S.F. moderate group comes back with a new mission to fight progressives
A deep-pocketed San Francisco advocacy group that spent heavily to shift city politics to the center but suffered bruising losses in last year's election is being reborn under a new name.
The moderate organization once known as TogetherSF has evolved into a new $2 million annual initiative called Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, its leaders announced Wednesday. Blueprint will champion centrist policies around public safety, government regulations and the economy while working to educate voters about why they shouldn't embrace progressives in local races.
The initiative is being run by another moderate group, the billionaire-backed Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, which merged with TogetherSF after a ballot measure it championed and its preferred mayoral candidate were both rejected by voters in November. Now, Neighbors is trying to pick up where TogetherSF left off by relaunching it under the name Blueprint, the creation of which was first reported by Politico.
Blueprint's debut is a sign of how Neighbors and its wealthy donors are trying to reposition themselves in an era of local politics dominated by Mayor Daniel Lurie, who was elected in November after running a largely self-funded campaign that didn't rely on support from Neighbors or other moderate pressure groups. Lurie previously made it known that he didn't want to align himself with Neighbors' executive director, Jay Cheng, over purported ethical missteps for which Cheng denied wrongdoing.
Still, leaders of Blueprint said their first objective will be to advocate for the board of supervisors to keep Lurie's recent city budget proposal intact. After that, Blueprint wants to engage voters about local races, including for the board of supervisors and school board next year, aiming to boost moderate candidates.
'For the last four years in San Francisco politics, it really has been kind of an insurgency feeling, like citizens standing up to established incumbents or politics,' said Cheng, the executive director of Neighbors. 'We want to build a blueprint for what an incredible American liberal city looks like.'
Cheng said that Blueprint will focus its efforts on educating voters, but it won't be directly involved in political campaign work — that will be handled by the Neighbors group. But that doesn't mean Blueprint is neutral about the kind of candidates and policies it supports.
'Let me make no bones about it: This is a moderate, centrist organization,' Cheng said. 'We are here for good government, fiscal responsibility, economic revitalization, public safety and homeless pragmatism.'
Neighbors and Blueprint don't plan to get involved in Supervisor Joel Engardio's recall election, though they support Engardio and want to see a moderate in the seat no matter the outcome, Cheng said.
Supporters of Blueprint will celebrate the initiative's launch Wednesday at a party at the Westin St. Francis hotel, where they're expecting some of the most prominent politicians in the city to attend along with hundreds of other guests. In addition to its political advocacy work, Blueprint intends to open an event space in Hayes Valley this summer where it will host gatherings with members, political education sessions and fireside chats with elected leaders.
The Phoenix Project, a progressive advocacy group, has labeled Neighbors and TogetherSF as part of a so-called 'Astroturf Network' of big-money groups backed by real estate and technology donors who want to reshape local politics to suit their own interests.
Jeremy Mack, the Phoenix Project's executive director, said he viewed the Blueprint initiative as an attempt by TogetherSF to 'save face' following its losses in last year's election. While Blueprint and its allies may seek to frame themselves as part of grassroots movement, Mack sees it as an effort by ultra-wealthy people to push an 'anti-progressive vision for the future of San Francisco.'
'Undue money in politics is bad for the health of democracy,' Mack said. He said he hoped that progressives would be able to 'effectively counter and push back on the outsized role that money is having in determining the future of our city.'
Aside from the city budget, other priorities for Blueprint include boosting police staffing, expanding support for abstinence programs and pushing for court-mandated drug treatment programs. The initiative will also seek to give more power to the mayor and curb the influence of city oversight commissions — both of which were goals of Proposition D, the failed measure pushed by TogetherSF last year.
Voters approved a similar measure to Prop D that didn't go as far to slash the number of commissions. While voters also didn't back TogetherSF's top pick for mayor, Mark Farrell, moderates nonetheless fared well in the election overall, including in supervisor races.
Blueprint will further try to promote economic growth by cutting red tape and advocating for tax breaks to help finance development. And the initiative will support what its leaders described in a statement as 'a best-in-class public education system that delivers empirically measurable learning outcomes.'
The director of Blueprint is Scotty Jacobs, who was an unsuccessful candidate for city supervisor in the district that includes the Tenderloin and Hayes Valley.
'We want to help everyday San Franciscans become that friend who knows what's going on in local politics and feel like they can make a difference,' Jacobs said in a statement. 'That's how we build civic power — through education, engagement, and a belief that good government actually works for the people and delivers results on our most pressing issues.'
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