What is the SFDCCC and why is it so important in San Francisco politics?

Anyone who’s lived in San Francisco during an election cycle is familiar with political mailers: those colorful flyers that hang off gates and door knobs with talking points about candidates and ballot measures. There are dozens of political organizations in the city (ours included) that provide guidance about how to vote. In a city without serious Republican contenders and a myriad of candidates running on similar platforms, voters often seek that guidance. In the flurry of mailers, one tends to stand out: the mailer from the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, or the SFDCCC. You’ve probably seen this mailer, with its blue and white seal featuring a kicking donkey—the symbol of the Democratic Party nationwide. There’s a lot to wade through when an election comes around, and voters, understandably, figure you can’t go wrong with following the advice of your own party.

The problem is that the SFDCCC has lately been out-of-step with how the majority of San Franciscans feel about issues. How did this happen and why does it matter? Let’s dive in.

Who’s on the SFDCCC’s board?

This approximately 30-member board is supposed to be a liaison between SF Dems and the national Democratic Party. Members include local elected officials, the most recognizable of which are county supervisors. If you look at the makeup of San Francisco’s DCCC board, you’ll see a lot of familiar faces, including sitting Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Rafael Mandelman, our Public Defender Mano Raju, and former Supervisors Jane Kim and David Campos. While other higher profile offices like the U.S. Senator and local Congress member also get seats automatically, they often stay out of local affairs being voted on by the body. The board also includes political aspirants who may have seats on smaller local government bodies. Being on the DCCC allows them to learn how to fundraise and engage with voters. 

The members of this board are supposed to further the national Democratic agenda and help Democrats beat their Republican opponents up and down the ballot. In a city without Republican candidates and a voting population that is 63 percent Democratic, that mandate falls apart. Additionally, since this body is relatively unknown to voters, they aren’t always paying attention to who they’re electing to the board that makes such powerful endorsements.

How does the SFDCCC influence voters?

The DCCC’s endorsement is meaningful. It’s a nod of support that allows candidates to use the official seal of the Democratic Party on their mailers and website. When voters see this seal, they usually vote for that candidate. This endorsement has the power to make or break an election—even if voters have expressed conflicting priorities in polls or elections. Let’s focus on several examples from the November 2022 election.

The first example is the race for three open seats on the Board of Education. The DCCC’s endorsement of special education advocate Alida Fisher may have moved the needle in her favor, despite voters overwhelmingly recalling three Board of Education members who were politically aligned with Fisher earlier that year. The two other candidates who won seats along with Fisher (Lainie Motamedi and Lisa Weissman-Ward) have a different ideology and ran as a slate with Ann Hsu, who was appointed to the board with Motamedi and Weissman-Ward following the recall election. Of course, Fisher’s win cannot be solely attributed to the SFDCCC’s endorsement. But that endorsement is likely a reason that candidates with vastly different ideologies were elected to the board.

During the same election, there were two dueling housing measures on the ballot. Proposition D would have streamlined the approvals process for building new housing in the city and was placed on the ballot by a petition that over 50,000 voters signed. A few members of the Board of Supervisors placed an opposing and intentionally confusing measure, Prop E, on the ballot, which would uphold the status quo (i.e. not make it easier to build housing). Even though 74 percent of residents polled said they wanted city officials to greenlight more housing construction, the DCCC endorsed Prop E. Both housing measures failed (which was the intention of Prop E), and there was no meaningful change to housing—even though it was a top issue for voters.

Finally, the DCCC voted to endorse its own chairperson, Honey Mahogany, for the position of District 6 Supervisor. While Mahogany’s campaign materials advocated for public safety, she has a demonstrated record of calling for the abolition of the police, including the San Francisco Police Department. During the race for District 6 Supervisor, Mahogany also claimed to be an advocate for building housing—but while on the DCCC, she failed to take a stand against Proposition E, an anti-housing measure that was on the ballot. Her lack of support for the measure led to the DCCC supporting Prop E and the failure of a competing measure which would have helped build housing. 

Given that 64 percent of San Franciscans polled that year said that they felt less safe in the city than they did a year ago, shouldn’t the DCCC have voted to endorse pro-public safety candidate Matt Dorsey instead? That same poll showed that 29 percent of respondents listed crime as their top concern. Mahogany lost by seven percent. 

The SFDCCC also opposed the February 2022 recalls of three members of the Board of Education, as well as the June 2022 recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Both recalls were successful. One Board of Education Commissioner, Alison Collins, was removed by 76 percent of San Francisco voters. Boudin was removed with a margin of 55 percent.

Why does it matter who the SFDCCC is endorsing if those candidates don’t win? 

Even when the SFDCCC’s endorsement isn’t enough to sway voters, the fact that the endorsement was out-of-step with what voters wanted still matters. San Francisco is a city notorious for bloated bureaucracy in its government—we have over 100 commissions and legislative bodies in this city. If the SFDCCC isn’t needed to defeat Republican challengers, and it’s not accurately representing San Francisco voters, what is it doing? Within the past six years or so, the body has largely been used to signal performative ideology and not to promote good-faith legislative efforts or help develop new political talent.

What can voters do to help the SFDCCC better represent them?

First, register with the Democratic Party so that you can vote in March 2024—only registered democrats can vote for the DCCC. Check in with friends and family to make sure their party registration is up-to-date so they can also vote in this influential race.

It is unrealistic to expect voters to meticulously track the elections and activities of this body—in 2016, there were 21 candidates running to represent the western half of San Francisco, and 39 candidates running to represent the eastern half of San Francisco. When a race is hard to pay attention to, it’s hard to get good, results-oriented people elected. Our policy experts and community organizers are tracking the activities of the SFDCCC, though. We’ll be keeping you informed when they are misaligned with voters or when an important race is on.