do to change the world, but we will do what we can and what we should,” Smith added. “That starts with ensuring that our human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld everywhere, by all of our customers around the world.”

Tuesday’s protest came as the IDF ramped up Operation Gideon’s Chariots 2—the US-backed campaign to conquer and occupy Gaza and ethnically cleanse around 1 million Palestinians—and amid a worsening famine that has killed hundreds of people, many of them children.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

BRETT WILKINS

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Full Bio >

Residents praise new captain and his plan to go ‘back to basics’

by ELENI BALAKRISHNAN August 26, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)

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New Tenderloin Police Station Captain Matt Sullivan said at a community meeting Tuesday evening that four San Francisco police officers will begin patrolling on foot next month in a new strategy to address street conditions in the neighborhood.

Sullivan said the officers will hit the pavement during the day and early evening in mid-September, and will connect with residents and business owners, break up groups of loiterers and address complaints. 

“The main goal for them is to improve street conditions, so they’re going back to basics,” Sullivan said, to applause from the 25 or so residents attending the meeting at the Tenderloin Station on Eddy Street.  

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Sullivan, who took over the Tenderloin police station last month, said the plan comes in response to the feedback he has heard from community members.  

“The request was for officers to be more visible, to be seen, to be known,” Sullivan said in an interview after the meeting. “The community thought that would be beneficial going forward, so we listened.” 

For now, the patrols’ focus will be on three-block stretches on Hyde Street and Leavenworth Street between Golden Gate Avenue and Ellis Street, as well as the area of Jones and Market streets. 

The idea of foot patrols appeared very popular at Tuesday’s meeting. 

“Bringing foot beats to the Tenderloin was one of our main needs,” said Stone Selseth, who is on the safety committee of the Central City SRO Collaborative and lives in one of the target areas at Market and Jones. “So we’re going to have some good news to tell our cohorts.” 

Naomi Cohen, a tenant organizer who said she has lived in the Tenderloin for about 10 years, was disappointed that her block of O’Farrell would not be part of the foot beat. Still, she called it “a wonderful idea.” She said she has rarely, if ever, seen police officers walking the neighborhood on foot. 

Multiple residents at the meeting said they were grateful for the changes they had already begun seeing since Sullivan took over a month ago. Last month, he told residents of another effort in the neighborhood to block off different streets to vehicles for a few days at a time.

That strategy, led by the multi-agency Drug Market Agency Coordination Center, is intended to eliminate cover for crime and unwanted activity that might be obscured by parked cars.

Aaron Thomas, a Tenderloin resident, said that in the last month he has noticed officers exiting their cars to do police work. A block near his home that has long been home to open-air drug activity and noise has become less of a problem. 

“We’re seeing a lot less crime on that particular block,” Thomas said. “I got some sleep this month.” 

Thomas called foot patrols the “missing piece,” after a year and a half of watching police officers remain in their vehicles and ineffectively scold people through loudspeakers.

Seeing an officer on foot, he said, will be different. “It makes you recognize, ‘I can’t do this illegal thing here, at least as openly as I was doing.’” 

The new police presence could lead to arrests, but Sullivan said the main goal was to improve street conditions through high visibility.

“I want our foot beats to know the pulse of the community,” Sullivan said. 

MORE POLICE NEWS

S.F. police foot patrols are coming to these Tenderloin streets

What S.F.’s war on illegal drug markets looks like, one case at a time

S.F.’s new strategy to get rid of drugs in the Tenderloin: Ban cars

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ELENI BALAKRISHNAN

eleni@missionlocal.com

Reporting from the Tenderloin. Follow me on Twitter @miss_elenius.More by Eleni Balakrishnan

By Adrienne Fong

Things are changing rapidly, faster than what is posted. RESISTANCE matters!!!

RESOURCES:

STAY UPDATED WITH BAY RESISTANCE and get plugged to actions you can support, text “Resist” to 888-850-0928

GI HOTLINE (877) 477-4497

  – Share this number to people who know active duty service members

See list of Calendar of Events on Palestine from AROC: https://www.araborganizing.org/events/ 

  If your post is about Palestine you can also list your action on the AROC calendar

There are events listed on Indybay that might be of interest to you(many listings in the South, North & East Bays and beyond the bay area)

Please post your actions on Indybay: https://www.indybay.org/calendar/?page_id=12

Bay Area Progressive Action Calendar

ATW Bay Area / NorCal — Action Together West

ARTICLES

A. 138 Gaza war protesters arrested after they storm Sen. Padilla’s S.F. office – August 27, 2025

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/protesters-storm-sen-padilla-s-s-f-office-21016997.php

   Actions also happened at Sen. Padilla’s offices in Los Angeles, San Diego & Sacramento today.

