Please be patient when you go to vote. It’s important to make sure your vote counts, whether for president or for supervisor. If you see any problems at your polling place, you can call our campaign at 415-285-2154 or the Secretary of State’s voting rights hotline at 1-800-345-VOTE.

Even Eric’s mom was out.

Let’s keep up this fabulous momentum!  I’ve always said it, our volunteers ROCK!  And being almost entirely volunteer, that is alot of people rocking in District 9.  Gracias a todos los voluntarios, i’m off to get some sleep before the big push begins towards victory!  Hasta la victoria — Eric Quezada District 9 Supervisor, si se puede!  Yes we can!

While the key to our campaign has been the support of everyday people, the growing list of organizations that have endorsed Eric shows that as the differences between the candidates become more apparent, the choice becomes clearer: Eric Quezada’s the right choice for District 9.

Blast ICE Raids Against Families

Eric calls for beefed up sanctuary policies and immigrant support funds - spread word, share with your lists…

BEFORE DAWN WEDNESDAY MORNING, a San Francisco immigrant family, reportedly all U.S. citizens, was raided and harassed at gunpoint by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency – and by the end of the day, 17 Bay Area residences were raided and several people detained, according to immigrant rights attorneys.   

            At about 4:30 a.m., ICE officials broke down doors, tossed around family belongings, pointed their pistol at Julio Cesar Hernandez from just a meter away, and then handcuffed all the adults; Hernandez’ two children, aged 4 years and 7 months old, were traumatized by the raid.

In response, District 9 Supervisorial candidate Eric Quezada is teaming with immigrant community leaders to mobilize legal and social resources for families victimized by ICE raids.  “Everybody has rights, whether they’re documented or not,” said Quezada, who has aided immigrant families with housing, legal, and employment assistance for years.  “This harassment of families is shameful, and must be strongly condemned by local leaders.”

Quezada called for swift implementation of a Municipal ID program to protect immigrants from violence and harassment, and greater funding for immigrant legal and education services to stabilize families.  We need to strengthen the sanctuary ordinance, and we need to see some political courage from the mayor in these moments, to stand up for what’s right.”

“We need leaders who aren’t afraid of political fallout, to stand up for immigrant communities. We need city leaders who have consistently stood by immigrant communities, which are a lifeblood of our city’s culture and economy. 

 “I have trembling in my heart,” Hernandez told immigrant rights attorney Mark Silverman.  “I told them that I am a U.S. citizen.  There were about 20 law enforcement people in the house.  When I talked about my civil rights, one of them laughed.” 

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT www.ericquezada.com, and contact cdcook@igc.org.

Two gardens, both erupting with a rich array of flowers, herbs, and veggies, offer a scrumptious glimpse into the promises and challenges of San Francisco’s food future.

One, a sparkling emerald Victory Garden, opened to much acclaim in front of City Hall this September to foreground America’s first Slow Food Nation gala. It’s an aromatic display of planter boxes boasting culinary items both mundane and exotic — a feast for the senses, if not the stomach.

Across town, far from the headlines and tourists, Alemany Farm sprouts loamy rows of greens and veggies, fruit trees, a heaping compost pile, a duck pond, a windmill, and more. Since members of this public housing community planted the farm’s first seeds in 1994, with help from the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, this urban agriculture venture has spawned harvests of fresh produce and some new sparks of hope for the area’s economically embattled residents.

These two boulevards of sustenance evoke an awakening of urban agriculture, and offer partial answers to an increasingly pressing question: in an era of global warming and fast-dwindling oil supplies, how will San Francisco sustain itself? Are city leaders and communities doing everything needed to make this happen?

We’re especially embarassed to have missed this great article about the campaign kickoff:

Dressed in yellow “Luchando por la comunidad” T-shirts, they filed past the ironing board that served as a sign-in table through the narrow doorway. With samba rhythms blaring and the heat on Saturday reaching near record highs, the crowded space felt more like a dance club than a campaign kickoff rally.

But it was. The yellow shirts gathered around Eric Quezada, who is running for District 9 supervisor. “¡Si, se puede!” cheered the crowd of 60 in the small office.

The campaign is attempting to establish itself as the grassroots effort against the two well-funded and politically connected campaigns of Mark Sanchez and David Campos.

“It’s not going to be the money that’s going to get people elected, it’s going to be the people walking the streets,” said Mike Casey of UNITE HERE Local 2, a union of hospitality and restaurant workers endorsing Quezada.

Along with his primary emphasis on low-income housing issues, Quezada, who is currently the director of Dolores Street Community Services, also stresses immigrants rights and violence prevention as major campaign issues.

There’s much more coverage about the race on the site.