Hope Johnson
Photo by Luke Thomas
By Luke Thomas
February 16, 2010
San Francisco political analyst, small business owner and FCJ contributor, Hope Johnson, today announced her intention to run for public office.
In a statement released to FCJ, Johnson said she will file her declarations of intent later today at the San Francisco Department of Elections to run for trustee membership on the San Francisco Community College Board, as well as membership on the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) in Assembly District 13.
“I will bring concerns of San Francisco residents to the forefront and will not be swayed by special interests or big money agendas,” Johnson said. “It’s time to elect proven advocates with the political savvy and courage to directly hold long-term incumbents accountable for their actions.”
A Bay Area native, Johnson is best known for her progressive and outspoken Stay Tuned column in FCJ. She regularly covers DCCC meetings and analyzes local political issues. She first gained recognition and attention when she won SF Usual Suspects’ Best Political Mind Contest in 2008, accurately predicting first-round votes in the seven Board of Supervisor elections with a less than five percent error rate.
“Complete cancellation of City College’s summer session this year combined with allegations of misuse of public funds by administrators sends the wrong message to those seeking affordable education,” Johnson said of her intent to seek election to the San Francisco Community College Board. “Women account for 57 percent of college students, but only two of the seven trustees on the College Board are women. The Board needs the benefit of adding more local and diverse experience to its idea pool.”
Johnson attended public schools and community colleges before earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from UCLA. She resides in the North of Panhandle (NOPA) neighborhood and recently started her own contract paralegal business. She is active in the community having volunteered for Democratic Party events, the SFSPCA, political campaigns and the NERT safety program. She also co-founded FixSanFrancisco.org, an animal rights group.
Luke Thomas
Luke Thomas is a former software developer and computer consultant who proudly hails from London, England. In 2001, Thomas took a yearlong sabbatical to travel and develop a photographic portfolio. Upon his return to the US, Thomas studied photojournalism to pursue a career in journalism. In 2004, Thomas worked for several neighborhood newspapers in San Francisco before accepting a partnership agreement with the SanFranciscoSentinel.com, a news website formerly covering local, state and national politics. In September 2006, Thomas launched FogCityJournal.com. The BBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, New York Times, Der Spiegel, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Magazine, 7x7, San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian and the San Francisco Weekly, among other publications and news outlets, have published his work. Thomas is a member of the Freelance Unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521 and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
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February 22, 2010 at 9:56 am
In a post above, Hope Johnson says:
“Best wishes to you [Jim Meko] in the upcoming battle to succeed Daly!”
Wouldn’t Jim Meko just be a continuation of Chris Daly? Haven’t we all had enough of testosterone through a megaphone?
February 21, 2010 at 10:05 am
Thanks to long time D6 resident, community organizer, and supervisor candidate extraordinaire Jim Meko for the compliment. Best wishes to you in the upcoming battle to succeed Daly!
February 19, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I hope that all women who hold public office in SF, or who aspire to, will work together as a group to encourage more women from across the entire political spectrum to enter public life.
Unfortunately, this collaborative effort among women has not occurred. Dianne Feinstein, Barbara Boxer, Nancy Pelosi, Sophie Maxwell, Michel Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu, and Kamala Harris have all fallen short in this regard.
They are mostly concerned with promoting their own careers. They have not systematically encouraged and supported other women to come into politics. They have not acted in a concerted way to speak out on matters of concern to women.
As a result, there has been no effective counterweight to the testosterone-drenched style of doing politics in SF. Male politicians here have reverted to forms of behavior that prevailed in politics in the 1950s, before the rise of modern feminism. And they have fobbed off the regression as progressivism.
The disappearance of sisterhood in SF is a great loss. As feminist philosopher Mary Daly noted, sisterhood can be a transformative experience, both for the particular individuals who experience it and for the larger communities of which they are a part.
Even more, sisterhood brings enlightenment to the human race as a whole as it strives to transcend the systematic, institutionalized male violence of the Patriarchal Age. Sisterhood opens the minds and hearts of all people to the best potentials of human nature.
February 19, 2010 at 6:44 am
Good news. Hope represents San Francisco values .
February 18, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Thanks to Erika (a woman prominent in local politics!), Pat, and those who sent me e-mail and Facebook messages.
I appreciate the support of women in politics!
Hope
February 17, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Probably one of our last best hopes for real change.
You gotta believe.
PS.
Run Jeff Run.
February 17, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Great news, Hope! We need more women on the college board.
February 17, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Jerry, Ruth, and h:
Thanks so much for your encouraging words. It’ll be fun!
el greco:
I look forward to meeting your favorite candidates.
Hope
February 17, 2010 at 11:10 am
Congrats Hope,
Looking forward to wearing your button and putting your sign in my window.
h.
February 17, 2010 at 10:30 am
Congrats to Hope Johnson for throwing her hat into the ring for the races for the SF Community College Board and the DCCC.
Let’s hope that more women, from all parts of the political spectrum, follow her example, and for every office that comes up for grabs.
The city needs to restore some gender balance to the skewed situation created by the new board of supes that came into power in January 2001, with ten men and one woman. In some previous boards, women were a majority.
That date, January 2001, marks the emergence of a new anti-feminist energy in SF politics. It has grown in strength since then. It reached a recent peak with the demonization of Sophie Maxwell in the last race for prez of the board of supes.
Testosterone behavior and attitudes are now accepted as the norm at City Hall, especially among the Six Guys Club that runs the supes. Their spirit has been captured most fully in the language of Chris Daly (“Fuck you, bitch!”) and Aaron Peskin (“Payback is a bitch”).
Women’s concerns do not register on the radar of the Six Guys. The scene is reminiscent of what we used to see in politics before the rise of the feminist movement in the 1970s.
Anti-feminist attitudes and behavior at City Hall will change when more women hold local office. That’s how the system works.
February 17, 2010 at 7:43 am
Can we expect an announcement from Cindy Sheehan? The assistant dogcatcher race in Ukiah is a wide open race, you know.
February 16, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Hope will be an great asset to both the College board and DCCC.