Why is SEIU 1021 Attacking Marjan Philhour?
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you know I’ve made no secret about the fact I’m supporting Marjan Philhour for Richmond District Supervisor. Over the past year and a half as I volunteered for her and got to better learn how she would approach problems in my neighborhood, I’ve been impressed by her approach and thoughtful writings on housing, homelessness, supporting small businesses, public safety, and more. I’ve seen her connect with my neighbors, friends, and co-workers on a personal level, understanding their needs and doing everything in her power to help them. Perhaps what I find most impressive, in an election year overrun with innuendo and negative attacks, Marjan has continued to run a positive campaign with a vision that has focused on day-to-day issues facing our neighborhood.
Which is why I was shocked and angered when I received a phone call from SEIU 1021 earlier this week attacking her character and lying about her policies. The caller mispronounced Marjan’s name and I had a hard time hearing her, so I went to the sfethics.org website (as all good folks engaged in SF civics are likely to do) and here’s what I found:
SEIU 1021, the largest statewide public employee union in California, is supporting School Board Member Sandra Lee Fewer in the D1 Supervisor race. They are pouring thousands of dollars into the race to pay out of state phonebankers to call Richmond residents using the script above. As you can see, their attack is outlandish and easily disproven. Let’s start from the beginning:
“She has relied on Pay to Play politics in her career as a paid political consultant”
I’m aware that Marjan has worked on Capitol Hill, in the California Governor’s office, and on a number of Democratic campaigns in California and San Francisco. This comes as no surprise to me. If you’ve ever attended a meet & greet with her or seen her speak about herself, she usually raises this experience as part of her story for how she got involved in public life.
There are two ironies in this character attack that I have to point out. The first is that Marjan worked for the Alliance for a Better California, which beat back Governor Schwarzenegger’s anti-union initiatives that would have severely crippled the rights of unions like SEIU 1021 to organize.
The second is that while Marjan has never been accused of “pay to play politics” in any way, Sandra Lee Fewer has been. In fact, it was recently discovered that she has been soliciting funds from School Board employees whose contracts she votes on and whom she could vote to fire if she chose to. This is the exact type of “pay to play politics” that should concern Richmond voters.
“Marjan has only prioritized luxury housing over affordable housing.”
Marjan has been clear about her support of affordable housing since her campaign began, which you can read for yourself. We are in a housing crisis because we have not created enough new housing to keep pace with job and population growth for the last 50+ years. Marjan wants to work within the zoning laws in the Richmond to produce as many new and affordable units as possible.
“And Marjan’s wealthy backers have created a serious affordability crisis.”
Our affordability crisis has been caused by not creating enough new housing to keep pace with our growing population. Sandra Fewer has been campaigning on the same regressive and broken housing policies that President Obama has agreed are the cause of our housing crisis. It is extremely cynical to at once accuse Marjan of wanting to create new housing while simultaneously blaming her for causing the housing shortage.
In my first job out of college, I worked on the Obama 2012 campaign as a Deputy Regional Field Director. I took that leap and went to work for President Obama’s campaign because I believed in the power of good people in government to make a difference in the lives of ordinary people throughout our communities. After the election, I took that strong belief to the private sector where I now work at Nextdoor, the social network for neighborhoods, working to connect local communities across the country and promote positive dialogue around issues that matter to neighborhoods across the country.
Since I moved into the Richmond District, I’ve been told repeatedly by some of my neighbors and even some candidates running for Supervisor through the way they frame their messaging that because I haven’t lived in the city for 25+ years, my point of view on housing, transportation, and who should lead our neighborhood forward into the future simply doesn’t matter as much as those who came here in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Marjan doesn’t make me feel like my voice doesn’t matter. She works to include voices from all backgrounds within the district. For that, I am grateful to her and her campaign built on inclusion, tolerance, compassion, and respect.
I urge my fellow Richmond residents to reject the cynical politics of fear and assuming the worst in others being pushed by organizations like SEIU 1021 and to do your own research on the candidates’ positions. And while you’re doing that, take a minute to read up on Marjan’s plans for our future and our neighborhood. I think you’ll like what you find.
Note: My opinions on this election do not reflect those of my employer, nor do they represent the official point of view of the Marjan Philhour for Supervisor campaign.
