A who’s who of San Francisco’s political elites gathered at the Westin St. Francis hotel Wednesday evening, sipping cocktails and celebrating the “evolution” of a big-money group that suffered defeats in San Francisco’s elections last year.
State Sen. Scott Wiener was there, a head taller than the hundreds-strong crowd, which included San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and at least three members of the Board of Supervisors: Rafael Mandelman, Bilal Mahmood and Matt Dorsey.
The new initiative, Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, is meant to boost moderate forces in the city, keep progressives on the outs and be a — here’s where the name comes in — blueprint for effective governance that other ostensibly liberal cities can follow.
“Blueprint is an organization that is unabashedly and ruthlessly committed to pragmatism,” the group’s new director and former District 5 supervisor candidate Scotty Jacobs said to the packed ballroom at the hotel.
One big name who did not appear to be at Wednesday’s event was Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist billionaire who bankrolled Blueprint’s predecessor, TogetherSF. TogetherSF essentially folded after Nov. 5, 2024: It spent $9.5 million on a ballot measure to drastically reform city government, but was trounced by a rival progressive campaign with just $117,000 in the bank. It savaged its No. 2 endorsed mayoral candidate, Daniel Lurie, to boost its No. 1 candidate, Mark Farrell — and Farrell came in fourth. Lurie did better: He is now mayor.
Soon after, in early January, its leaders announced it was “merging” with an allied group, Neighbors for a Better San Francisco. Blueprint is now being billed as TogetherSF’s “evolution” and a “project” of Neighbors.
At the Westin St. Francis, Jacobs described what he called San Francisco at its best: The No Kings rally last weekend was “the most energizing moment I’ve had as a San Franciscan” Jacobs said, before apologizing for the cash bar.
(He had wanted to give out free drinks, he said. During the District 5 race, Jacobs spent his campaign funds on rooftop parties, house DJs, and food, which he said were necessary to make a splash after his late entry. He has dubbed himself “Scotty ‘Party Zone’ Jacobs” on his nightlife-rich Instagram page.)
Behind Jacobs were sweeping 32nd-floor views of the Golden Gate Bridge and, more relevant for the evening, nearby Union Square, which has become a symbol of San Francisco’s rocky recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Union Square perfectly epitomizes the journey our city has been on,” Jacobs said. “Union Square is, at its best, a reflection of us at our best. But, in our darkest moments as a city, Union Square was what was held up as an example.”
Blueprint is launching with a $2 million annual budget. Neighbors for a Better San Francisco was, prior to last year, the wealthiest in the crop of billionaire-backed groups that took hold in the city post-pandemic,ˆ and may be so yet again. Neighbors’ head, Jay Cheng, gave an interview in Politico on Wednesday, saying “We’re very serious about sustaining momentum in the city,” and “we can’t afford to take our foot off the gas.”
Blueprint does not appear to have the backing of Moritz, who promised at least $17 million to TogetherSF, according to an internal document. When previously asked by Mission Local whether he has disentangled himself from the group, Moritz declined to answer, but Cheng didn’t name him as a benefactor.
Blueprint plans to open a meeting space in Hayes Valley later this summer, and launch a podcast. It will also support moderate, local candidates.
But the group’s first task, Jacobs said Wednesday, is to help Mayor Daniel Lurie get his budget passed, which includes layoffs and cuts to nonprofit contractors, to make up for a steep deficit that Lurie inherited upon taking office in January.
Jacobs has been active on social media, commenting that cuts to free legal aid, for instance, are a means to “end the nonprofit industrial complex in City Hall.” Those cuts are now opposed by a majority of the Board of Supervisors and DA Jenkins.
“The best thing that we can do right now,” Jacobs said, “is to stand behind Mayor Lurie and make sure that he knows that he has the mandate from the people that very clearly elected him to do what needs to get done to put our city on the right footing again.”
That may be easier said than done: After last year’s election, Lurie’s inner circle made it clear that, of the operatives who had fought against his election, only Cheng was persona non-grata. Mission Local confirmed this week with those close to the mayor that this sentiment has not changed.
In a not-unrelated matter, Cheng has also been linked to a string of campaign finance ethics violations. In August, he and Neighbors were fined $54,000 for failing to disclose campaign payments. He has also been accused of improperly working with Farrell’s mayoral campaign, which was hit in November with the city’s largest-ever campaign finance fine: $108,000 .
While Jacobs is the face of the new effort, Cheng is very much its beating heart.
What’s also unclear is to what extent Blueprint will pursue the specific policies that TogetherSF did. Blueprint’s policy platform calls for “limiting the influence and scope of commissions” and “clarifying and strengthening the role of the mayor,” language that echoes TogetherSF’s failed ballot measure last fall.
And though TogetherSF is over, its woes may not be: The Phoenix Project, a progressive group, announced Tuesday that it had filed a legal complaint against TogetherSF. The group accused TogetherSF of illegally operating as an undeclared political committee, an accusation Cheng dismissed in an interview with the San Francisco Standard.
