May 2007
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SFYD Important Dates
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May Membership Meeting
Location: State Building, 455 Golden Gate Avenue, between Polk and Larkin Streets
This location is wheelchair accessible.
When: Wednesday, May 9, 7:00pm to 9:00pm
After a busy April, join us as we hear from an awesome panel of internet activists and learn how we can use the internet to advance our political ideals. And, as always, when the meeting's over, we'll head up to Bambuddha Lounge for drinks!
Here are the details:
SFYD Membership Meeting
Wednesday, May 9, 7:00PM
Featuring:
- Frank Russo, California Progress Report
- Brian Leubitz, Calitics Political Blog
- Paul Hogarth, BeyondChron
State Building, 455 Golden Gate Avenue
This meeting is open to the public.
Contact SFYD President Luke Klipp at sfydprez@gmail.com for more information.
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President's Column
by SFYD President Luke Klipp
Why SFYD Endorses Mark Leno
This column was originally published in the California Progress Report to explain to the larger community why SFYD endorsed Mark Leno at our April 11 membership meeting.
The San Francisco Young Democrats are proud to endorse Mark Leno. Our endorsement comes after SFYD hosted the first debate in the primary campaign between Senator Carole Migden and Assemblyman Mark Leno, with fourteen months still to go in the campaign, and with a record turnout of SFYD members voting to endorse.
For SFYD, the choice is clear. Of all of San Francisco's - and in many ways, California's - elected family, Mark Leno has the clearest, most passionate commitment for cultivating and investing in new, young leadership within the Democratic Party. Since his time on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors clear through to today, Mark Leno continues to personally connect with and support countless young people. And Leno's commitment exceeds that of so many others of San Francisco's elected family not only for the sheer amount of time he invests but for something that is much more difficult to quantify: his inherent belief in the ability of the next generation to handle the tasks before them.
For SFYD, Leno's commitment stands in stark contrast to our incumbent Senator Migden, to whom SFYD had reached out over the years, with no response. To her credit, prior to the SFYD endorsement vote, Carole Migden reached out to many SFYD members and spent countless hours on the phone in one-on-one conversations lasting 30-40 minutes each. Her outreach, however, came only after SFYD had decided to pursue an early endorsement in this race and placed itself squarely on her political radar.
On the flip-side, Leno, who has shown a commitment and outreach to young people for years, called on the many SFYD members he already knew and reached out through many of them to other SFYD members that he did not know, understanding that peer-to-peer outreach is critical to winning the support of young people, many of whom are incredibly cynical about politics and yet still idealistic about what our generation may one day accomplish.
And so it was that this vote was a microcosm of the larger dynamic of this nascent primary campaign. On the one hand was Migden working quickly to make up for a disconnect with the next generation of Democratic leadership, and on the other was Leno calling on this next generation to place their faith in him the way he has done countless times in them. And the end result was that Leno’s ongoing engagement with SFYD and development of new, young leadership in the Democratic Party over the years paid dividends. It is the kind of politics that SFYD wants to reward and wants to see honored and supported throughout our political community. And it is the difference between approaching relationships as commodities and approaching relationships as investments.
Young Democrats across the City of San Francisco yearn for opportunities to be engaged and respected in the political process, and we got just such an opportunity when both Migden and Leno agreed to debate at SFYD's most recent membership meeting. But we have already gotten this opportunity on a regular basis from one person in our elected family for many years, and that person is Mark Leno who, unlike so many others, sees the next generation as his peers in the greater political struggles we all face.
It is for this reason that Mark Leno has the heartfelt gratitude and support of the San Francisco Young Democrats. As he has so often stood with and supported us, so we now stand with and support him as he takes his message of collaborative, relationship-building politics to the voters.
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David's Telescope
by SFYD Newsletter Editor David Weinreich
I often like to fill this space with writing about important happenings in politics and trends from the past month. This month, SFYD itself was at the center of the San Francisco, and, indeed, the state political world. Our effort to host an open debate and early endorsement process between incumbent State Senator Carole Migden and challenger Mark Leno was widely recognized and respected.
I know many people in our city have strongly-held views about this developing race. The problem was these views were often based on feelings rather than fact. For four months now, newspaper writers have been hyping up a "Battle Royale" on the horizon in San Francisco and, in particular, its LGBT community.
Yet there was no substance in this discussion. No talk about the benefits and problems with both candidates, or the reasons for taking a sitting incumbent out of office.
It was important for SFYD to initiate a real debate, face to face.
