By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC President

At our September meeting, we heard from Bruce Hartford, from Indivisible-SF and from Ted Lieser from the Doolan-Larson House.  (We had invited the ACLU of Northern California to update us on their activities, but they were unable to attend).

Bruce Hartford let us know that Indivisible is an independent organization, not affiliated with any other group or any political party, although it is anti-Trump and anti-MAGA.  He came to urge us to support California Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act.  Prop. 50 is a response to Texas, Missouri, and Ohio, states that are redistricting their Congressional districts in the middle of the decade, instead of shortly after the census.  They are doing this because the MAGA policies are so vile, the Republicans would likely lose control of Congress in 2026 without changing the rules of the game.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited racial gerrymandering, which had been interpreted to mean that no gerrymandering was allowed.  But recently the Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering is acceptable, even though the result is racial gerrymandering.

In 2010, California voters created an independent, non-partisan commission to draw our congressional district lines after each census.  Proposition 50 will temporarily allow the State Legislature to draw these district lines until the 2030 census.  This will create five likely Democratic districts, in response to Texas creating five new Republican districts.

Ballots for the California election will be received on or about October 6.  Prop 50 is the only item on the ballot, and this is expected to be a low turnout election.  We need to advocate for votes for Prop 50 to counter the flood of money that will be spent in opposition.  You are urged to register to vote if you are not registered, and to vote Yes on Prop 50 on or before November 4. 

HANC members in attendance (in person and online) voted to endorse Yes on Proposition 50.

Ted Lieser gave an update on the Doolan-Larson House, the white house and storefronts on the northwest corner of Haight and Ashbury.  The building was left to SF Heritage, with a requirement that there be a public use for the space.  There have been about 500 responses to a community survey.  A Request for Concept Proposals was issued on August 1, asking the public to provide ideas for how to use the space.  Proposals are due by November 21.  The next step will be an RFP.  Whoever is chosen for the project will have to provide funding for their idea, as SF Heritage has limited funds.  More information (including contact information) is available at https://haightandashbury.org/