I got an email inviting me to "Come celebrate the 2 most recent victories of the SF Green Party, Ross Mirkarimi's appointment to the CA Coastal Commission, and Dave Snyder's appointment to the Golden Gate Bridge Commission!" It went on to explain they were "two important bodies which have the power to influence important environmental decisions in our region." I went up, and it wasn't long after I got there that I started learning more about San Francisco politics.

      

John Rizo is the Green on the City College Board. He likes being elected, and is proud of the work he is doing to enhance the energy efficiency of the college, and also to train students to do the same thing to the surrounding community.

Ross is all smiles, but he has an infant at home and claims he hasn't slept since she was born.

Hope is a blogger with the Fog City Journal, and was introduced as somebody with "the smartest political mind in San Francisco" according to some authority whose name escapes me. Anyhow, she was smartly dressed and more of a listener than a speaker. I'm going to be looking for the byline Hope Johnson when browsing the press in San Francisco, just to find out more.

     

Mark Sanchez didn't stay that long. Somebody told me later that he has become a Principal at a high school where he used to teach, and is doing well at the job.

     

EriKa and John Mark's kid is walking now. Erika finds life "crazy hectic" but seems to be handling it well.

        

I didn't get much of a chance to talk to Joan before the speaking section of the meeting started.

The guy in the blue shirt is on the County Council in SF. He explained that they are proud of the growth in their Green Party's incumbents, and today's event was to celebrate that. Then he turned the stage over to Ross Mirkarimi.

Ross said that Mark Leno had given his nomination to the Coastal Comission a big boost. He talked about being on pins and needles during the interview process waiting for someone to ask about the Green Party connection, but nobody said a word. Then when they introduced him as commissioner they said "Green Party Member Ross Mirkarimi". Then he explained that the  Coastal Comission has twelve members, four appointed by the Senate, four by the Assembly, and four by the Governor.  The comission has a lot of influence over development along the coast.

  

  

     

I mainly remember Dave Snyder's talk as being pro-transit, pro-bicycle, and somewhat anti car. I think it was Ross that said Dave (the Greens) had just gotten the seat that traditionally went to a representative of organized labor.

Then Susan talked about how the Green Party is the only political party in San Francisco that keeps an office open on an ongoing basis. The rent was due the next day, and the money isn't in the bank to pay for it. She asked us all to dig into our pockets for money to help out. Then Sue Vaughn took the bucket and we all dutifully dropped something in it.

  

Then musicians took over the stage and some time was spent schmoozing.

I remember watching Ross talking to someone about how he can just see the day coming when he will hit the glass ceiling, that being where how high he can go in the political system is limited by the fact he is Green.

  

  

Katherine was the only one there that talked about shopping in the bar back when it was a drug store. She was glad the place is still serving the neigborhood, and still not a corporate chain. Me, I thought it was quite apropos to have a Green Party fundraiser there, in a found art kind of way.