  Instagram of SF action:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DN33-j8EpwB/

     100’s of Jewish and allies in the lobby of SF Sen Padilla’s office

https://www.instagram.com/p/DN4K9QRku5G/

      Arrests have started at Senator Padilla’s office in San Francisco. Hundreds of Jews and allies are putting their bodies on the line across California, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, from Sacramento to San Diego in the largest statewide action of antizionist Jews in California history.

B. Israeli official Alexandrovich skips US court hearing on child sex charges – August 27, 2025

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/27/israeli-official-alexandrovich-skips-us-court-hearing-on-child-sex-charges

C. Dozens injured as Israeli forces raid Nablus in occupied West Bank – August 27, 2025

Dozens injured as Israeli forces raid Nablus in occupied West Bank | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

D. Judge Blocks Kristi Noem From Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda – for now – August 26, 2025

Judge Blocks Kristi Noem From Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda — for Now | Truthout

E. From Middle East Eye – on Killing of Palestinian journalist August 25, 2025

https://x.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1960037230967234576?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

F. Bernie/AOC “Are Compromised, They are Class Traitors.” Labor SILENT on Israel? (w/ Chris Smalls) – August 25, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4OhoG9uDA8   23 min YouTube

G. Trump says he’ll send troops to ‘clean up’ San Francisco – August 22, 2025

https://sfstandard.com/2025/08/22/trump-send-troops-clean-san-francisco/

H. Trump admin. fires S.F. immigration judge with high asylum rate – August 22, 2025

Trump admin. fires S.F. immigration judge with high asylum rate

I. Brown Misleader Dolores Huerta Can’t Stop Hustling for Neoliberalism – August 21, 2025

https://www.blackagendareport.com/brown-misleader-dolores-huerta-cant-stop-hustling-neoliberalism

J. A pro-Palestinian activist came to Oakland to practice medicine. An outrage campaign followed – August 19, 2025

A pro-Palestinian doctor came to Oakland. An outrage machine followed

3 PETITIONS

1. Stop the Attacks on Our Communities and End Trump’s control of the DC police force NOW.

  SIGN: Stop Trump’s DC Takeover | Care in Action

2. Tell Nevada Governor Lombardo: Reject Coyote Compound or any other detention camp proposal

  SIGN: Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund

3. Tell Congress: Sign the discharge petition to restore the right of federal workers to unionize

  SIGN: Tell Congress: Sign the discharge petition to restore the right of federal workers to unionize.

~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

Faith In Action Accompaniment Form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc3WXlcteNu3ZgogOPko0GDrUaPwKJh-4iqgsMwHAZS0XDUUg/viewform

  Learn more about how to accompany ‘immigrants’ to court appearances

~     ~     ~     ~     ~     ~

EVENTS / ACTIONS

Thursday, August 28 – Tuesday, September 2

Thursday, August 28

1. Thursday, 8:30am, Pack the court for Guillermo Medina Reyes,

Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse,
661 Washington St, Oakland, CA

Join in keeping beloved artist and immigrant rights champion, Guillermo Medina Reyes, out of ICE custody!

Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/DN3jtKN0k0p/ 

Friday, August 29

2. Friday, 8:00am – 4:30pm, ICE out of San Francisco courts!

SF ICE Court
100 Montgomery St.
SF

Nr. Montgomery St. BART

Defend Community; Stop The Abductions

Every Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday

Since late May, ICE has arrested 60+ immigrants at the San Francisco Immigration Courts at 630 Sansome St. (from Mission Local)

Does this sound like a ‘sanctuary city’?

In January 2025 Mayor Lurie, the SF Board of Supervisors and many non-profits held a press conference at City Hall  in support of SF Sanctuary – where are they now? Why haven’t they condemned ICE actions and presence in SF??

Call / Email Mayor Lurie

415-554-6141 and ask his staff.

Email: Daniel.lurie@sfgov.org

3. Friday, 10:30am – 12:30pm, Noise Against Genocide

Israeli Consulate
456 Montgomery St.
SF

NOISE PROTEST at the Israel Consulate to protest the intentional killing of almost 200 journalists, the intentional starvation of Palestinians, the 2-years of nauseating lying of Netanyahu and his psychopathic allies, the sadistic murder of humanitarian aid workers, hospital workers, academics, and the destruction of Palestinian homes, businesses, mosques, churches, museums, universities. 

We will cause a furious ruckus. We will have megaphones, trumpets, whistles, air horns and drums to share, plus bring your own pots and pans to beat on the barricades they set up to separate us from the Zionists inside.

Info: Israel! Stop Killing Journalists! Stop Starving Gaza! : Indybay   

4. Friday, 3:00pm (PT); 6:00pm (ET) Online Press Conf. Mumia needs Medical Treatment to Prevent Permanent Blindness

 Register: Webinar Registration – Zoom

Political Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is at risk of permanent blindness. His eyesight is deteriorating at an alarming rate and requires immediate medical treatment, or he will permanently lose his sight. A virtual press conference at 6pm EDT on Friday, Aug. 29 will focus on Mumia’s condition and inquire as to why the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is delaying his treatment.

