San Francisco – These are the day of the soul for democrats, a time of billing and self -criticism, while trying to understand why they have lost the congress and the white house and endeavor to find their way back out of political purgatory.
The examination even extends to San Francisco, a place that is famous for its liberalism and complacency, where the inward -looking reflection began before Trump's recovery in the White House.
In 2022 the voters spent three Above-Progressive members of the school authority who seemed more on symbolic gestures such as the renaming of public schools to extinguish Abraham Lincoln and Paul Revere than the performance of the students. A few months later, the district prosecutor Chesa Boudin was recalled in response to his perceived approach to the bleeding heart on public security.
In November, Daniel Lurie chose a political newcomer and relatively moderate, moderately and interrupted the feeling by giving a Simpatico board in the Baroque Council of San Francisco.
In the same way, the city's democratic party, not exactly a Pro-Maga choir, came closer to the center, although he chose a guide, who sees Trump's choice and improved as one of these moments in this blue bastion stand in which red lights and sirens flash and siren.
“One of the topics with the Democratic Party is currently that so much party politics, especially at the local level, was largely performative and was not really relevant for the everyday life of the working people,” said local party leader Nancy Tung. “And I think we'll see the counter reaction nationally.”
San Francisco is not about to turn into a more hilly version of Kansas or to become Alabama with a view of the Pacific. Trump received 6,000 more votes here in November than four years ago and increased his support by 2.5%. Nevertheless, he lost to Kamala Harris, the city's former district prosecutor, with almost 65 percentage points.
The policy of tung should also be put into a perspective. It checks all democratic box-pro-choice, anti-trump and continues and jokingly jokes that it is referred to in many places. But according to San Francisco Standards, the political pendulum of the city, which has long weakened between left and far left, has clearly curved its direction.
People “can call me what they want,” she said at lunch in the city's mission district. “I think the government should work for people, and at the local level there are some really basic things that shouldn't be controversial, right? Every community deserves good public schools. They earn safe roads, clean sidewalks. Government that works is not overly bureaucratic … This does not bring any huge special interests from everyday people. “
The 50 -year tion is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. She grew up in Arcadia in Southern California before moving to Bay Area, where she spent most of her career as a prosecutor. Her work in the San Francisco office is focused on hate crimes.
Tung started her political activism a little recently after Trump's annoyed victory in 2016. On a trip to Washington, she had planned to celebrate Hillary Clinton's historical elections as the first president of America. Instead, she had an ugly scream in the National Portrait Gallery, who sat in front of a representation of women who served in front of the Supreme Court.
A few weeks later, Tung was back in the capital and marched from Trump's first inauguration with Bullhorn on the evening before. At home, she doubled her political commitment by registering with one of the countless democratic associations of San Francisco. Finally, however, was alienated and did not feel marginalized because she was a woman or an Asian American, but because other Democrats would not accept her comparative moderation.
In 2019, she was unsuccessful for the district prosecutor and lost against Boudin. Next year the Supervisory authority sank the appointment of tung to the police commission because she was considered a propolic murder in the climate after George Floyd's murder.
However, the political winds were slowly moving as they often do. Until 2022 it was the leadership of the Democratic Party in San Francisco that didn't seem in step. Among other things, the party backed against the school authority to which 70% of the voters supported, and the fall of Boudin, which was handy from the office. In 2024, Tung led a centric slate to take control of the party.
During lunch in a most popular Indian-Pakistani restaurant, she described her goals between now and the end of her term in April 2028. Arms crossed. Brauenknast.
The most important thing was to move away from abstractions and indulgences and tackle problems that affect the daily life of voters.
Tung quoted a resolution that the local party said goodbye to the use of child labor in Africa's chocolate trade a few years ago. A terrible thing, yes. But why, as she asked herself, were Democrats in San Francisco time for the matter? “It makes people think that they are not in contact,” said Tung. “Why is there something about child labor in another country and not something about how we treat children here?”
That may be reductive, but the point is well taken. If the last choice showed something, it is less important for many voters than the costs of petrol and food, for example for many voters, such as for democratic norms.
The Democrats, Tung, said that he has a portion of rice and lentils, have to show people “actually show our value how what we do in the community. … Do you help to feed people? Do you help to dress people? Do you help to connect people with services? Do you help people cut the bureaucracy in the town hall? “
The conversation inevitably turned to Trump and fears that the country will enter the dictatorship.
Yes, said Tung, party leader how you can and should speak out and help yourself to channel democratic outrage. There is information and resources that you can share with individuals and groups like immigrants who may be attacked by criminal guidelines. “Can we people who are affected support support? Yes, we can, ”said Tung. “Can we make a forum available for people who want to speak out? Yes, you can do that too. “
But the true resistance, said Tung, must come from chosen officials, members of the congress, from lawyers General and others who fight the Trump government in court.
She didn't say it, but the reality is when the Democrats really hope to stop Trump's excesses and his bulldocation of federal programs, they have to recapture a certain level of power in Washington.
And there is a lot to do.