The Recall Ed Lee Campaign Has Officially Begun

Editor’s note: The Department of Elections just finally released the Official Petition to Recall Ed Lee after 5 separate tries. The recall attempt is now beginning in earnest. They need to get 60,000 signatures in the next 160 days.

San Francisco: the bright and shining beacon of hope, weirdness, and refuge for so many. However, in past few years, the jewel City by the Bay has lost its luster, and this is largely thanks to the caustic to the backwards politics of Mayor Ed Lee.

Let’s get this out of the way right here and now: Ed Lee’s time as mayor of San Francisco has had the effect of being the fourth horseman of the apocalypse for San Francisco. Under his watch, rents skyrocket upwards, long-time residents of the city are being evicted, and homelessness is reaching epidemic proportions. If Lee has been at war with the soul of San Francisco, it could not be more apparent. For a man who was handed the coveted title of Mayor of San Francisco by Gavin Newsom, Lee opted to fuck a gift horse in the mouth in his process of snuggling up to criminals and big businesses and turning his back on the residents of San Francisco.

In a city full of dying lights to be raged against, the recall of Ed Lee is key to the battle to reclaim so many precious parts of our beautiful city that we stand to possibly lose. I spoke with activist and member of the Recall Ed Lee Committee, Jon Foreman, to get a greater understanding of their fight for the soul of San Francisco.

image from SF Magazine

What is the motivation behind the Recall Campaign? Has Lee lost his humanity?

Whether Ed Lee has humanity or not is really relevant to this campaign. The reality is we have crumbling infrastructure, crumbling community involvement – the spirit of SF is literally bleeding out. I don’t see many people content or happy at the direction San Francisco is headed.  This is spanning all races, all financial classes, all political affiliations. There hasn’t been, in recent memory, a San Francisco mayor who has literally been so toxic and despised across the board.

Even in the upcoming election candidates for office are completely ignoring Ed Lee’s vocalized support. No one will include him in their roster of political support. By including his support is saying that you are aligning yourself with the current policies or administration of Ed Lee which is to align yourself with the glaring lack of community support to this administration.

How has the community of San Francisco responded to your Recall Campaign?

Though we may be stewards of this particular petition but we are certainly not the only ones in the city who feel this way and we have been overwhelmed and inspired by the magnitude and support in person, online and through the community.

image by SF Gate

On a personal level, what are you fighting to save in San Francisco?

The thing that makes San Francisco so beautiful is the universal spread of diversity in such a tiny area. You are confronted on a daily basis with any and every type of human existence on the planet. It has taught us how to coexist with anything in a way that I am not sure exists anywhere in the planet. We are able to honor each other, support each other’s day to day lives and in a way that I don’t see being matched. I am proud of that. I believe that is one of the blessings we have. We look past our differences and are able to celebrate each other’s experiences.

Who is the inspiration behind this movement?

We were proud to get our first signature from Ike Pinkston, a member of the Frisco Five, they were a huge inspiration to all of us to continue their sacrifice and those who came before them. They continued the work of people before them and we are proud to continue their work. They started a powerful dialog to San Francisco about police brutality, systemic and institutionalize racism, homeless rights, affordable housing, racial displacement, and corruption in our city.

San Francisco has suffered so many devastating hits under the watch of Lee, do you think that it can rebound?

I think that the fact that San Francisco’s unofficial mascot of the phoenix that adorns the city flag is the perfect mascot for the recall Ed Lee moment. Because we intend for SF to arise from its ashes brilliant and unscathed in the manner before in 1906.

Are you an SF resident and want to help the Recall Ed Lee Campaign? It’s as easy as lending your signature to the recall petition! They will be collecting them in front of the San Francisco Public Library Wednesday to Saturday from noon to five. You can also get involved and stay up to date by joining the Recall Mayor Ed Lee FB page.  Let’s get this shit bag out so we can restore our magnificent home to its gleaming glory.