It started 8 months ago. 8 long months of worsening eyesight to the point of him being declared legally blind in a recent doctor’s appointment. The gravity of this situation is more tragic by its preventability and the refusal of the prison medical complex to adequately address his medical concerns. This delay is highly consequential and could be the difference between whether he regains his sight or whether this becomes a permanent and life altering disability. Mumia is suffering from post-cataracts and diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. He also has glaucoma. We must act quickly and decisively to protect our vulnerable comrade.

Info & Actions: AUG 20: Mumia Abu-Jamal: Urgent medical alert – Free Mumia

5. Friday, 5:00pm, Vigil for Gaza

Cortland & Andover (corner)
SF

Stand with your neighbors!

Last week all four corners were covered by neighbors

Plan is to do this every week till CHANGE happens

Host: Bernal Bay Resistance 

Saturday, August 30

6. Saturday, 1:45pm – 3:00pm, Support Jerusalem Coffee House

@East Bay Community Space
507 55^th Street
Oakland

Food and beverages available for purchase

Bay Area out in full support of Jerusalem Coffee House! They were targeted by Zionist agitators and must be supported in their fight back against the overreach of Trumps DOJ. Please follow them and support!

Sunday, August 31

7. Global Sumud Flotilla will be sailing on August 31st to BREAK THE SIEGE on GAZA!

Follow at:  https://globalsumudflotilla.org/   and  https://www.instagram.com/globalsumudflotilla/?

On August 31, the largest attempt to break the siege on Gaza is launched.

This is the largest civilian and humanitarian fleet ever to sail for Gaza.

Dozens of boats will set sail from Spain, carrying hope, courage and solidarity

And on the 4th of September, the Freedom Fleet sets off from Tunisia.

A sailor with dignity, carrier of hope, and raising the banner of humanity.

Tunisia to Spain, Brazil to Indonesia, Algeria to Libya,

Peoples and nations unite in one word:

“Together to lift the siege on Gaza”

8. Sunday, 5:00pm (PT); 8:00pm (ET), In Solidarity with Haiti and Cuba

Virtual event: ZOOM ID: 842-3132-6242 PASSWORD: 464-860

FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Seth Donnelly – Haiti Action Committee

Dr. Isaac Saney – Author of Cuba a Revolution in Motion & Cuba Africa & Apartheid’s End

Maud Jean Michel – Haitian Activist

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Vijay Prashad – Historian Executive Director Tri-Continental Institute

MODERATOR: YaYa Marin Coleman – Journalist – Belize

Info: https://haitisolidarity.net/in-solidarity-with-haiti-and-cuba/

Monday, September 1

Labor Day

Have only listed SF & Oakland actions – See Indybay for other Labor Day actions

9. Monday, 9:30am – 11:30am, San Francisco: Federal Employees Labor Day Protest

Philip Burton Federal Building
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA, 94102 

After this rally people are encouraged to take the #49 MUNI to the demo on 16^th & Mission

Stop the Illegal Firings of Federal Workers!

Protect Unions & Worker Rights Now!

Save Our Democracy!

March with federal unions, your fellow workers and former workers to protest the illegal firing of members of the Federal Workforce, -without cause- from the V.A., Social Security, Dept. of Education, Treasury, Labor, HHS, CDC, and all Federal Agencies.

PROTEST: The illegal elimination of Federal Unions

PROTEST: Firing without cause

PROTEST: The removal of the “Rule of Law” from our land.

Parking is available beneath the Civic Center Plaza. If you take BART, the Civic Center Station is less than a 5-minute walk.

We rally to call out the illegal Trump Administration’s Actions:

-To indiscriminately fire federal employess inviolation of Title 5 U.S.C. 2301

-To eliminate Federal Employee Unions andCollective Bargaining Agreements in violation ofThe Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-454)

-To desecrate Article 1, Section 7 & Section 8 of theU.S. Constitution in violation of: Clinton v. City ofNew York, 524 U.S. 417 (1998) U.S.S.C.

Demand DOGE keep their hands off your IRS Tax Returns, your Social Security data, V.A. data, and Medicare data, your most private information.

Together we can fight this unprecedented attack on Federal employees, OUR government, and the people!

Some protest signs will be provided but feel free to bring your own.

Host: Federal unions & allies – See list of sponsors on Indybay

Info: San Francisco: Federal Employees Labor Day Protest : Indybay

10. Monday, 11:00am – 1:00pm, San Francisco: Labor Day March & Rally for Worker, Immigrant & Human Rights 

Meet at:

16^th & Mission BART
SF

March will start at 16th and Mission BART Plaza in San Francisco and proceed to Dolores Park for the rally.

LABOR DAY PRO-UNION, ANTI-FASCISM MARCH & RALLY

#WorkerRights
#RacialJustice
#GenderJustice
#LGBT+Justice
#NoICE
#GlobalHumanRightsNow

Join the national movement for working class power to stand against rising fascism, for racial justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQIA+ equality, gender justice, public services, and human rights throughout the U.S. and the world.

