{"id":49069,"date":"2026-07-08T23:58:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=49069"},"modified":"2026-07-08T23:58:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T06:58:32","slug":"chakrabarti-keeps-campaign-troops-in-the-field-for-chan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/chakrabarti-keeps-campaign-troops-in-the-field-for-chan\/","title":{"rendered":"Chakrabarti keeps campaign troops in the field for Chan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/users\/profile\/Patrick_Hoge\">By Patrick Hoge | Examiner staff writer<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4 hrs ago (SFExaminer.com)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/sfexaminer.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/b\/a3\/ba35665a-7bfa-4583-aaeb-11bdd8bed4ad\/6a46fe3ec62f1.image.jpg?resize=400%2C267\" alt=\"Albert Lam and Noah Kline_Connie Chan_SF Solidarity PAC_800 Irving Street_02Jul2026_243.JPG\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Chinese Program Manager Albert Lam, left, and Noah Kline call voters from the phone bank at Saikat Chakrabarti\u2019s former campaign headquarters \u2014 now the SF Solidarity PAC campaign for Connie Chan \u2014 on Irving Street in the Inner Sunset.Craig Lee\/The Examiner<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Shortly after being&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/wiener-chan-appear-headed-to-november-in-race-to-succeed-pelosi\/article_12fede42-4c2f-4a88-b902-e03f9b2a43b1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">knocked out of the race<\/a>&nbsp;to succeed U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress in the June 2 primary, centimillionaire and progressive activist Saikat Chakrabarti gathered campaign staffers for a bonfire on Ocean Beach. Attendees at the event said he talked about the idea of working to support former opponent Connie Chan as an alternative to state Sen. Scott Wiener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While not all took the offer, a core group of organizers \u2014 largely in their 20s and new to politics \u2014 jumped at the chance. Ultimately,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/centimillionaire-chakrabarti-to-fund-operation-backing-chan\/article_f102e526-276f-4ed7-8d19-3d5224fe9dfe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more than 100 workers joined Chakrabarti\u2019s new independent SF Solidarity PAC<\/a>&nbsp;effort, mostly as door-to-door canvassers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Six days per week, the operation has been phone-banking and running canvassing crews in support of Chan, who represents District 1 on the Board of Supervisors, across Pelosi\u2019s 11th Congressional district, which covers all but a southern chunk of The City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The committee also provided support to Melat Kiros, a progressive Democratic candidate for Congress who just won an upset primary victory in Colorado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-26.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-26.png 750w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-26-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-26-150x100.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-26-225x150.png 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-22.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49072\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mel Halem: \u201cThis is my first campaign \u2014 it was my first job in politics at all, but I\u2019m hooked now. I really feel like I want to stay involved in this.\u201dCraig Lee\/The Examiner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is my first campaign \u2014 it was my first job in politics at all, but I\u2019m hooked now,\u201d said Mel Halem, a 25-year-old former cafe barista who worked her way up over the past year from volunteer to senior field organizer for Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign and is now deputy campaign manager for the SF Solidarity operation. \u201cI really feel like I want to stay involved in this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like her co-workers, Halem \u2014 a transplant from Orlando, Fla. \u2014 said she was inspired by Chakrabarti\u2019s talk about matters such as wealth inequality, affordable housing and healthcare and believed Chan would have similar priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel like we need trustworthy people in Congress, and that comes from people who aren\u2019t funded by mega billionaires and big pharma and things like that,\u201d Halem said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Halem and others also expressed a desire to keep working with a youthful crew that forged connections with each other through the long days trying to sell voters on Chakrabarti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are all friends, like outside of this, we all see each other after hours and on the weekends, and I think that\u2019s what makes our bond and our work ethic so strong,\u201d said 23-year-old Dior Hartman. \u201cHere you want to go above and beyond because you love your coworkers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hartman joined in March as a canvasser along with several others, all of whom had been doing similar work to raise money for The Nature Conservancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is the hardest I\u2019ve worked in a job, but it also just feels very energizing,\u201d said Kaizen Betts-LaCroix, a Berkeley resident and former bartender in Emeryville who joined Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SF Solidarity PAC\u2019s operation is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/centimillionaire-chakrabarti-to-fund-operation-backing-chan\/article_f102e526-276f-4ed7-8d19-3d5224fe9dfe.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about half the peak size of Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign<\/a>, which Chakrabarti called the largest field operation in The City\u2019s history. Its headquarters are in a retail space at 9th Avenue and Irving Street in the Inner Sunset, one of the three offices that Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign had at its height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new operation will continue at its current level until July 15 and then continue in a slimmed-down form through November, Chakrabarti said. He estimated that \u201call in, it\u2019s going to end up being a seven figure [independent expenditure] by November, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-25.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-25.png 640w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-25-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-25-150x100.png 150w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-25-225x150.png 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-22.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49071\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Alex Vanscoy, right: \u201cI am just on the lookout for the next big progressive cause that I can join, because, you know, the fight is definitely not over.\u201dCraig Lee\/The Examiner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Current campaign manager Alex Vanscoy, 22, is expecting to return soon to San Francisco State University, from which he took a leave of absence to work on Chakrabarti\u2019s campaign. He said he plans to stay politically involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI am just on the lookout for the next big progressive cause that I can join, because, you know, the fight is definitely not over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jason Olaru-Hagen, 23, said working on the campaigns had been stimulating after working in the health-care industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI could still be doing an office job where I really did not feel any meaning attached to my work,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been the exact opposite, and it\u2019s been the most fulfilling thing I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Olaru-Hagen said he likes the high intensity of campaign work and he is hoping to continue working in progressive politics in some fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shawn Canin, 23, an organizer who is a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in media studies with a focus on law and policy, said he hoped to stay connected to his coworkers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is, I think, just the beginning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether the intensive door-knocking operation on Chan\u2019s behalf will have more effect than the one for Chakrabarti remains to be seen. Chakrabarti ultimately won 42,060 votes (or 17.87%) to Chan\u2019s 69,899 (29.7%) and Wiener\u2019s 95,816 (40.71%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chakrabarti said in an interview that voters who supported him skewed younger than Chan\u2019s and could complement her base of support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we actually combine those two bases, that\u2019s a winning coalition,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a formidable coalition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"375\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-24.