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San Francisco has gotten so blue it’s finally starting to turn purple

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San Francisco has gotten so blue it’s finally starting to turn purple


Here’s a riddle: What species is more endangered than the Delta Smelt?

The answer: Registered Republicans in San Francisco.

The last “census” on Jan. 5, 2024 as reported by the Secretary of State’s office indicated Republicans accounted for 7.22 percent of all registered voters in that county.

It is actually a more robust percentage than back in January 2020 when 6.4% of San Francisco’s registered voters identified as Republicans.

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Before anyone in the Grand Old Party starts popping bottles of champagne and waxing eloquently about the Great Republican California Comeback starting, there is one little detail you need to take into account.

The percentage of San Francisco voters indicating they were Democrats as of January 5, 2024 was 63.97 percent compared to 56.8 percent back in January 2020.

That’s an increase of 7.17 percent for the Democrats compared to 0.82 percent for the Republicans.

To put San Francisco in perspective, it is the only one of 58 counties where Republicans account for less than 10 percent of the registered voters.

Statewide, as of six weeks ago, 46.76 of registered voters identified as Democrats and 24.16 as Republicans.

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There were 8 counties where more than half the registered voters are Democrats — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Yolo, Sonoma and Napa.

Believe or not, two counties had more than 50 percent of those on their voting rolls who identified as Republicans.

They were two adjoining counties in the extreme northeast corner of California — Lassen and Modoc.

As for the local percentages, San Joaquin County at the start of January had 43.68 percent of those registered that are Democrats and 29.62 percent identifying as Republicans.

It’s a little closer in Stanislaus County where former Congressman Gary Condit was part of a group known as the Blue Dog Democrats.

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Stanislaus County’s registered voter party percentages earlier this year was 38.43 percent Democrat and 34.64 percent Republican.

Blue Dog Democrats, by the way, were elected House of Representative members who were moderate or conservatives. There were no less than three of their ranks at one time from the Central Valley.

How conservative back then were they and the Democratic voters that advanced them from primaries to the general elections?

Back in 1991 when I moved to Manteca from Placer County, I was asked my party registration.

After replying I was Republican with the added caveat I rarely vote straight party line, the lady who asked said, “good, it means we’ll have a liberal editing the Bulletin.”

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She shared, after that response, that she was frustrated as a registered Democrat with how conservative the elected Democrats were in and around San Joaquin County.

It didn’t make sense at the time to me, but after a few years I understood her point.

Given the vitriol that hardcore Republicans and hardcore Democrats hurl toward those that share their party affiliation but don’t mindlessly toe the party line, I can see why “no party preference” is the fastest growing box to check when registering.

The days are over when the major political parties pursued the big tent philosophy.

Both have long since traded the big tent for straight-jackets.

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Times have changed.

But what hasn’t changed is the fact both parties have members that hold more moderate views than positions staked out and pounded incessantly into the ground by hardcore party animals that view red and blue as the new black and white.

It is why the Good Ship California is showing signs that the blue captains are easing up in veering hard left away from a middle course.

And nowhere in California are there as many signs that is happening than in San Francisco.

No, I haven’t sustained a concussion from being hit by a renegade driverless car on the streets of San Francisco.

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And while the gap between “true” Republicans and “true” Democrats will always have distance similar to that between the Golden Gate and the Farallon Islands, they are clear signs the City by the Bay is starting to see a more purplish tinge in that mile wide deep blue stripe they’ve painted.

Consider these developments in recent years:

*The hard left leaning district attorney Chesa Boudin that made law and order subservient to social justice was recalled.

*The recall of school board members that were more concerned about championing woke culture than educating kids.

*An organized effort to elect moderates for the purpose of tackling crime, homelessness, public education, and business flight is growing.

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*The push of a ballot measure to modernize police to fight crime instead of shackling them with social justice agenda.

*Advocating a ballot measure aimed at bringing back algebra to middle schools after it was dropped in the name of promoting racial equity.

For those that say San Francisco is essentially a one party town, there are serious issues that are being seriously debated with successful political pushback that is moving the dial toward the middle than there is in the State Capitol that at times seems interchangeable with the headquarters of the California Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Granted, it is new moderate Democrats taking on hard left Democrats that prefer the seemingly  softer and more tolerant sounding label progressive Democrats.

Given politics once upon a time was about advancing different ideas in a bid to find common ground, government in San Francisco these days is showing signs of being more representative than what is up in Sacramento.

