The hate rally at Madison Square Garden

Even worse than we thought

January 6, 2021

When Republicans gather....

Peskin, Preston, and Chan rally on the Panhandle

Aaron Peskin got the crowd charged up.
Photo: Andrew Brobst

Dean Preston

Tim Redmond:

Mayor London Breed held a re-election rally before a modest crowd Saturday, and not long after some 400 people showed up in the Panhandle in a final get-out-the-vote push from Supervisor Aaron Peskin and other progressive candidates.

Peskin noted the contrast: The attendees at the Breed rally were “voluntolds, not volunteers,” he said.

The vast majority of the folks at the Unity Rally were volunteers, and the atmosphere was energetic.

When Peskin started his race for mayor, “The narrative was that progressives were divided, and the moderates united. Today the opposite is true.”

Yes: The billionaires right now are fighting over which neo-liberal candidate they want to see in Room 200, and the progressives seem solidly behind Peskin.

Supervisor Dean Preston, in a tight race for re-election and facing a torrent of Big Tech and real estate money, noted:

“The narrative funded by a bunch of billionaires is that somehow this city was transformed overnight into a place where people hate tenants and artists and only want billionaires to live here.”

Supervisor Connie Chan, also facing a big-money challenge, spoke about issues driving her campaign: “Sick people need treatment, not jail.…the people in Room 200 want to divide us and gaslight us every day.”

Peskin brought up the issue that clearly united everyone in the park: Rent control. Peskin, Preston, and Chan are all pushing efforts to expand rent control to most of the existing housing units in the city; Breed signed Peskin’s bill that would take effect if Prop. 33 passes, but she’s never been a big promoter of expanded rent control. 

Daniel Lurie and Mark Farrell oppose more rent control.