See list of sponsors on Indybay list

Info: San Francisco: Labor Day March & Rally for Worker, Immigrant & Human Rights : Indybay 

11. Monday, 12Noon – 3:00pm, Oakland: Stop the Fascist Billionaires! Labor Day Protest Supporting Freedom & Democracy

Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA 94612  

Info: https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/815313//

The billionaires continue to wage a cruel war on working people, with their cronies in the administration, ICE and law enforcement backing up their attacks. This Labor Day we will continue to stand strong, fighting for public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, shared prosperity over corporate politics.

Working people built this nation and we know how to take care of each other. We won’t back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that ensure access to opportunity and a better life for all Americans. The billionaire’s time is up.

On September 1st we will continue the movement we launched together on May 1st, standing in solidarity with all our communities under attack and fighting for real wins for all our people.

In thousands of communities around the country we encourage you to take a stand with us on Labor Day. On the streets, outside the offices of the corporate criminals who are behind the attacks on our freedoms and at congressional offices. Together we will demand a world that works for all of us.

OUR DEMANDS TO BUILD THE SOCIETY WE ALL DESERVE:

Stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration.

Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people.

Fully funded schools, and healthcare and housing for all.

Stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, and all our communities.

Invest in people not wars.

Please note: A core principle behind all our events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.

Info: Oakland: Stop the Fascist Billionaires! Labor Day Protest Supporting Freedom & Democracy : Indybay

Tuesday, September 2

12. Tuesday, 12Noon, Save TPS (Temporary Protected Status) Rally

SF City Hall
1 Dr. Carleton B. Goodlett Pl (Outside steps)
SF 

12 Noon Rally

2:00pm – Board of Supervisors Meeting

Join us for a rally to Save TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for over one million TPS holders across the nation who may otherwise face deportation when it is unsafe to return to their home countries.

 The 12 p.m. rally will be followed by a 2 p.m. Board of Supervisors meeting where they will vote on a resolution to urge congressional delegations to urge Congress to make a permanent residency pathway for all TPS holders. All are welcome to join this meeting as well. #SaveTPS

Host: NorCal TPS Coalition

Info: Facebook

LiveNOW from FOX Streamed live on Aug 26, 2025 President Trump holds cabinet meeting amid DC and Chicago National Guard deployments, federal reserve shakeups and more. Subscribe to LiveNOW from FOX! https://www.youtube.com/livenowfox?su… Where to watch LiveNOW from FOX: https://www.livenowfox.com/ Follow us @LiveNOWFOX on Twitter:   / livenowfox   Raw and unfiltered. Watch a non-stop stream of breaking news, live events and stories across the nation. Limited commentary. No opinion. Experience LiveNOW from FOX.

By Jay Willis

August 22, 2025 11:53 a.m. (TurningPointsMemo.com)

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at Balls and Strikes. 

At the behest of President Donald Trump, Texas Republicans are in the midst of making their state even more of a mockery of the concept of representative democracy than it already was. In an attempt to preserve the GOP’s narrow House majority in the 2026 midterms, lawmakers are tinkering with the boundaries of the state’s 38 congressional districts to create five more safe Republican seats, forcing several Democratic incumbents to seek re-election next year in districts that are suddenly, alarmingly red. Scrambling the map in this manner would ensure that in a state in which Trump earned 56 percent of the vote in 2024, Republicans would lock up 80 percent of the state’s representation in Congress for the rest of the decade.

In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers in his state to create a new map that would eke out five additional safe Democratic seats until 2030. Ambitious elected officials elsewhere are exploring similar retaliatory options, eager both to make the national electoral landscape friendlier for their parties and also to publicly take credit for doing so. In Texas, Republicans grew so desperate to maintain the quorum necessary to move forward that they had a handful of Democrats physically confined to the chamber overnight—generally speaking, not a sign that democracy is “in a good place.”

As is so often the case in American politics, you can draw a straight line between this frantic gerrymandering arms race and a mind-bendingly stupid decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 ruling in Rucho v. Common Cause in 2019, the five Republican justices held that court challenges to partisan gerrymanders could not go forward in federal courts because such cases present a “political question”—basically, a question that judges (ostensibly) cannot answer using legal principles. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts explained that the Constitution yields no workable standard for determining when a given gerrymander goes too far to be legal. Citing the line in Marbury v. Madison about the Court’s duty to “say what the law is”—always a good sign that a conservative justice is about to bullshit you—Roberts concluded that this time, the Court’s “duty is to say, ‘This is not law.’” (Do you see what he did there?)

It is of course true that the Supreme Court did not invent partisan gerrymandering, let alone force Texas Governor Greg Abbott to speed-run fascism by issuing civil arrest warrants for Democratic lawmakers who had the temerity to oppose his redistricting gambit. But the Court is responsible for its choice to tie its own hands six years ago, thus enabling these lawmakers to cement themselves in power without fear of interference from pesky, meddling federal courts. 

