The Phoenix Project

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s framework to “hold Big Tech accountable” is a test of whether he can convince voters he’s independent from the industry funding his campaign. 📝: @hannahcwiley sfstandard.com/2026/05/15/tec…

@agarwal @kane @GrowSF Now that we’ve got you’re attention, any comment on overturning Citizens United? Or is big money in politics an issue that you support

Scoop: A sea change in campaign finance law is now fueling Scott Wiener's ground game in ways that would have been illegal just two years ago. Here's my latest for Gazetteer: sf.gazetteer.co/scott-wieners-…

@PhoenixProjNow @kane @GrowSF “There”

Let me get this straight: the Phoenix Project had a meeting where they listed all the great election wins from the past 4 years, and confirmed those wins led to San Francisco’s recovery. And they think this is a BAD thing? missionlocal.org/2026/05/sf-sun…

@kane @agarwal @GrowSF We’re pretty behind on updating our website but display donors their. Also, shuffling money from a C4 -> PAC is dark money, one of @GrowSF’s key political strategies

@PhoenixProjNow @agarwal @GrowSF Did you guys disclose funding yet or are you still a dark money org?

Crypto executive Chris Larsen has spent millions fighting billionaire tax measures, and he’s the largest individual donor to a PAC backing Wiener. interc.pt/3P5aqkG

NEW from me: Why would a progressive — CA State Senator Scott Wiener, the leading candidate for Nancy Pelosi's seat — oppose two popular, progressive taxes on billionaires that would help fund healthcare and social services for working class Californians? For an answer, I looked at Wiener's biggest donors: venture capitalist CEO Garry Tan, who has called the taxes "anti-billionaire bullshit.," and crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, who has poured at least $13 million into killing both taxes. Larsen and Tan are funding attack ads against Wiener's opponent Saikat Chakrabarti, who supports both billionaire taxes. @theintercept theintercept.com/2026/05/14/sco…

Why is labor money not pouring in for labor's favorite candidate, Connie Chan? Read here about all the challenges local unions grapple with when a hometown ally enters a federal race. missionlocal.org/2026/05/connie…

"I was a little surprised (although maybe I shouldn’t be) to see Sup. Rafael Mandelman making what seem to be anti-labor comments and praising the billionaires who are trying to turn this city into an oligarchy." 48hills.org/2026/05/a-righ…

@agarwal The doom loop *narrative* has died. Because it was always about blaming nationwide problems on local progressive elected officials. Once many of those electeds were defeated, the same suddenly people stopped talking about “rampant” homelessness, drugs and crime in SF.

🚨 Public First Action, the AI-safety-focused 501(c)(4), has contributed $500,000 to Abundant Future, the @garrytan and @chrislarsensf-backed super PAC which has spent over $500k opposing @saikatc in CA-11. Public First previously told @BenBrodyDC that it was getting involved in the race to support @Scott_Wiener, widely seen as an AI safety champion. We now know that Public First's involvement isn't through one of its own PACs, but via a donation to someone else's.

Thanks to all who attended "Stop the Billionaire Takeover," a Phoenix event sponsored by Westside Forward and the Working Families Party. We'll be doing many more of these gatherings in the coming year. missionlocal.org/2026/05/sf-sun…

A new progressive group in S.F. is organizing in the Sunset, with an evening billed to “Stop the Billionaire Takeover.” Gordon Mar, the former D4 supe, said he wants to “challenge the stereotype” that the Sunset is politically conservative. by @junyao98 missionlocal.org/2026/05/sf-sun…

Phoebe Maffei, a prosecutor and candidate San Francisco's judicial race, is on a fundraising tear for a race that usually sees little big money action. She has raised some $150K, outraising her opponent, Deputy Public Defender Alexandra Pray, fivefold. missionlocal.org/2026/05/s-f-ju…

New investigation: SF mayor Daniel Lurie promised a permitting overhaul. But ex-employees with the company hired for the project and current city workers say it was troubled from the start. sfstandard.com/2026/05/13/dan…

OpenGov is Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. He lists it on his website with a bunch of war profiteering companies his VC firm has funded, Anduril is another. The SF mayor is giving no-bid contracts to his friends. 8vc.com/companies?indu…

NEW THIS MORNIG: The biggest donor in the 2026 midterms? Andreessen Horowitz. The firm has spent $115 million on politics this cycle, a never-before-seen investment by a venture capital firm to shape American politics, crypto and AI. Inside the strategy, at the link.

In light of rising inequality, displacement of working-class San Franciscans and a Mayoral administration more comfortable with BlackRock than Labor Unions, perhaps AEI and the Heritage Foundation are more apt partners with Lurie’s SF than the city’s own progressive history.

San Francisco’s new “moderates” fit hand-in-glove with federal Republicans, advocating for reduced taxes on big businesses, increased crack downs on minor-level offenses, and austerity measures that squeeze all parts of San Francisco’s civil society. phoenixprojectnow.com/phoenix-review…

Last week, local billionaire-backed dark money organization Neighbors for a Better San Francisco hosted a policy forum with the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank.🧵 missionlocal.org/2026/05/conser…