He told the Standard it was “insanity to file a complaint against a group that no longer exists.”
More low-profile attendees at Wednesday’s event were less familiar with the ins and outs of TogetherSF’s electoral stumbles. They were earnest about improving what they viewed as some of San Francisco’s pressing problems, and hopeful Blueprint could help.
They had volunteered to clean their neighborhoods’ streets and attended events to revive downtown; San Francisco’s art and dining scene has not recovered post-COVID, said Poonam Gupta, 41.
Liam Brody, 24, said he liked Blueprint’s messaging of “practical politics,” which he hoped could help address his top concern as a San Francisco native: the city’s unaffordability.
At the lectern, Jacobs had clear calls for action for would-be do-gooders in the crowd. Get on Blueprint’s listserv. Scan the QR codes scattered across the room for more information. “Get informed, get engaged, tell your friends,” Jacobs said. “Together, let’s execute the blueprint that will build a better San Francisco.”
And, he added, the cocktails may not be free, but grab a passed hors d’oeuvre. Those are.
Scotty party zone Jacobs is baaaaaack! “Unabashedly” and “relentlessly”, these were two of Daddy Mark Farrell’s favorite words on the campaign trail.
Mark Farrell lost spectacularly because he was unabashedly tone deaf and ruthlessly clueless.
As part of the rollout of this new group, Scotty Jacobs made and posted a video of himself sitting alongside the former head of the billionaire funded Astroturf groups Together SF and Neighbors for a a Better SF, Jay Cheng. Recent reports involving powerful male politicos accused of sexual violence and/or rape include Jay Cheng. Does Jacob’s condone that behavior? Will Cheng ever be investigated or held accountable? Or are thry just going to sweep that under the rug?
I was just thinking that many that call themselves “centrist Democrats” are actually authoritarian followers, like right wing authoritarian followers that elected Trump, but on the left. They are small in number, with billions of dollars, but voters outnumber them.
I came in earnest to see if the big money flounders had learned from there together S.F. days. I was supremely disappointed.
All the flash and pomp to see the two directors with drinks that openly and repeatedly claimed they made sure there was a cash bar. There wasn’t. Card or tap only.
This may seem trivial to most but what it shows me is there open willingness to lie. There willingness to procure the fiscal racism and discrimination that dominates the tech/political elites.
This rebranded pac is no different than the Cheeto “taco” Mussolini we have in the White House.
When will there be a day when some can be honest and own the truth?
I came I listened and was privy first hand to the political corruption that is imbedded in the nation.
United is a rebranded together S.F. joke.
It is like John Carpenter’s “The Thing.”
Thank you for this coverage! It formed the basis of my letter to my SF supervisor:
Dear Supervisor Mahmood:
We were disappointed but not surprised to see your name pop up among the attendees at the swanky Blueprint for a Better San Francisco soirée last Wednesday. After all, this rebranding of the billionaire-backed astroturf PAC TogetherSF infamously supported your District 5 campaign.
Now that that group is merging with the even wealthier fat cats of Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, democracy is on the chopping block in San Francisco. Why do you support flooding our electoral process with outside money from self-interested venture capitalists?
Blueprint’s director (and your sleazy “rival” in 2024’s D5 race) Scotty Jacobs has stated that his top priority is to pass Mayor Lurie’s regressive budget, based on drastic cuts to social services and massive layoffs. Somehow, though, there are always plenty of millions available to overfund the police, even as sinister SFPD drones will begin to darken our skies—courtesy of rightwing billionaire Chris Larsen.
Let us remind you that uber-wealthy Republicans and DINO self-claimed “moderates” are NOT your constituents. But the working families and seniors of D5 are. Like a police drone, we are keeping a watchful eye on you to see which groups you serve.
Excellent letter. New DCCC chair Nancy Tung and the newly elected slate (which was largely funded and installed by Astroturf groups Neighbors for a Better SF, GROWSF and TogetherSF) decided to form a “sexual misconduct investigative panel.” Tung and others stated that investigating sexual violence and incidents of sexual misconduct were a top concern. In a controversial move, Tung appointed Bilal Mahmood and Trevlor Chandler who were both candidates running for supervisor when she appointed them. Which SFDCCC members sit on this panel and will it investigate Jesse Jay Cheng, in addition to others?
Well written and clear. Good photos, too. Thank you.
Oopsie. Meant to say “ruthlessly.”
If Scott Weiner was there it is suspect from the get-go.
They had to re-brand because their right-wing carpetbagger shi*t got too exposed under the “TogetherSF” moniker?
The right-wingers deserve a lot of credit for flooding the zone in the Biden era with their right-wing recalls and gerrymandering the BoS. Lurie had a lot of potential as an oligarch-backing empty suit in room 200. But with Trump in office and ICE and probably the national guard soon to descend on SF, people are going to be MAD, and Lurie is about to get exposed. They must be praying Zohran loses, because otherwise there will be a true “blueprint” for the left to follow… the backlash is coming.
…….and it can’t happen soon enough.