In what is, in my view, still one of the most embarrassing paragraphs to appear in the pages of the United States Reporter, Roberts wraps in Rucho by noting that the holding constrains only federal courts; Congress, he says, would remain free to enact anti-gerrymandering legislation, as would lawmakers at the state level. The argument here is that voters who are dissatisfied with corruption in the political process don’t actually need John Roberts’s help, because they can always seek redress of their grievances via the aforementioned corrupt political process. This is roughly analogous to the fire department pulling up to a burning house, attaching the hoses to fire hydrants, and then politely informing the owner that it could rain any minute.

Roberts’s premise is, to put it generously, dubious: As Steve Vladeck points out, there are standards the Court could have decided to prescribe for use in partisan gerrymandering cases, if it were so inclined. The problem, of course, is that the conservative justices do not give a shit about partisan gerrymandering, because they understand basic facts about how politics in this country works: Nationwide, Republicans control 59 of 99 state legislative chambers, and hold both the legislature and the governorship in 24 states, compared to just 15 for Democrats. In other words, Republicans have more power over the line-drawing process in more places than their Democratic counterparts, who are always scrambling to catch up.

As Newsom has demonstrated, Democrats are as capable as Republicans of drawing maps that ruthlessly squeeze their opponents out of power. But the bet Roberts made in Rucho is that, on balance, the existence of unchecked partisan gerrymandering is better for his fellow Republicans than the absence of unchecked partisan gerrymandering. Appealing to the supposed difficulties of crafting “politically neutral” standards for solving problems is a time-honored maneuver among judges seeking to wash their hands of problems they do not want to solve. At one point, Roberts carefully notes that the justices in the majority do not “condone” partisan gerrymandering, but if they did, I am not sure how they would have decided the case any differently.

What is happening in Texas and California and elsewhere right now demonstrates just how vapid and hollow the reasoning in Rucho always was. You do not have to have a law degree to understand that a Texas map that transforms a 56-42 advantage into a 79-21 blowout is not, in any meaningful sense, fair. You do not need to be a Supreme Court justice to understand that a California map that would turn Kamala Harris’s 58 percent vote share in 2024 into 94 percent of power in the House does not allow for equal participation in the political process. 

But this is the price that Rucho is forcing millions of voters to pay: Roberts borrowed the language of judicial humility, warning of the potential dangers of cavalierly empowering federal courts to answer hypothetical questions that might be difficult. All he did is prevent federal courts from answering very real questions that are not.

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Jay Willis is the Editor-in-Chief of Balls & Strikes. Previously, he was a staff writer at GQ and a senior contributor to The Appeal. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, Defector, and Fast Company, among others.

Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Omar Fateh won the endorsement of his city party. Then the state party overturned the result. Representative Ilhan Omar calls it “inexcusable.”

AUG 26, 2025 The Nation Magazine

by John Nichols

Omar Fateh in an interview with KARE 11 News on August 7. 2025. (KARE 11 News)

Anyone who knows the epic history of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party will tell you that its internal politics have often been contentious. But out of that contention have come some of the most dynamic figures to ever grace the national political scene: from presidential candidates Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale and Hubert Humphrey to more contemporary leaders on the left, such as the late US Senator Paul Wellstone, former US representative and now Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and US Representative Ilhan Omar.

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The DFL is also a party where grassroots activists have often lifted up political outsiders and activists and put them on paths to prominence. So it wasn’t all that surprising when, on July 19, the Minneapolis DFL endorsed the mayoral campaign of just such a rising star: state Senator Omar Fateh, a democratic socialist who has championed bold efforts to expand affordable housing and rent stabilization, supported a $20-an-hour minimum wage and taken up the cause of unionized and non-unionized workers.

Fateh’s focus on affordability issues and his energetic challenge to Democratic Party lethargy have garnered comparisons to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani—another young, Muslim, democratic socialist anti-establishment candidate—with some calling Fateh “the Mamdani of Minneapolis.” Fateh has embraced those comparisons. After Mamdani’s landslide victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo in June’s New York City mayoral primary, Fateh declared, “Minneapolis Next!”

Initially, the Minneapolis DFL appeared to agree. In the final formal balloting at the July convention, more than 60 percent of delegates chose to back Fateh over incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, a DFLer who last year issued a record number of vetoes of measures approved by the progressive majority on the city council, including a Gaza ceasefire resolution.

In addition, just before the convention adjourned, and at a point when a number of Frey backers had departed, Fateh won a show-of-hands vote where delegates held up badges to indicate whom they supported.

Fateh began campaigning, accurately, as the “DFL-endorsed” candidate.