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Live Updates: San Francisco Primary Election 2026

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Live Updates: San Francisco Primary Election 2026


Welcome to our running tally of Election Night results. Or, as this is California, well beyond tonight, as results continue to trickle in.

The first batch of results should arrive at 8:45 p.m., with three more to follow tonight. The Department of Elections has the breakdown.

San Francisco is voting in three special elections, for District 2 and District 4 supervisors and for a Board of Education member. Both supervisor races are referendums on housing, especially District 2, while the main backdrop of the D4 race is all the hot feelings around the fate of the Sunset Dunes Park (nee Great Highway).

The winners of all three special races will have to compete again in November for their seats.

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Keeping it local, SF is also voting on four ballot measures. Prop A is for a bond to pay for an emergency water-system. B is for term limits. C and D are dueling measures related to the “overpaid CEO” tax. (Links go to our reporting on each race or issue; or click here for our Election 2026 page.)

Vote local, think national: Which two candidates will advance to the November election to replace Nancy Pelosi?

Statewide races include the primaries for governor, education superintendent, lieutenant governor, and much more.

Polls close soon. If you haven’t voted yet, find your polling station here.

Tuesday, June 2, 5:40 p.m.

Two and a half hours until our polls close. Before we go down the local rabbit hole, a reminder that other states have primary action today: New Jersey, Iowa, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Montana.

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Why does it take so long to get results in California? CalMatters has you covered on that story. We shouldn’t expect a call tonight on the governor’s race.

The last big election was November 5, 2024. (Remember?) Ten days later, there were still races to call in San Francisco.


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So if you’re waiting for the pundits (and maybe even us) to tell you What It All Means, you might have to wait a while.



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San Francisco voters to decide on dueling measures on Top Executive Pay Tax changes

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San Francisco voters to decide on dueling measures on Top Executive Pay Tax changes


San Francisco voters weighed in Tuesday on two competing measures that seek to change the Top Executive Pay Tax, with one of the measures also including a change to the Gross Receipts Tax.

Should both measures pass, the one with the most votes will take effect, according to the propositions’ legal text.

Currently, the measures state that most businesses with San Francisco gross receipts up to $5 million are exempt from the Gross Receipts Tax. And businesses that use more than half of their city payroll for in-house administrative and management services pay an Administrative Office Tax instead of a Gross Receipts Tax.

The Top Executive Pay Tax is a tax some large businesses pay if their highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median pay of their San Francisco employees. Businesses that have city gross receipts up to $5 million and are not subject to the Administrative Office Tax are exempt.

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Proposition C

Proposition C states it would increase the number of businesses that could be exempt from the Gross Receipts Tax and would stop any further increases to the “Top Executive Pay Tax” after a final rate bump.

The proposed measure says it would raise the Gross Receipts Tax exemption ceiling to $7.5 million. The $7.5 million ceiling would also apply to the Top Executive Pay Tax exemption.

As for changes to the Top Executive Pay Tax, Proposition C states it would implement the 2028 tax rate increase in 2027, but then stop any future increases.

Supporting Proposition C are Rodney Fong, CEO of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and Chris Wright, senior vice president of Advance SF, an organization of companies, which includes Bank of America, OpenAI, Waymo, the SF Giants CEO and others.

Fong and Wright, in their argument for the measure, say giving businesses more tax breaks would help keep more employees on payroll and would give companies the ability to “contribute to city services in a predictable and balanced way.”

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Critics of Proposition C, such as the San Francisco Tenants Union, slam the measure as “billionaire-backed” and argue it would kill the Top Executive Pay Tax and would hand out more tax breaks to businesses at a time when the city is in a budget deficit and faces cuts to essential services.

Proposition D

Proposition D also seeks to change the Top Executive Pay Tax, which is collected from some large businesses where the highest-paid managerial employee earns more than 100 times the median compensation paid to other employees.

If approved, the measure would change the calculation of the tax using the compensation of all employees, not just employees based in San Francisco. Top Executive Pay Tax rates would also be increased for San Francisco gross receipts and payroll.

Supporters have billed the measure as a way to counteract federal cuts to Medicaid. A report by the City Controller’s Office said the measure could result in $250 million to $300 million in additional revenue.

“Proposition D is the solution to our budget deficit. It asks large corporations — not small businesses, not working families — to contribute a little more,” supporters said in the city’s official voter guide.

