San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club Announces Departure from the SF Democratic Party
The SFLDC will recharter outside the SF Democratic Party with other entities
San Francisco, CA - The San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club (SFLDC) announces today that we are formally withdrawing from the San Francisco Democratic Party and will no longer recognize the local party as a legitimate representative of our community's values or interests.
The SF Democratic Party has repeatedly failed to prioritize or even acknowledge critical issues facing Latinos. Most notably, the party has refused to author or support resolutions condemning recent national attacks on birthright citizenship and constitutional rights. At a time when immigrant families are under siege and Latino communities are being scapegoated, the silence from the SF Democratic Party speaks volumes. San Francisco prides itself on being a sanctuary city—but that value is clearly only performative within the SF Democratic Party.
While Latinos make up over 16% of San Francisco’s population, only one Latino currently serves on the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC). Rather than address this glaring disparity, the Chair recently appointed a white man to a vacant seat—ignoring the urgent need for Latino voices and leadership, especially in a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion are under national attack. This is a slap in the face to every Latino Democrat in this city.
Our membership had every intention of rechartering with the SFDCCC, and the SFLDC has complied with all rechartering requirements, including full adoption of the new Code of Conduct policies. Throughout the process, we worked in good faith to partner with the DCCC. But at every turn, it became clear that the DCCC had no intention of acknowledging - let alone addressing - the historical and ongoing racism faced by people of color. We are the second democratic club to intentionally not recharter, and the pattern of local clubs representing people of color leaving the San Francisco Democratic Party is apparent. Until marginalized communities are respected and empowered within our local democratic parties, we will continue to lose ground with Latino and other marginalized voters in future elections.
Our values are rooted in justice, inclusion, and collective power. Those values are clearly no longer reflected in the current leadership or actions of the San Francisco Democratic Party. Frankly, the corporate funded San Francisco Democratic Party more closely aligns with that of Republicans, mirroring fascist tactics that flaunt due process and suspend constitutional rights for cheap political points.
The SFLDC is not leaving the fight: we are reclaiming our space outside a local party that has failed us and will charter under separate Democratic party entities. The San Francisco Latino community deserves real representation, and we will continue organizing, mobilizing, and advocating for our people; just not under a banner that refuses to see us, instead focusing our efforts on a more macro level. If the San Francisco Democratic Party doesn’t care about Latinos, it does not represent San Francisco values.