But then the surprise came. Last week, a state DFL party committee revoked the endorsement after Frey and his allies complained that a “highly flawed and untested” electronic voting system produced a significant number of uncounted votes at the convention. Concerns were also raised about delays tied to slow Internet connections and a host of issues that frustrated backers of both leading endorsement contenders.

Frey celebrated the decision to revoke the endorsement, saying, “I am proud to be a member of a party that believes in correcting our mistakes.” State DFL leaders called for unity. But Fateh and his backers said the revocation—which was coupled with a decision barring the Minneapolis DFL from making another endorsement—represented an outrageous overreach by the state party.

Minnesota DFL conventions have a long history of factional fights and conflicts, and this one was no different. But, as Amanda Otero, co–executive director of Take Action MN, said when Fateh backers rallied on Friday, “The will of the delegates was clear, and I need a party who cares more about building power with the people and upholding our will than a set of technicalities and rules that ultimately did not disrupt the ultimate outcome.”

Fateh objected to the revocation of his endorsement by announcing,

Twenty-eight party insiders voted to take away our endorsement behind closed doors. This group was comprised of non-Minneapolis residents, Mayor Frey supporters and even donors. This is exactly what Minneapolis voters are sick of. The insider games, the backroom decisions and feeling like our voice doesn’t matter in our own city. Frey’s team used every tactic they could, including delay and confusion on convention day, because they didn’t have the votes. We see this for what it is—disenfranchisement of thousands of Minneapolis caucus goers and the delegates who represented all of us on convention day. Let me be clear, we’re still in this fight. And we’re going to win.

The reaction of US Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) was every bit as firm and focused as that of the candidate. “It is inexcusable to overturn the DFL endorsement from Omar Fateh,” she said. “A small group, a majority living outside Minneapolis, met privately to overturn the will of Minneapolis delegates who volunteered, organized, and participated in a months-long DFL process. Unacceptable.”

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Omar, who represents Minneapolis in the House, told The Nation, “It is paramount that the Democratic Party does everything possible to bring in new voices and new communities into the coalition. I often say we are a big-tent party and we need to ensure we continue to uplift and celebrate progressive perspectives. At a time when people are hungry for bold change across the country, we need to support, not silence, progressive candidates. Zohran Mamdani’s incredible victory in New York was a testament to the people-powered campaign voters are craving. In order to win upcoming elections, we have to center the needs of working people and give voters clear reasons to support us.”

Notably, though Mamdani won the New York City primary, he has yet to be endorsed by prominent Democrats such as Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Along with a group of DFL elected officials from Minneapolis—including three state senators, five state representatives, three Hennepin County commissioners, Minneapolis City Council president Elliott Payne and four other council members, and Minneapolis School Board member Greta Callahan—Representative Omar signed onto a statement that declared:

We strongly condemn the DFL’s Constitution, Bylaws & Rules Committee’s (CBRC) decision to revoke the DFL endorsement from Omar Fateh. Last month, thousands of caucus-goers and delegates across Minneapolis gathered to participate in the Minneapolis DFL Convention. Now, a month later, a small group of DFL board members, a majority living outside Minneapolis, met privately to overturn the will of Minneapolis delegates who volunteered, organized, and participated in a months-long DFL process. It is inexcusable to overturn the results weeks after the convention because board members did not like the outcome. Not only does this decision set an extremely dangerous precedent, it will undermine the DFL endorsing process going forward and fails to center the will of delegates.

Right now, there is a clear tension between the progressive democrats who are challenging the status quo and moderate democrats. It is extremely disheartening that Omar Fateh, the first Black mayoral candidate to be DFL-endorsed in the last three decades, will have his endorsement revoked. Chair Richard Carlbom campaigned on uniting the DFL; this decision directly runs counter to that effort, to which we are all committed. The DFL Party is a big-tent party and all factions should be fairly represented, not silenced. Minneapolis is the heart of the engine of Democratic turnout in our state. Undoubtedly, this appalling decision will leave many voters feeling discouraged and unwelcome from participating in our party.

Throughout this mayoral campaign, we have seen the influence of big money in our politics. This should not be how decisions are made in our party. Blatant corruption should be widely condemned, not tolerated. We know organized people beat organized money. Fateh’s campaign organized and won the endorsement. This decision will be a stain on our party for years to come and damage our ability to organize for Democratic wins this year, next year, and beyond.

by Randy Shaw on August 25, 2025 (BeyondChron.org)

Major United States cities have seen sharp drops in crime. San Francisco has posted steep reductions in all reported categories. Yet what about crimes in unreported categories? Like open air drug markets? Or illegal sidewalk drug use? Or fencing stolen goods?

These crimes hurt entire neighborhoods. They are the crimes San Franciscans complain about most. Yet they are not included in city statistics. No record is kept of the number of people using illegal drugs on sidewalks, selling illegal drugs, or fencing stolen goods.

