3 days ago
Keeping San Francisco's left in the cold
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Programming Note: We'll be off this Thursday but back in your inboxes on Friday.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: HOLD THE CENTER — One of San Francisco's most deep-pocketed advocacy groups will relaunch today with a new name, a $2 million annual budget and a mission to stop progressives from regaining any ground in the city.
The group, Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, joins a constellation of moderate advocacy groups that have spent millions in recent years to reshape local politics in one of America's bluest major cities, which has shifted dramatically to the political center.
But San Francisco city politics has a long history of swinging between moderate, business-friendly Democrats and those aligned with the party's ultra-liberal left flank.
Jay Cheng, a political strategist behind Blueprint, said its main purpose is to make sure moderates keep winning. He said the group wants to turn San Francisco — which Republicans often ridicule for its problems with homeless encampments and drug addiction — into a model for how blue cities … hence Blueprint … can be effectively governed.
'We're very serious about sustaining momentum in the city,' Cheng told Playbook in an exclusive interview. 'We can't afford to take our foot off the gas.'
Blueprint's emergence speaks to the broader stakes of San Francisco's shifting political environment as tech executives and other powerful business groups seek to move major American cities away from progressive policies on issues like criminal justice and homelessness, which, they argue, have contributed to a widespread sense of lawlessness and urban decay.
That pivot is well underway in San Francisco. Last year, the left lost control of the Board of Supervisors and the county Democratic Party. Voters passed ballot measures to require drug screening for welfare recipients and expand police surveillance — and, in 2022, ousted progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin and three progressive school board members.
Blueprint's organizers said they will keep the pressure on San Francisco's supervisors and its new mayor, Daniel Lurie, to lower crime rates, reduce homelessness and improve street conditions. Other priorities include reducing the city's budget deficit and alleviating taxes on downtown real-estate sales.
Blueprint will mark its launch tonight with a swanky kickoff party on the top floor of the Westin St. Francis hotel, overlooking the Union Square shopping district — a symbol of the city's emerging recovery. Scotty Jacobs, Blueprint's new director and a former candidate for supervisor (who's known locally for his Instagram and TikTok reels), said more than 700 people have RSVP'd.
It's a splashy launch for the next iteration of Together SF, the predecessor to Blueprint that went dormant last year when its largest donor, billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz, backed away. Together was absorbed by Neighbors for a Better SF, the most financially formidable PAC in the city that's relaunching it as Blueprint.
Cheng, who's also the director of Neighbors for a Better SF, said Blueprint will be bankrolled by the same network of donors. Neighbors' largest contributors are wealthy tech entrepreneurs and real-estate investors. Among them: billionaire Bill Oberndorf, venture capitalist Ron Conway, venture capitalist Steven Merrill, billionaire hotel magnate John Pritzker and former bank executive Katherine August-deWilde.
The group's ties to megadonors could be a liability. Progressive activists have repeatedly targeted Neighbors for a Better SF over its ties with the city's ultra wealthy, including donors who've given heavily to Republicans.
The Phoenix Project, an advocacy group on the left, has a derisive nickname for the collection of moderate advocacy groups: the 'Astroturf Network.' It accuses them of working on behalf of 'oligarchs' and 'right-wing billionaires.'
Jacobs said Blueprint is a 'very Democratic group' that rejects Trumpism. But he concedes the city's moderate political forces have often worked behind the scenes, creating a sense of suspicion about their funding and motives. The new group, he said, will have a more public face. The group is preparing to open a public gathering space in the trendy Hayes Valley neighborhood next month with the goal of building stronger social ties — especially among younger voters dismayed by the city's decline.
'In the absence of a face or faces, people make up narratives about who's behind the curtain pulling the levers,' Jacobs said.
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WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
ON THE HILL
WON'T BACK DOWN — The news cycle has whirred at warp speed in the days since Sen. Alex Padilla was handcuffed for disrupting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's news conference in Los Angeles. But the senator is continuing to speak out about the incident — not just to highlight his own ordeal, he says, but to warn that it could happen to others who object to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
Our colleague Melanie Mason spoke with Padilla about the ordeal on Tuesday, just after he took to the Senate floor to deliver an emotional speech. His speech came as New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested in a courthouse after demanding to see a judicial warrant for an immigrant federal officials were attempting to detain.
One highlight from the interview: 'My escorts — again, a National Guardsman, an FBI agent — escorted me to the press briefing. They opened the door for me, they walked in and were standing near me as I was listening for several minutes during the press conference.'
Read Melanie's Q&A with the senator for more details about what led up to — and followed — the jarring, headline-grabbing incident.
CLIMATE AND ENERGY
DATA DASH — California is falling behind in the race to build (and regulate) data centers despite billing itself as a leader in both tech and climate. Can lawmakers make headway while balancing conflicting demands from environmentalists, utilities and Silicon Valley? Find out in last night's California Climate.
TOP TALKERS
ARNOLD'S ADVICE — Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger championed bipartisanship, reform and inclusivity in response to the state's recent wave of immigration raids in Los Angeles County. Schwarzenegger, an immigrant from Austria, emphasized his pride in the U.S. and was quick to give his input when asked how he would handle the situation if he was still governor, saying local, state and federal governments need to work together to reform the system and supply the workforce with enough visas.
'Democrats and Republicans have to come together and solve this issue if they really want to be public servants. If they want to be party servants and be party hacks and be tied to their ideology then it won't happen,' Schwarzenegger said during an interview on 'The View'.
COLLECTION PLATE — A Southern California pastor who took Gov. Gavin Newsom to court is now hoping to take the governor's office. Harvest Rock Church minister Che Ahn, whose challenge to California's Covid-19 restrictions on worship yielded a partial Supreme Court win, has dropped more than $100,000 into a 2026 governor campaign. Back in 2020, frustration with Newsom's limits on religious gatherings drove major funding for a failed recall attempt in September 2021.
ICE VISIT — Democratic Rep. Judy Chu made her way into the Adelanto ICE facility in San Bernardino County after being stopped at the door earlier this month. Afterward, she said the visit only heightened her urgency surrounding immigration issues in the state. Chu described the conditions of the facility in a post on X as 'filthy' and 'inhumane,' with detainees 'cut off from lawyers, family, and basic necessities.' She left the processing center 'demanding answers and accountability from ICE.'
AROUND THE STATE
— As water deliveries increase, Trump has quietly been relying on Biden-era and state water rules that he previously decried. (E&E News)
— The Fresno City Council approved taking on $100 million in debt to repave the area's deteriorating streets. (The Fresno Bee)
— Bay Area tech giant Intel is expected to lay off more than 10,000 workers globally, following a more than $800 million loss in the first quarter of 2025. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Compiled by Juliann Ventura
PLAYBOOKERS
PEOPLE MOVES — Matthew Dumlao has been appointed executive officer of the California State Lands Commission. He also serves as chief of staff and environmental policy adviser to Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; he was previously her deputy chief of staff.
— Adrian Martinez has been named director of Earthjustice's Right To Zero campaign, which aims to electrify the transportation, building and industrial sectors. He will transition from his role as deputy managing attorney of the group's California office.
BIRTHDAYS — state Sen. Jerry McNerney … LA County Democratic Party Chair Mark Ramos … Ryan Kenny at Clean Energy Fuels … former national security adviser Robert O'Brien … Rachel Alben at the Motion Picture Association … Ryan Darsey in the office of San Diego Councilmember Stephen Whitburn
WANT A SHOUT-OUT FEATURED? — Send us a birthday, career move or another special occasion to include in POLITICO's California Playbook. You can now submit a shout-out using this Google form.