I am gratified that both candidates saw the importance of participating in an open civic discussion about the issues that mattered to our club and our community.
We often complain about a country divided by red and blue, where no one bothers to talk to each other face to face. Yet in San Francisco, we ourselves are not immune to that national trend. Hopefully this debate was the beginning of more civic discussions about the issues that matter to us.
Obviously Mark Leno walked away with the endorsement, but both candidates will benefit greatly from this debate.
It was clear that neither had extensive experience in electoral debating, likely due to the normally uncompetitive nature of elections in this city. Being the beginning of the campaign, both were holding themselves back, and both were reaching for a pithy way to describe their backgrounds in ways that appeal to audiences. Clearly they have a long ways to go, and it is going to be a long campaign ahead.
Our members asked good questions that fostered a vibrant debate - especially towards the end. It is a rare chance to see two avowed enemies - former friends - talking with each other (not at each other) about what matters to voters. I certainly hope other organizations will follow in our footsteps in sponsoring future debates. Meanwhile, please go to calitics.com to see the buzz everyone is talking about for yourself.
Report from "A Ball in Blue"
by SFYD Programming Chair Corey Friedman
On April 19th, SFYD hosted the first annual Ball in Blue. More than a hundred people attended, wearing Democratic blue and enjoying a spectacular party. The crowd included both long-time SFYD supporters and new members enjoying their very first SFYD event. Food, drinks, and music kept everyone happy, while an extravagant balloon crown made by a young but extraordinatily talented entertainer migrated from person to person all evening.
The party was also a financial success. SFYD raised more than $3000, thanks to generous Ball in Blue sponsors and guests. Among the sponsors in attendance were representatives from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and Assemblyman Mark Leno, whom SFYD recently endorsed in the race for the third Senate district. Assemblyman Leno, who has long been closely involved with SFYD, spoke to the crowd and offered to be the first member of San Francisco Young-at-Heart Democrats, an SFYD alumni organization that will be launched in the coming months.
For those of you who missed the party, you will have an opportunity to celebrate again next spring. In the meantime, start planning that stunning blue outfit to wear at our second annual Ball in Blue!
April 7 CBAY Meeting and new CYD Leadership
by CBAY Regional Director (and SFYD Outreach Chair!) Jen Longley
On April 7, 2007 the Coalition of Bay Area Young Democrats (CBAY) gathered representatives from around the bay for our annual CBAY summit. The program started off with an intensive peer-to-peer training session led by CYD's Executive Director Stacy Berger, who cover topics like membership building, ways to reach out to fellow millenials, and building a block of young voters for Democrats.
The second part of the summit also marked two firsts for the California Young Democrats: The first ever debate between candidates for CYD executive office, and the recording and posting of those debates online. For the first time, all CYD members would have a chance to see their candidates side-by-side before endorsing. Check out the debates at: http://eyespot.com/blogs/CBAYDems
A big thank you for all CBAY members who were able to attend, especially SFYD President Luke Klipp, SFYD Secretary Rainah Ruckert and SFYD Pest Presidents Owen Stephens and Scott Ogus.
At the CYD elections on April 28th in San Diego, the following people were elected to the CYD executive board:
CYD President: Tim Steed
CYD Vice President of Membership: Edie Irons
CYD Vice President of Finance: Lindsay Hopkins
CYD Secretary: Angelica Gonzalez
CYD Parliamentarian: Owen Stephens (immediate past SFYD President)
CYD Political Director: John Vigna
CYD National Committeeman: Rocky Fernandez
CYD National Committeewoman: Rachel Kau-Taylor
CYD Bay Area Regional Director: Jennifer Longley
Letter from newly-elected California Young Democrats President, Tim Steed
San Francisco Young Democrats,
I hope you have recovered from Convention! This year more than 400 Young Democrats attended the convention in San Diego, making it our best attended convention ever! I am so glad that so many young people came out to hear from some of our Democratic leaders like Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Madam Speaker Pelosi, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, John Edwards and many more. It is clear that this year will be one of excitement and hard work for young people all over California.
This year the California Young Democrats hopes to meet the challenges facing our state and peer group by implementing an aggressive agenda. Here are some things we want to do to make our clubs and activists the margin of victory:
Regional Partnerships: Working with chapters, we are hoping to create regional infrastructures around the state that can help develop existing clubs and develop leaders around the region. For more information contact Jennifer Longley, or Edie Irons.
Resources: Utilize existing resource guides as well as create new manuals, guides, flyers, and issue based literature pieces to be available to clubs in both hard and electronic copy. We will also want to work with clubs in partnerships to assist in special projects or campaign plans. Contact Stacy Berger for more information about resources available.