Wouldn’t San Francisco benefit from using statistics to monitor these illegal activities? After all, excluding statistics on open air illegal drug use prevents San Francisco officials from assessing whether progress is being made. We know the number of those arrested for drug sales or use but that is a small percentage of those engaged in such actions.

Crime statistics are used for allocating resources. For example, when statistics showed a huge rise in car break ins during COVID, the SFPD responded with a special task force. The numbers soon went down dramatically.

Similarly, the city’s tabulation of “encampments”—capturing the number of tents in neighborhoods—spawned increased city resources devoted to removing tents on sidewalks. Unfortunately, people using drugs on sidewalks without tents escape the statistical count.

Wouldn’t there be more pressure on City Hall to shift police officers to close drug markets if statistics showed a rise in  drug crimes? Absent statistics the question of whether drug activity is worsening becomes subjective.

For example, Mayor Lurie goes out to Sixth Street and reports improvement (the first two blocks of Sixth have improved during the shifts of Urban Alchemy, which the mayor dispatched to address the worsening drug crisis). But videos from JJ Smith on X show between 50-100 illegal drug users on the same patch of Sixth during Urban Alchemy’s absence. Smith also regularly posts videos of an open air drug market at Sixth and Howard, beyond Urban Alchemy’s turf.

Wouldn’t publicizing actual numbers of illegal drug users and sellers get all of us on the same page?

My colleague and I offered sidewalk drug user numbers for the Tenderloin in the month of July (See “The Tenderloin’s Sidewalk Drug Use: By the Numbers“). Many we shocked to learn that as many as  38 users were at the intersection of Jones and Ellis on July 31. Our report confirmed people’s perceptions that progress in closing Tenderloin drug markets has gone in reverse—but the city lacks statistics to prove this.

What if Drug Activity Stats Were Included?

There are hundreds if not thousands of drug crimes daily occurring in the Tenderloin, Mid-Market and Sixth Street. Yet  the vast majority go unreported. That’s because people feel the police see what’s going on at drug hotsptos like Eddy and Hyde, Jones and Ellis, Sixth Street and 7^th and Market. Why bother making a 311 call when the illegal drug use is so out in the open?

I don’t think mayors would ignore regular reports that showed drug use and drug dealing steeply rising. That may explain why these crimes have long not been included—-no pressure is placed on City Hall to respond to news stories about steeply rising drug activities because no public numbers exist.

Recall in The Wire how police departments became driven by CompStat? The SFPD uses CompStat to decide how to strategically deploy resources. Excluding drug activities from the statistical count leads to placing police resources where statistics are counted. Not toward closing drug markets.

How Will Public Drug User Statistics Be Gathered?

People who are robbed or burglarized call the police. But those seeing illegal drug activities typically do not. I think if people knew that the city were keeping statistical track of drug calls to 311 we would see a huge upsurge in such calls. People are eager to close open air drug markets. If the city announces statistics are being kept, gathering the numbers will not be a problem.

Mayor Lurie and Interim Chief Yep inherited the current system. Neither has anything to do with the exclusion of drug activities from city crime stats. This exclusion was built into a system before open air drug markets became out of control during COVID.

San Francisco’s crime statistics needs to be changed. I testified about this at the July Police Commission meeting and urged the body to do what they could do include drug activity stats. Between the mayor, Police Commission, SFPD and District Attorney’s office, someone should be able to get this change done.

Randy Shaw

<I>Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s new book is the revised and updated, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. His prior books include Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. </I>

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by Randy Shaw on August 25, 2025 (BeyondChron.org)

Drug users at 7th and Market, August 20 6:45 am

San Francisco’s historic Mid-Market neighborhood has not come back. While there are signs of progress, sidewalk drug activities, vacant retail, and inadequate positive foot traffic still beset the street. While allowing ride-share vehicles in Mid-Market will help, a real comeback requires that open air drug activities finally be stopped

Stop Sales of Tobacco Paraphernalia

“The conditions surrounding our property at Market and McAllister have reached a critical point. In the past week alone, there has been both a stabbing and a shooting on our block. Drug use is happening openly. Guests paying $300 plus per night are stepping over individuals clearly under the influence as they attempt to exit onto Market Street. See pictures attached from both this morning at 6.30am and yesterday. In addition to the Hotel’s Market Street entrance you can also see 25 plus people congregating outside the convenience store that sells drug paraphernalia.” Adam Sydenham, General Manager, Proper Hotel, August 20, 2025 letter to Mayor and Police Chief

Mayor Lurie stated in last week’s press release about allowing ride-share on Market,  “With this new phase, we are identifying the tools to get people back to our theaters, hotels, and restaurants, and drive San Francisco’s comeback.”

Yet the source of Mid-Market’s problems is no mystery: ongoing sidewalk drug activities that have worsened in recent months.

Mid-Market’s decline was primarily worsened by two city actions: housing thousands of drug tourists at Shelter in Place (SIP) hotels on 7th Street and opening a $22 million safe injection site known as the Linkage Center in UN Plaza.

