An op-ed published by The New York Times is suggesting Republicans are not the only ones frustrated with San Francisco.
The op-ed was written by Michael Moritz, a partner at Sequoia Capital, and is titled, “Even Democrats Like Me Are Fed Up With San Francisco.”
Opening the op-ed, Moritz acknowledged Fox News’ Tucker Carlson has “plenty of reasons for portraying San Francisco as a crippled city, hence his fondness for broadcasting clips of homeless encampments and drug addicts.”
However, he added, “Mr. Carlson and his ilk have less interest in understanding why these problems exist.”
Moritz declared that San Francisco has “become a prize example of how we Democrats have become our own worst enemy.”
He claimed issues including human rights, housing, mental illness and public education have “all been crippled by a small coterie who knows how to bend government to its will.”
The op-ed continues, “This astonishing city that I have been lucky enough to call home for more than 40 years has become subject to the tyranny of the minority.”
Mentioning brokerage giant Charles Schwab’s decision to leave California, Mortiz added, “Even major figures who hail from San Francisco, and who in many parts of the country are viewed as irredeemable leftists, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, seem at times embarrassed by the condition of their hometown.”
According to Moritz, the core issue is that “government is more malleable at the city level than at higher levels of government.”
Additionally, he mentioned the change of ranked-choice voting that effectively “put an end to elections where the top candidates went on to a runoff election if they did not win an outright majority.”
As Moritz explains, since the change, “In races where there is no absolute majority, the winner is only selected after successive rounds of tabulations, known as instant runoffs, in a confusing process that can readily be gamed by backers of particular candidates.”
He also took issue with the fact that San Francisco is a one-party town.
“Inbreeding is not healthy — particularly for politicians,” Moritz wrote.
The “hollowing-out of city newspapers” has also led to poor governance, as Moritz explained.
Taking action in 2020 due to his frustration with the city, Moritz helped to launch and finance TogetherSF, an active organizer of events in the community and has also began to have a hand in election contests through the sister organization named TogetherSF Action.
“There are plenty of reasons to believe that Democratic San Francisco can again become a bellwether for the nation — this time by turning around a city that’s been held hostage by the political classes,” Moritz wrote.
Concluding the piece, he argued Carlson will be “made to eat his words, and San Francisco will work better for everyone.”