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The measure has the backing of most of the Board of Supervisors, along with labor unions and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

Opponents, including Mayor Daniel Lurie and state Sen. Scott Wiener, have argued Proposition D would negatively impact the city’s recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“San Francisco is already one of the most expensive cities in the country to live and do business. Adding extreme and unpredictable tax increases risks driving employers away just as we are trying to bring jobs, workers, and foot traffic back downtown,” said Supervisor Matt Dorsey in the city’s voter guide.



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San Francisco ‘adult supremacy’ workshop brands teachers as oppressors — as fringe trend spreads in California schools

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San Francisco ‘adult supremacy’ workshop brands teachers as oppressors — as fringe trend spreads in California schools


A San Francisco public school reportedly hosted a workshop on “adult supremacy” — a new woke trend labeling teachers and adults “oppressors” that’s quietly gaining traction in California.

The confab, held at John O’Connell High School during an “Ethnic Studies Everywhere” weekend seminar in April, was titled “Youth as Knowledge Producers: Challenging Adult Supremacy Through Ethnic Studies,” according to an attendee who spoke with The Post.

“Due to systemic power dynamics inherently the relationship between students and educators is an oppressive one. Oppressor (educator) & oppressed (student),” a presentation slide explained.

Maria Su, superintendent SFUSD, speaks at a press conference. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

The workshop was led by Jennifer Sanchez, a third-year ethnic studies educator in the Central Valley, and convened by Teachers 4 Social Justice, a nonprofit that aims to create “empowering learning environments, more equitable access to resources and power, and realizing a just and caring culture,” according to its website.

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Teachers 4 Social Justice was founded by local teacher activist Jeremiah Jeffries, who led an unpopular push to rename public schools during the pandemic that was abandoned after sparking outrage from local parents.

So-called adult supremacy “constructs adults as developed, mature, intelligent, and experienced, based solely on their age and ensures that adults control the resources and make the decisions in society,” the presentation further explained.

Success “within the Western context” is “demanding, overwhelming, and dehumanizing,” the presentation claimed.

Jackson Matos’ work is cited in “adultism.” Jackson Matos

Friends of Lowell Foundation, which advocates for academic merit at San Francisco schools, compiled the “adult supremacy” slides.

Another slide obtained by The Post cited the work of academic Jackson Matos, who is mentioned as connecting “adultism” to cultural imperialism, marginalization, exploitation, powerlessness and violence.

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“We have knowledge and life experience, and it is our job as parents and teachers to impart information on the next generation, on our kids,” one flabbergasted San Francisco parent, who asked not to be named, told The Post.

“Given that a large percentage of students in the district do not meet grade level standards in ELA and math, our focus as a school district is clearly way off track,” the parent said.

A presentation slide titled “Adultism Continued” defining adult supremacy and discussing power dynamics between students and educators. SFUSD

Friends of Lowell Foundation has taken legal action surrounding the school district’s controversial “ethnic studies” curriculum, which was made a one-year requirement for high school freshman this year.

The San Francisco teachers’ group isn’t the only organization blaming “adultism” for society’s failures.

Adam Fletcher is a consultant who counts California school boards and agencies among his clients. He’s made “adultism” a centerpiece of equity training aimed at teachers.

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Adam Fletcher has made “adultism” a centerpiece of equity training aimed at teachers. Adam Fletcher

“Adultism, as an idea, is bias towards adults,” Fletcher said in an online seminar held by TEACH Los Angeles, an educators’ network funded through grants from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, per its YouTube page.

A slide from a presentation on “Adultism” defines it as a bias towards adults. TEACH Los Angeles

Likewise, the Oakland Youth Commission announced last year a training for city employees about adultism, which is blamed for taking power away from kids, according to slides published online.

The Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department sponsored an “anti-oppression training series” that explores how “ageism and adultism” fuel discrimination.

“Participants consider how the myth of independence, rooted in settler colonial capitalism, contributes to the marginalization of youth & elders by diminishing agency, excluding perspectives, & reinforcing stereotypes in behavioral health practice,” an invitation read.

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Three children acting out a scene during a seminar on “adultism.” Instagram/oakyac

San Francisco Unified School District didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The district may be in hot water over its ethnic studies program, with Superintendent Maria Su due to appear at a June 10 congressional hearing about parents’ rights and “inappropriate content” in schools.



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