Hey folks, So it has been awhile since I have posted but I wanted to update everyone about our signature drive and give you a quick way to help out.  We have been collecting signatures every week and weekend since June 1st.  Over 5,000 signatures are in the bank and more are on the way.  The campaign has a dedicated team of summer interns, some of which are here every day, and they are doing the majority of the heavy lifting.  At the same time, dozens of volunteers show up every Saturday and go out and do the work to get Read This Posty »

I'd like to give a shout out to the folks who came out to our most recent Meet Locally, at Bernal Bubbles last night.  The crowd was very passionate, well informed, and asked some of the best questions I have seen yet.  Brian should be getting up on the web soon and you can see the very first campaign meeting at a laundrymat in San Francisco history.  I also want to thank Ray for hosting us. If you want to host the Mayor and your neighbors in your neighborhood in the city, feel free to get ahold of me at the Read This Posty »

Man, I love me a good phonebank. We put the radio on, get out the pretzels and the 2 liters of Diet Coke and 10 people are all calling -- making connections on the phone, saying "sir" and "ma'am," leaving a repetitive voice mail or 50.  But hey, this is what campaign work is all about.  Lots of hands doing the work together, lightening the load for everyone.  We do need volunteers on the campaign -- for data entry, phoning, organizational work, perhaps a big mailer in the future.  The beauty is the friendships built.  I have people who come in Read This Posty »

I have worked in an office before.  A more formal setting, one could say.  I wore a suit to work and on days like this, it's sweltering on MUNI and you wonder why you are dressed like you are.  You pass by people sitting outside in the Panhandle, at the Morning Fix on Bush St, or the Laguna St Cafe -- they are wearing sandals, skirts, shorts, sunglasses.  Today, its a beautiful day outside and we are stuck inside.  But campaign work is a bit different, t-shirt and jeans is a typical dress code.  And thus, the beauty of campaigns Read This Posty »

Last night, we held the first community meeting of the campaign here at the HQ.  We had about 34 people in the house, a good number for the type of meeting.  A majority were seniors from the neighboring buildings.  The purpose of the meeting was to have the Mayor listen to people as well as talk.  The questions were great.  I think the technical term for the neighborhood surrounding the HQ is Cathedral Hill.  The people up here on Cathedral Hill had questions about panhandlers on Van Ness, concerns about the growing problem of prostitution (stemming from Polk St), car break-ins Read This Posty »

You may have seen the office opening blog and seen the office packed with people, 512 to be exact.  Or maybe you were here and felt the energy, heard the crowd roar. Well, the office is a bit emptier on a day to day basis.  There are three staff and about 10 to 20 people who come in to volunteer on a weekly basis.  They are the ones who do the real campaign work; calling people, copying, alphabetizing, and entering data.  Although it’s not as hectic as it was at the opening, we are getting good work done here and people Read This Posty »