Mid-Market has never recovered from the city’s combined assault on its progress. City Hall turned the area into  a safe haven for drug activities. Phil Ginsburg’s skateboard park has since made UN Plaza much safer, but 7^th and Market,  Jones and Market, and the portion of Mid-Market bordering Sixth Street remain plagued by sidewalk drug users.

Enabling people to take cars rather than walk through these drug activities will help. But people are not going to regularly patronize stores, open retail spaces or rent offices  in Mid-Market  so long as customers have to walk through a gauntlet of illegal drug users.

Here’s an essential strategy: Mid-Market and Sixth Street must adopt the measure passed for the Tenderloin that prevents the sale of tobacco paraphernalia between 12am-5am.  That will reduce illegal sidewalk drug use during those hours. Mayor Lurie should work with D6 Supervisor Dorsey to pass this vital legislation.  San Francisco should not allow stores in the Tenderloin, Mid-Market or Sixth Street to create a thriving market for the sidewalk drug trade.

Clear Mid-Market Sidewalks of Illegal Drug Users

Preventing users from obtaining drug paraphernalia 24/7 must be part of the larger goal: clearing Mid-Market sidewalks from illegal drug activities.

It doesn’t matter what else City Hall does for Mid-Market. If the city cannot permanently clear sidewalk drug activities the area is not going to return to its pre-COVID revival.

I’ve constantly written stories about the devastating impact of drug activities on Mid-Market and the Tenderloin. The long-awaited supermarket for the area? City Hall allowed drug users and dealers to kill the Whole Foods at 8^th and Market.

The former Westfield Center shopping mall that brought thousands to Mid-Market each day? Killed by sidewalk drug activities.

Fewer shows at the Warfield Theater? It’s been reported that crews for some bands don’t feel safe in the area.

Why have retail spaces under major new housing developments at 1028 Market and 50 Jones either never been built or never opened? Sidewalk drug activities have deterred businesses from even considering these sites. Businesses open and close in Mid-Market because drug activities deter customers.

Mayor Lurie campaigned on making tough decisions about the city’s future. That requires no longer playing make believe about what is really holding Mid-Market back.

It’s the sidewalk drug use. And City Hall needs to take the same approach to Mid-Market as it did for Jefferson Square Park—clear the area and do not let users return.

Mid-Market vs Jefferson Square Park

Sebastian Luke’s May 5, 2025 Beyond Chron story about the rescue of Jefferson Square Park—“It’s A New Dawn, New Day, New Life For SF’s Jefferson Square Park”—accurately describes the drug-free scene there today. Unlike Mid-Market, police crackdowns one day were not replaced by business as usual drug activities the next.

The common explanation for why sustained police presence occurred in Jefferson Square Park but has never happened at 7^th and Market is that drug activities at the former impacted a more affluent neighborhood. That’s how people see it despite Mid-Market hosting major tourist hotels like the Proper and Timbri. The area also hosts IKEA, IKEA’s Saluhall Food Hall, the historic Hibernia Bank (now an event center), the Warfield, Orpheum, and ACT-Strand Theaters and other major commercial buildings.

But there may be another factor. Supervisor Steven Sherrill was far more hands on in battling drug use at Jefferson Square Park than D6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey has been for closing the drug scene on the south side of Mid-Market. Dorsey is the Board’s leading recovery advocate. He routinely bemoans open air drug markets. But has he done a single press event calling on the mayor or Police Chief to better protect Mid-Market from drug activities?

In a story for The Voice, Sherrill explained why he got so involved in Jefferson Park:

“This is a direct response to constituent concerns about those instances. We’ve seen what can happen when we stand up and we say what our priorities are, like in Jefferson Square Park,” he said, referencing high-profile police actions taken in March of this year to quell illegal drug activity there. “We decided we wanted to prioritize having a clean and safe park with a law enforcement operation, and boom, it happened. And that park is pretty darn clean today.”

If Supervisor Dorsey has in fact made clearing open air drug markets on the south side of Market Street a top priority, he has failed. Mid-Market drug use has become normalized in a way that was not allowed to recur at Jefferson Square Park.

Other City Hall Actions

Of the many actions I urged Mayor Lurie to undertake to revive Mid-Market in my November 2024 story—-“How Mayor Lurie Can Revive Mid-Market”—-only ending the rideshare ban has moved forward (the ban ends August 26). My biggest strategy then and now was closing drug markets. That hasn’t happened. The mayor remains far more laser focused on filling downtown office buildings and Union Square retail spaces than on Mid-Market or the Tenderloin.

Mid-Market is the heart of San Francisco. Like the adjacent Tenderloin, it deserves more from City Hall.

Want to learn about the Tenderloin’s rich history? Pick up Randy Shaw’s updated new book, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. 

Randy Shaw

<I>Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw’s new book is the revised and updated, The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco. His prior books include Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. The Activist’s Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. </I>

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