🌱 Efficiency is for the Boys: Breaking Patriarchal Power in Government

Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼

We interrupt this month's conversation on patriarchy to bring you a real-world example of patriarchy stripping our collective power. In Big Tech's backyard, elites are stripping the power of independent commissions that protect the public‘s voice in local government, especially communities that are systemically marginalized. We have actions for San Franciscans and resources to organize in your neck of the woods. Read on for more...

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Educating the Public When the Government Won't

Governments across the country have been consolidating their power for a small few at the expense of the rest of us. That's even more true in San Francisco. A Tale of Two Cities where wealthy, tech elites pull the strings of government and the revolutionary, queer, feminist spirit is quietly crushed.

Since our government is pushing these changes in the cover of darkness, regular citizens are standing up to educate the public. Watch our Video Series about the campaign to Save Independent Commissions in San Francisco.

• Watch on YouTube via The League of Women Voters
• Watch on Instagram via Real Reform SF
• Watch on PeerTube via the roots of change agency

🎬 Videos were all filmed, produced, & edited by yours truly! Want filmmaker style video?

🌁 Take Action with Us!

As a strategist for 15+ years, I know the most important step is the action we want folks to take. (more on this in next week's communicator's digest) People are fired up and ready to organize, but they don't always know the best actions. That's why we have a handy toolkit to make it easy! Don’t forget the fundamentals and use our templates and resources to organize in your neck of the woods.

1. Sign On: to our letter to the Board of Supervisors
2. Spread the Word: use our social amplification toolkit to raise awareness
3. Use our Social Amplification Toolkit template for your organizing!
   1. Explore Our Free Planning Templates (Don’t see the free resources? Sign in with your email)

Government's Patriarchal Problem

🗼 We interrupt this month's conversation on patriarchy to bring you a real-world example of patriarchy stripping our collective power!

In the heart of Big Tech's playground, San Francisco is both a city of immense wealth and privilege and one of resistance and outsider energy. Sadly, those at the top are quietly reshaping our government to tip the scales in their favor and leave real San Franciscans behind without accountability or transparency.

So What's Going On?

As with most of local government, the play-by-play is a bit complicated. Long story short, a group of shadow elites in San Francisco have been steadily wielding their wealth to influence local politics through local groups like Together SF, recalling progressive leaders, and spending loads on elections and ballot measures to reshape how our government functions.

For more on this, listen to 'What Tech Wants: The San Francisco Experiment' by Lever Time podcast or 'Rise and Fall of SFs Doom Loop' by Sad Francisco.

Their goal? Ultimate power. They'd much rather a government run through one man than have to deal with the pesky comments from the rest of the community (ahem – women, queer, & Black and Brown folks), which is what commissions provide for our city.

Fast forward to 2024, San Francisco voters had to vote on 2 competing ballot measures

1. Prop D: (bad) If passed, this would have eliminated most commissions including important ones like the Police Oversight and Immigrant Rights
2. Prop E: (less bad) A competing bill was introduced to offer a process to evaluate the commissions and then make recommendations

Prop E passed, but officials are using the process to eliminate the commissions as Prop D would have done anyways. The Commission Streamlining Task Force recommends stripping power from commissions that specifically protect marginalized communities, our environment, and the health & safety of our community. This power would go to the mayor where one dude can make all the decisions for everyone in the city.

Efficiency for Whom?

If you pay attention to politics, you hear it all the time. A man with mutton chops bloviating, "we need efficient government!" (or at least that's what it's like in my head) "the people deserve an efficient government!"

But what is efficiency when we actually break it down? In business and in politics, efficiency means money and people. Efficiency means leaving people behind. Efficiency means templatized, one-size fits all service.

Now who does that benefit?

The boys.

We see it everywhere in our history. Car seat belts not made for women lead to more accidental deaths. The "normal" body is a white male.

The wealthy need an efficient government. Not us. The people need a government that works and supports its citizens. It's only when you have (ahem hoard) all the resources that you don't "need anyone else" let alone a government that provides services that allow the society to function.

• Who needs police oversight when you own the police?
• Who needs clean drinking water when your buddy owns all the water supply?
• Who needs government resources when you can bring it up directly with the mayor at a cocktail party?

As I wrote in 2021 in Un-Crumbling Infrastructure, there are solutions, but the elite's won't like them.

Strengthening Democracy, Not Efficiency

What the world needs now, is (well love, sweet love) but also we deserve governments that work for the people, not the elites.

That's why we hosted a public forum earlier this week. The people get to decide what happens in our city, but elites want desperately for us to not know what's going on.

Our greatest strength in this moment of rising fascism is each other. Our super power is our collective strength to stop a powerful few.

Despite the headwinds of this moment, I feel hope. Because hope is a verb, hope is an action, and we are acting towards change.

🌁 Based in SF? Take Action with Us!

1. Give Public Comment: Come to City Hall next Wednesday, March 17th to give public comment in-person before the board of supervisors.
2. Send Email of Board of Supervisors: to Board.of.Supervisors@sfgov.org
3. Sign on: to our Action Network Letter to let the Board of Supervisors know your opposition to the proposed changes
4. Learn More: by watching our Video Series and following @real_reform_sf on Instagram
5. Spread the Word: use our social amplification toolkit to raise awareness
6. Share our event recording with your friends, family, and community!

The Best Compliment – When's the Next One?

As an organizer, the best compliment you can get is "what's next?" Grateful so see so many community members out and interested about protecting their say in local government. There's energy if you know where to look!

And that's a wrap on this week’s newsletter! We hope you found this helpful in your work. Forward this to a friend and help democratize communications! If you have any topics you want covered, questions, or curious about our Assist an Activist program, please reach out and let me know.

In Solidarity,
Sam Chavez
the roots of change agency

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