Saikat ChakrabartiSaikat Chakrabarti

DSA has made some bold, encouraging recommendations in CA elections this year. However, their no-recommendation stance on this race disappointed me. Saikat is the obvious choice for New Deal Dems. (Connie Chan is fine, but could we like... try to build housing maybe?) Saikat > Chan > Wiener

AROC Action is proud to jointly endorse Saikat Chakrabarti and Connie Chan in the CA-11 congressional race. At a time of deep crisis for our communities here and in our homelands, we believe both candidates can offer critical leadership aligned with progressive values. Saikat Chakrabarti and Connie Chan represent a significant improvement to the failed and regressive policies being advanced by State Senator Scott Wiener and other rightwing-backed candidates. Our endorsement is grounded in AROC Action’s six core values:

Palestine Solidarity

AROC Action has been clear that any candidate we support must stand for the liberation of the Palestinian people and the end of Israeli impunity in the ongoing genocide against our people. This includes an immediate end to all U.S. weapons support to Israel, comprehensive sanctions, and a reversal of anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic legislation that has plagued our communities and movements for decades. On these issues, Saikat Chakrabarti has demonstrated particular clarity and consistency on Palestine solidarity, forcefully calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and condemning both government intransigence and the attempts by many politicians to evade accountability by singling out Netanyahu - a Prime Minister elected seven times - instead of the apartheid Israeli state as a whole. Connie Chan too has expressed support for holding Israel accountable, blocking all arms shipments, and reversing punitive legislation like anti-BDS laws and AB715.

Local Action

Both candidates understand that local governance is deeply intertwined with global justice. Connie Chan brings a strong track record of delivering on local issues, from housing, public services to workers’ rights, and has shown an ability to navigate and win at the municipal level. Saikat Chakrabarti brings a vision that connects local struggles to national and global systems, highlighting how federal policy shapes the conditions of our communities.

Community Defense

At a time when SWANA communities and Palestine advocates face increased surveillance, repression, and criminalization, we need leaders who will defend our right to organize and speak out. Both candidates have recognized the urgency of protecting civil liberties, standing against political repression, and protecting people’s right to protest and resist government repression and warmongering.

Building Unity

Our communities are diverse and multifaceted. We value leadership that brings people together across differences. Connie Chan’s experience in coalition-building at the local level and Saikat Chakrabarti’s movement-oriented approach both point toward the kind of leadership needed to build durable, people-powered unity.

Uplifting All

We prioritize candidates who center those most marginalized: working-class people, immigrants, women, and gender non-conforming communities. Both candidates have articulated commitments to economic justice, housing access, and inclusive governance that reflect this value.

Bridging Solidarity

Our struggles are interconnected, and we seek partners who understand that. Both candidates have demonstrated a willingness to engage across movements and build coalitions that extend beyond a single issue or community, and a willingness to listen to and learn from these same communities.

Looking Ahead: Two Good Options and One Dangerous One

AROC Action is clear about the stakes of this race. Saikat and Connie, like all candidates, are not perfect candidates, and we have concerns about specific aspects of their pasts, their positions, and their funding. Nevertheless, we do not see this election as a referendum on political purity. Either candidate would be a significant leap forward in bringing a progressive, anti-war, anti-racist, working class orientation to represent San Francisco interests on the national stage. We would be lucky to have either one. Given this, it is absolutely critical that if one or the other candidate advances to the general election, we as a movement must consolidate behind them to beat State Senator Scott Wiener. Wiener represents a serious danger to our communities and movements, particularly given his track record on opposing the ceasefire in Gaza, dismissal of issues impacting marginalized communities, and his alignment with policies and politicians that undermine our collective safety and dignity.

For this reason, we call on our members and allies to unite behind whichever of our endorsed candidates advances to the general election. Building the power to defeat Scott Wiener, and the Democratic stagnation that has failed to respond this authoritarian crisis, will require broad, disciplined unity across our base.

Source (https://arocaction.org/endorsements)

My occupation is Congressional Policy Director.

Rents keep going up. Homeownership is a distant dream for young people. Groceries, childcare, and healthcare are bankrupting families. Building new roads, bridges or train lines takes decades. These aren’t just problems facing San Franciscans. They’re problems facing all Americans, and it’ll take a national effort to solve them. I came to San Francisco at 23 to work as a software engineer, but I realized technology alone could never solve our problems. So I left tech to help lead Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. I then founded a group to elect new leaders to Congress, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. After managing AOC’s first campaign, I became her chief of staff in Congress, where I wrote the Green New Deal. Our efforts led to the largest investment in climate and union jobs in history. I know what it takes to turn big ideas into action in a gridlocked Congress. Donald Trump is leading an authoritarian coup, and Democratic leaders in DC are failing to stop it. I’m not running to join that broken establishment. I’m running to change it, and I’m doing it without a dime of corporate money. And I’m not alone. There’s a movement happening across the country. Together in Congress, we’ll fight to: • Ban congressional stock trading and get corporate money out of politics • Control AI so it benefits workers and humanity • Create a free national healthcare system • Cut red tape and create a public bank to build housing faster • Pass a wealth tax on billionaires • Build a national high-speed rail system • Stop the endless wars

Okay, Saikat or Scott, just not Connie. If you want my reasoning just email me. But it's so complicated in this race to boil it down, just make a choice for one or the other and we'll talk in November.

Endorsed by Justice Dems, PAL PAC.

VIG listing; Occupation: Congressional Policy Director; wrote the Green New Deal as AOC's chief of staff

Generally into the idea of restricting cross-agency sharing but less concerned about abuse by individual municipalities.

This is the first time there has been a competitive election for Congress in San Francisco in 40 years, and it’s a three-way race. Saikat’s two opponents, Connie Chan and Scott Wiener, are local elected officials with deep roots with San Francisco’s two current political machines. This election is an opportunity to vote for change, and replacing Nancy Pelosi with a political outsider (with good ideas and charisma) would be quite a change.