Aggressive Club Building: Working with Eddie Kirby, College Democrats Membership Director, we are hoping to build chapters at every CSU and UC in the state. For more information or if you want to help build chapters, contact Eddie Kirby.
Here are some important announcements and dates to remember:
Caucuses: If you are interested in joining the following caucuses LGBT, Latino, and Women’s Caucus please email Tim Steed.
Young Democrats of America National Convention: If you had fun at YDA by The Bay, then you will probably love the next YDA convention in Dallas, July 18-21. If you are interested in attending or helping CYD with planning and logistics contact Rocky Fernandez, or Rachel Kau-Taylor.
Executive Board Meeting: The next CYD Executive Board meeting will be July 13-15 in Sacramento. For more information go to www.CADem.org.
Tim Steed, President
California Young Democrats
president@youngdems.org
Political Classifieds
Editor's Note: The SFYD Newsletter runs a regular Classified Section
in the newsletter for political, campaign, or other related
jobs/advertisements. If you'd like to advertise in the SFYD newsletter,
email the editor,
for inclusion possibilities. If you would like to contact the
advertisers, do so directly as per the advertisement, not through SFYD.
Sierra Club
Assistant Webmaster
Join the Sierra Club at its National Headquarters in downtown San Francisco to work with a small friendly staff on all aspects of the Club's web operations: coding, design, small-scale project management, user training, and more. More info and application instructions at the link below:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/web/317200173.html
Adrian Cotter
Senior Webmaster
Sierra Club National
415.977.5671
East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
Policy Analyst - Community Benefits Program
The East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) builds power and raises standards for working families.
The Policy Analyst will work with the Community Benefits team to move both project- and policy-based campaigns to ensure development in the East Bay delivers community benefits.
Email cover letter and resume to: Kate O'Hara at
kate@workingeastbay.org
Or mail to:
EBASE
Community Benefits Research Search
1714 Franklin Street, Suite 325
Oakland, CA, 94612
EBASE is an affirmative action employer, and strongly supports the social goals of affirmative action. We therefore make special efforts to recruit individuals from groups that are historically under-represented in professional environments, or that suffer from broader societal discrimination.
Democracy In Action
Democracy In Action is creating a San Francisco-based office set to begin operating in early-mid summer. They are currently looking for two candidates to help build the
operation and provide strategic and technical support to many
California-based organizations they work with.
Please see our job ad here:
http://www2.democracyinaction.org/sfsupport
SF Bicycle Coalition:
Communications & Outreach Director
Part-time Community Organizer. (See details at http://www.sfbike.org/jobs)
SPUR (the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research League)
Sustainable Development Policy Director
GENERAL SUMMARY
The Sustainable Development Policy Director leads SPUR's policy work in the areas of resource flows (water, energy, solid waste), climate change, and cross-disciplinary promotion of ecological urbanism. The Sustainable Development Policy Director will carry out work in these program areas through all levels of activity that SPUR uses, including: convening community members, stakeholders, and experts to solve problems; developing policy papers and writing articles; public speaking to various audiences; organizing conferences, lectures, and other public education events; and running campaigns of all kinds to implement SPUR's policy proposals. The Sustainable Development Policy Director will also help with fund raising to expand SPUR's work in this program area.
The Sustainable Development Policy Director serves as a member of the policy staff team coordinated by SPUR's Policy Director. He/she will work directly with members of the SPUR Board of Directors and other SPUR members to move SPUR's policy agenda forward and to involve the membership as deeply as possible in the work of the organization.
CONTACT
Applicants should E-mail a cover letter and resume to Lawrence Li, Administrative Director at jobs@spur.org.
The California Endowment
Access Program Director
and The James Irvine Foundation
Director of Finance and Administration
The 360 Group is pleased to announce two new searches: Access Program Director at The California Endowment, and Director of Finance and Administration at The James Irvine Foundation.
For more information on these positions, please visit
www.360searchgroup.com/active.html
Yahoo!
Energy & Climate Change Position
This position will drive Yahoo!'s overall environmental strategy for our global facility operations with a specific focus on decreasing impacts on climate change. Will specialize in decreasing energy use and climate impacts of the offices and datacenters worldwide.
Responsibilities will include analysis of energy choices and technologies, green power selection, carbon offsets, and utilization of clean technologies.
Submit Resume To:
Margo McCullough, Yahoo! Human Relations, margom@yahoo-inc.com with the subject "Energy & Climate Change Position"
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