By Lisa Awbrey, HANC Vice-President, and Tes Welborn, HANC Board

HANC’s July 13 general public meeting at Flywheel Coffee Roasters, 672 Stanyan Street (between Haight and Page) was well attended.  It was another in our continued hybrid meetings, both in person and online via Zoom. We discussed the organization and influence of Dark Money, Tech billionaires, Super PACs and recently formed Astroturf groups, and how they continue to target our local elections. The speakers included independent journalist and author Christopher Cook, and HANC Board members and local activists Nate Horrell and Lisa Awbrey.  They provided amazing information on links between local politicians and big money donors, naming names, and showing who sponsors misinformation. This was documented in diagrams and charts.

We discussed the Merriam-Webster’s definition of astroturfing: 

“organized activity that is intended to create a false impression of a widespread, spontaneously arising, grassroots movement in support of or in opposition to something (such as a political policy) but that is in reality, initiated and controlled by a concealed group or organization (such as a corporation.)”

Recently formed groups like GROWSF, TogetherSF, RescueSF, NeighborsforaBetterSF, Vote&ChangeSF, SOAR and Hi5D5 are largely funded by Tech billionaires like Michael Moritz, Garry Tan, David Sacks and Ron Conway. TogetherSF’s stated end goal is the elimination of unique district supervisors across the city, as reported by the Westside Observer in February 2023. 

NeighborsforaBetterSF was the top funder of the recent School Board and the Chesa Boudin Recalls. Noteworthy too: during the 2020-2022 local city elections and recalls, $1.7 million (25%) of NeighborsforaBetterSF funds came from outside of San Francisco. It was also noted that the recently formed local neighborhood groups (SOAR, RebuildD6, D2Unite, Hi5D5 and NeighborsforaBetterSF) use strikingly similar language in their talking points. Members of the voting public are encouraged to educate themselves about the funders of these new political Astroturf groups and the role they seek to play in upcoming local elections and in San Francisco’s government. We are all citizen journalists now. 

The task for the local activists is to act on our concerns. We want to solve problems to benefit people, not to make a few people rich. We can do this by using compelling stories, and by talking about issues such as more jobs.

In general discussion, these subjects were flagged:

• District Elections is expected to be a target in 2024; the mayor wants it abolished,
• We need a progressive majority on the Board of Supervisors in order to over-ride a mayor veto,
• Door knocking is a major way to inform and influence voters

• Change laws re PAC reporting periods so voters know who's funding those ads

• Better media, including social media, can help.