By Supervisor Joel Engardio

If you were given a photo of everyone who holds elected office in San Francisco, would you recognize them all? You will probably know the mayor and a supervisor or two. But there are 11 supervisors. And what about the school board and BART board?

You might not be able to name many. But if you’re a Democrat, you probably voted for them if you followed the recommendations of the local Democratic party.

Every election, the local party mails registered Democrats a list of candidates with the official Democratic party endorsement. This is a big help if you don’t have time to research who is running for supervisor. It also helps with the more obscure offices or when judges appear on the ballot.

While it’s convenient that the local Democratic party tells busy voters who to support, here’s an important question: What kind of Democrat are you voting for?

There are no viable Republican candidates for any office in San Francisco. The last Republican to hold local office was a BART board director who was defeated by a Democrat a decade ago.

Local races are like national primaries
Since every viable candidate is a Democrat, you need to approach local races like a national primary. You have to pick which type of Democrat you want. A Bernie Sanders, a Pete Buttigieg, or a Kamala Harris Democrat? Which shade of blue do you prefer?

If the local party is controlled by Bernie Sanders-style Democrats, then you can be assured the candidates they endorse from school board to supervisor are going to be like Bernie. And they’ll be like Hillary Clinton if the local party is controlled by Hillary-style Democrats.

That means you can’t trust what the local Democratic party says, unless the people controlling it are your shade of blue. 

If you’re going to follow the party’s candidate recommendations, you need to know who controls the local Democratic Party. Otherwise you could end up voting for people you never would have if you knew what type of Democrat they really are.

The DCCC
There is an acronym for the local party. It’s called the DCCC. It stands for the Democratic County Central Committee.

The DCCC has 24 members. They are volunteers and elected every four years during the spring presidential primary. Those candidates only appear on your ballot if you are a registered Democrat.

The DCCC election is perhaps the most important local election most people know nothing about. It’s important because whoever gets seated on the DCCC has great influence to hand out Democratic party endorsements. Candidates who get endorsed by the DCCC typically get elected.

Yet most voters have no idea what the DCCC is, who runs it, or which shade of blue it promotes. They only see a Democratic stamp of approval next to a candidate and vote based on faith they have in the local party’s recommendation. 

All seats in the DCCC are up for election on March 5. This is your chance to shape the leadership of the local party and vote for candidates who match your shade of blue.

March 2024 candidates
Who are the candidates? There are two slates of candidates.

One slate is called “SF Democrats for Change” and they represent a more moderate shade of blue, which is in the minority of the current DCCC. They generally supported the school board and district attorney recalls of 2022. Their pitch is to “get San Francisco and the local Democratic Party back on the right track by championing issues that actually fix our city’s problems, including public safety, affordable housing, quality public schools, and a vibrant economy.”

The other slate is called “Labor and Working Families” and they represent a more progressive shade of blue, which dominates the current DCCC. They generally opposed the school board and district attorney recalls of 2022. Their pitch is to “create a city that works for everyone, not just the billionaires. San Francisco is facing real challenges as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, but we cannot afford to revert back to failed Reagan-era policies.”

San Francisco is at a crossroads. The elections of March and November 2024 will be the most significant for our city in 50 years. A majority of supervisors, the mayor, and a majority of the school board are all in play. Voters have an opportunity to choose new officials for every seat on the ballot and change the direction of San Francisco. 

The DCCC election on March 5 will be the first big sign of where voters want our city to go. Be sure to participate in this epic choice.

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