SFPO to Hold its Second Annual Convention

Fifteen months later, SFPO will hold its 2nd Annual Convention tomorrow at St. Mary’s Cathedral to reconvene activists, elect a new Board, conduct workshops and focus on building a more progressive future. Although last year’s convention was split up into various identity-based caucuses who came out with their own policy priorities, “it was remarkable how much overlap there was in issue priorities among these disparate groups – especially on violence prevention and anti-gentrification,” said Board Member Michael Goldstein. These two issues, along with Campaigns and Elections, Education, and Immigrant Rights, will be the focus of this year’s Convention – and the morning session will focus on separate workshop with action plans.

With the November 2006 elections approaching, many progressive activists are currently working on various candidate campaigns for Board of Supervisors, School Board, Community College Board – which calls into question how much their plate will be full to spend all day at the Convention. But Jane Kim, President of SFPO, expects that there will be a good turnout. “We’ll be pulling in from a base of activists who work on issues, but are not necessarily right now involved in electoral politics,” she explained. And even if many activists are currently distracted with the election, “it’s important for us to come together not necessarily around one campaign and to make strategic relations,” said Board Member Julian Davis. “It will be a chance for people to forge working relationships that don’t necessarily come from working on a campaign.”

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