What You Need To Know
Here’s what happened around the city for the week of November 14, 2022:
- Thank you for helping us elect Joel Engardio, Matt Dorsey, and Brooke Jenkins
- GrowSF celebrated with elected Supervisors and Mayor Breed
- The Central Subway is finally open!
- Election denialism in San Francisco from Supervisor Preston
- Promising development proposal for Stonestown mixed-use town center
Thank you!
Dear GrowSF supporters, donors, friends, and family,
Thank you for sticking with us through the past year. We know—five elections in 14 months is too many for anyone. Though we are tired, we are excited because …
We made history!
We have unseated an elected incumbent for the first time in over 20 years. A coalition of citizens more interested in outcomes than ideology can accomplish amazing things.
This is not a GrowSF victory. This is a victory for all common sense-minded people across San Francisco. This is a victory for Joel Engardio for running an incredible campaign. This is a victory for parents who care about great public schools. This is a victory for Chinese-Americans concerned about rising hate crimes. This is a victory for regular people.
Joel Engardio knocked on over 14,000 doors and was out there every day telling voters the truth: he is aligned with their values, he will make the Sunset safer and more affordable, he will ensure kids get a great public education, and he will ensure small businesses will be allowed to succeed. Congratulations to Supervisor-Elect Joel Engardio!
While Joel is the most thrilling victory, Supervisor Dorsey and DA Jenkins also deserve huge congratulations! They both ran clean campaigns, never resorting to the lies that the opposition slung, and voters noticed. And they both spoke to what regular people care about without ever pandering to the self-important activist class.
San Francisco is a beautiful, special place that we all care deeply about. No matter how you voted, no matter your party, no matter your family background or immigration status or job … you belong here.
GrowSF is eager to have a break from elections and get back to the hard work of fixing what’s broken while celebrating what works.
Thank you for joining and supporting us on this incredible journey.
With love,
Steven, Sachin, and Jen at GrowSF
GrowSF Celebrates with elected Supervisors and Mayor Breed
We held a victory party this week to celebrate with Supervisor-elect Joel Engardio, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, and Mayor London Breed. Thanks to everyone who came out to make the night a joyous celebration!
Ride the new Central Subway
SFMTA announced the long anticipated opening of the Central Subway. Service begins today! If you ride it, send us some pics!
Election denialism from Supervisor Preston
Dean Preston is not happy with the results of last week’s election. That’s not a surprise; almost all of Dean’s endorsed candidates lost their races. But what is a surprise is his attempt to undermine our democratic process and cast doubt on a free and fair election.
San Francisco’s charter-mandated redistricting process convenes every 10 years after the census to adjust district boundaries according to population growth. This process ensures every San Franciscan has an equal vote. Unfortunately, Supervisor Preston called the redistricting process “corrupt” and “gerrymandered”—claims that are blatantly false.
Promising development proposal for Stonestown mixed-use town center
GrowSF envisions a city that puts people first, with housing for all and safe places for people to walk, bike and congregate. The plan to convert Stonestown Galleria into mixed-use wonderland checks all the boxes: 2,930 new homes, six acres of open space, and a pedestrian-oriented main street. Changing the mix of uses to include retail, recreation, housing, and even some office space will not just revitalize it, but will also make it more resilient.
For San Francisco to grow, we need to re-envision what the rest of the city—including the west side—can look like.
Your Action Plan
Now that you know what’s happening, help us shape what happens next:
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Update: Regulations on outdoor dining and alcohol
A few weeks ago, we told you about the proposed regulations on alcohol in outdoor dining spaces (“parklets”) put forward by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and asked you to send emails opposing the regulations. The regulations may have been well-intentioned, but they would place unreasonable burdens on the businesses that could make it impossible to keep outdoor dining open.
Thanks to you, we heard that the state will be revising the proposed regulations! We don’t know yet when they’ll be released or what they’ll say, but this is good news that they listened to our concerns. We’ll continue to keep you updated.
Celebrate San Francisco
There’s a lot to love about our city. Here’s what makes it great:
Visit one of our city’s beautiful new parks
San Francisco has added two dozen parks and playgrounds since 2020. What better time than now to take a break and visit one of our beautiful new parks before the hustle and bustle of the holidays begins.
Popular gumbo pop-up opening a permanent spot
Gumbo Social—a popular pop-up at the Outer Sunset’s weekly Sunset Mercantile—is planning to open a permanent location in the Bayview at 5176 Third St. Dontaye Ball’s creations look delicious, and we can’t wait to try them out in his new location. If you’d like to pitch in, he’s raising money for renovations through a Kickstarter campaign.
Soccer fans getting a 3-day World Cup festival


Soccer fans will have a place to gather this Thanksgiving weekend. The World Cup Village hosted by Street Soccer USA and SF Recreation and Parks Department will include a three-day festival in Union Square.
WHEN: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 25 - 27 beginning daily at 8AM
WHERE: Union Square Plaza.
Mayan Warrior art car coming to Cow Palace
The Mexico City-based art car known to Burning Man regulars as Mayan Warrior is bringing a super-secret DJ lineup and a 300-watt laser light show to the Cow Palace.
WHEN: Today, Saturday, November 19 at 8 p.m. Get your tickets here
WHERE: Cow Palace
Topical Tweets
Yes, there is good stuff on Twitter. Here’s some of it:
Farming Hope is providing great training right in the heart of the city. Thank you!