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Dear Sara,
March 5 election day is around the corner. Have you voted yet?
At a recent All Hands community budget meeting, voter turnout was reported to be at record lows. While non-presidential elections always have lower turnout, early voting this year is historically low. What does this mean? Your vote will have more impact on the key issues that shape the San Francisco community and your interests.
What are the issues at stake?
Mission Local wrote an important piece framing the issues before San Francisco, and showing the landscape of political organizations & media, and their wealthy backers who are intentionally focused on moving SF politics, this year with a particular focus on moving the Board of Supervisors rightward. Please read and have fun clicking all the interactive buttons!
Reporter Will Jarrett states in the article, "While the policies and strategies of the groups are all a little different, they are pulling in the same general direction. This constantly evolving coalition is largely unified by a desire for more police funding, harsher penalties for drug crime, more support for housing developers and housing construction, and the concentration of mayoral power. A huge proportion of the network’s cash comes from extremely wealthy tech and real estate donors."
With the ECE communities’ focus on effective delivery of services to children and families with a strong, stable, and supported ECE workforce, we see how the pressures of this reframe on San Francisco's budget priorities directly impacts our work. It means the moving of funds intended for ECE to the General Fund and then distributed according to the political strength at City Hall.
Check out the voter guide resources on the ECESF website for more information on the March ballot, as well as the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s discussion on why low-profile races are critical this election. Vote now to strengthen support for the positions most important to you—and take part in community groups that support you and your community.
Have you filled out the ECESF interest form yet? We’ll be reaching out to all interested for more ways to engage.
Collaboratively,
Sara Hicks-Kilday
sara@ecesf.org
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