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-24.png 375w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-24-188x300.png 188w, https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-24-94x150.png 94w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAQAAAADCAQAAAAe\/WZNAAAAEElEQVR42mM8U88ABowYDABAxQPltt5zqAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==\" alt=\"Saikat Chakrabarti headshot\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"4\" height=\"3\" src=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-22.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-49070\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Saikat ChakrabartiCraig Lee\/The Examiner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really important just to establish who she is and get her name out there, so people know who she is and what she stands for,\u201d Chakrabarti said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The SF Solidarity PAC is an independent-expenditure committee. A Chan spokesperson declined to comment about the independent operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The message Chakrabarti\u2019s team is purveying is \u201cWe Trust Connie\u201d because she does not take \u201ccorporate bribes,\u201d including money from lobbyists or CEOs or contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joe Arellano, Wiener\u2019s campaign spokesperson, said that Wiener \u201chas not taken and will not take money from AIPAC due to significant policy differences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiener\u2019s campaign money has come almost entirely from individual donors, and though the campaign has accepted funds from union political-action committees, it has a rule against taking money from corporate PACs \u2014 and if such donations sneak through, the policy is to return them, Arellano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The money theme is one that members of Chakrabarti\u2019s committee staff said resonated with them and helped them to switch to supporting Chan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re all fighting the same fight \u2014 and especially when it comes to corporate money,\u201d Hartman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chakrabarti, who made a fortune as an early software engineer at the payments company Stripe,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/wiener-chan-appear-headed-to-november-in-race-to-succeed-pelosi\/article_12fede42-4c2f-4a88-b902-e03f9b2a43b1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">loaned or contributed at least $9.9 million<\/a>&nbsp;of the $10.3 million his campaign raised in the leadup to the election. Chan, who&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/connie-chan-nancy-pelosi-congress\/article_4ec90c9d-2389-4403-a3fe-c278f336acd6.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declared her candidacy relatively late<\/a>, on Nov. 20, had raised about $700,000 by the time of the election. Wiener raised about $4 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arellano said that Chakrabarti\u2019s new spending won\u2019t have a different result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSaikat\u2019s money wasn\u2019t effective then, and his corporate super PAC for Connie Chan won\u2019t work either,\u201d Arellano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arellano predicted voters will choose Wiener, highlighting in particular his record on housing. Among the numerous pieces of legislation Wiener has authored are laws aimed at spurring new housing development and weakening cities\u2019 regulatory ability to impede it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis November, voters have a clear choice: Connie Chan, who\u2019s blocked housing at every turn, or Scott Wiener, who has the record \u2014 and the vision \u2014 to actually solve the housing-affordability crisis when he gets to Congress,\u201d Arellano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chan spokesperson Julie Edwards, meanwhile, said that, \u201cScott Wiener has claimed to be a housing champion for 16 years, and housing has never been more expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Edwards said Wiener \u201chas said he supports progressive taxation \u2014 but every chance he gets, he caves to his corporate donors instead of making big corporations pay their fair share.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiener has said he opposes a labor-union-backed November ballot measure that would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with certain assets valued over $1 billion, primarily to fund health care, as well as food-assistance or education-related programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiener has said he has supported progressive tax proposals in the past, but a one-time tax is not the optimal strategy, Arellano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wiener also opposed the union-backed Proposition D, a measure that San Francisco voters rejected in June that would have increased The City\u2019s Overpaid Executive Tax, which generally imposes a gross-receipts tax on companies at which the highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median compensation of employees based in San Francisco. Wiener said the measure could hurt The City\u2019s economy, Arellano said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chan supported Prop. D and also supports the impending statewide measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cVoters have had enough of his corporate Democratic \u2018leadership,\u2019 and that\u2019s why 60% of San Francisco voters rejected him in June,\u201d Edwards said of Wiener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chakrabarti, a co-founder of the economic-policy think tank New Consensus, said he believed voters lost confidence in him partly because U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfexaminer.com\/news\/politics\/wiener-chan-appear-headed-to-november-in-race-to-succeed-pelosi\/article_12fede42-4c2f-4a88-b902-e03f9b2a43b1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">did not endorse him<\/a>. He was campaign manager and chair for Ocasio-Cortez and her chief of staff in Washington, D.C. for about eight months, and had sought her endorsement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, Chakrabati said, \u201cattack mailers\u201d against him took a toll. An independent group funded mailers playing on the allegation that Chakrabarti lived in Maryland, though Chakrabarti insisted he only bought a home there for his parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo the message no longer mattered, because people lost their trust in me as a candidate, and so we think it\u2019s really important to establish that Connie Chan is someone you can trust,\u201d&nbsp;he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shortly after being&nbsp;knocked out of the race&nbsp;to succeed U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi in Congress in the June 2 primary, centimillionaire and progressive activist Saikat Chakrabarti gathered campaign staffers for a bonfire on Ocean Beach. Attendees at the event said he talked about the idea of working to support former opponent&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/07\/08\/chakrabarti-keeps-campaign-troops-in-the-field-for-chan\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2088],"tags":[1890,2052],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49069"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49069"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49079,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49069\/revisions\/49079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}