Peskin to Step Down from SF Democratic Party
"On the West Side, a surprising number of young progressives are running for the Central Committee – Peter Lauterborn, Wendy Aragon and Kevin Bard."
Beyond Chron:
"On the West Side, 21 candidates are running for only 10 seats – but odds look a lot better for a “newcomer” to pull an upset. Six of the 12 West Side incumbents are not running – John Avalos is running on the East Side, whereas DCCC members Sandra Lee Fewer, Milton Marks, Jane Morrison, Melanie Nutter and Connie O’Connor have opted not to run again. It will still be a tough race (Supervisor Eric Mar is among the well-known incumbents), but any hope for a fresh face will be on the West Side . . . As I reported last week, an encouraging number of young candidates are running on the West Side for DCCC – and hopefully, at least a few will pull it off. They are Mike Alonso, Wendy Aragon, Kevin Bard and Peter Lauterborn."San Francisco Bay Guardian:
Guardian endorsements for June 5 election
DEMOCRATIC COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE
You can say a lot of things about Aaron Peskin, the former supervisor and retiring chair of the city's Democratic Party, but the guy was an organizer. Four years ago, he put together a slate of candidates that wrenched control of the local party from the folks who call themselves "moderates" but who, on critical economic issues, are really better defined as conservative. Since then, the County Central Committee, which sets policy for the local party, has given its powerful endorsement mostly to progressive candidates and has taken progressive stands on almost all the ballot issues.
But the conservatives are fighting back — and with Peskin not seeking another term and a strong slate put together by the mayor's allies seeking revenge, it's entirely possible that the left will lose the party this year.
But there's hope — in part because, as his parting gift, Peskin helped change state law to make the committee better reflect the Democratic voting population of the city. This year, 14 candidates will be elected from the East side of town, and 10 from the West.
We've chosen to endorse a full slate in each Assembly district. Although there are some candidates on the slate who aren't as reliable as we might like, 24 will be elected, and we're picking the 24 best.
DISTRICT 17 (EAST SIDE)
John Avalos
David Campos
David Chiu
Petra DeJesus
Matt Dorsey
Chris Gembinski
Gabriel Robert Haaland
Leslie Katz
Rafael Mandelman
Carole Migden
Justin Morgan
Leah Pimentel
Alix Rosenthal
Jamie Rafaela Wolfe
DISTRICT 19 (WEST SIDE)
Mike Alonso
Wendy Aragon
Kevin Bard
Chuck Chan
Kelly Dwyer
Peter Lauterborn
Hene Kelly
Eric Mar
Trevor McNeil
Arlo Hale Smith
