Let’s End the Reign of Ineptitude
By Mark Dietrich
As an engaged member of our community over the past several years, I’m constantly approached by concerned, frustrated neighbors who ask, “Hey Mark, when are you going to run for D1 supervisor?” I tell them all the same thing: “I can do you one better – I’m supporting Marjan Philhour for supervisor, and so should you.” Here is why I say that with unwavering confidence and optimism for the future.
I met Marjan in 2019 and immediately saw my heart of service mirrored by her own. A belief that listening to neighbors matters more than talking, that results matter more than rhetoric and that leadership matters more than ego. If I had the opportunity to lead in our neighborhood in any official capacity, I’d focus our civic resources on what matters most to neighbors – crime, safety, small businesses, housing, and homelessness – all while shaking up and exposing the layers of bureaucratic nonsense and lack of accountability that have infected SF City Hall. But alas, I don’t have the experience, network or the chutzpah needed to move the needle in City Hall in these directions. Marjan, however, does, and she will. I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
Her political detractors who whine and cry, “What has she done for the neighborhood?” Or, “Where has she been since 2020?” simply haven’t been paying attention or are too busy playing global and identity politics in their own political bubbles. All while Marjan has been expressly focused on making her neighbors’ lives better these past four years. To give just a small sample:
- Who helped neighbors network with the Department of Homelessness to resolve dangerous encampments in our neighborhood?
- Who helped small businesses get trees trimmed on the merchant corridors when they complained to the City that were being ignored?
- Who connects local high school students with local community organizations for internships?
- Who escalated the topic of Automated License Plate Readers and technology for local SFPD when ATM burglaries spiked?
- Who helps small businesses navigate the maze of City regulations and paperwork to open their businesses?
- Who coordinates all the wonderful Balboa Village Merchant events for the community?
- Who helps neighbors network with local school leaders and families when parents are in a panic about where to send their kids to school?
- Who organized a massive vigil to help our community mourn when a local shopkeeper of Richmond Market was murdered?
- Who meets with and listens to ALL stakeholders in local issue debates BEFORE tensions rise?
- Who do neighbors call when they see things that need fixing in our neighborhood?
- Who returns every call, text or email she gets?
… take a wild guess. Hint: It’s not our supervisor, her predecessor or any of the tiny cabal of sanctimonious, out-of-touch, stuck-in-the-’60s, extremist activists who scowl disapprovingly at any real progress or action, only coming out of their insular caves when election season is upon us. (Aside: It boggles my mind how many neighbors tell me that they get no response when they call or email Chan’s office. Isn’t responding to constituents simply table stakes for holding elected office?)
Thankfully, the political winds are changing as is evidenced by the complete and utter rejection of incumbents like Chan and her positions in the most recent elections (Chan was against the DA recall, against the school board recall, pro-Cop Tax, and ran on pro-defund the police). Every time, she supported the opposite point of view as the majority of the electorate. The results of these recent elections clearly show that residents are choosing to believe their eyes more than the shaky voices of local elected officials, like Chan, who deliver word-salad speeches out of both sides of their mouths while real problems only get worse.
If you want to stick with the civic decay ravaging our City, then, by all means, support Connie Chan and her noisy virtue-signaling allies to continue their reign of ineptitude. But if you think we need to course-correct with policies and attitudes that consider common sense, a dose of tough love, and the belief that local government should deliver results, then email Marjan. (Marjan@votemarjan.com) She’ll respond to you.
Huh. Imagine that.
Mark Dietrich is a local Richmond District neighborhood organizer and vocal public safety advocate. He’s an active volunteer on the Marjan Philhour for Supervisor 2024 effort and has done admin work for the campaign. Mark is active on NextDoor and X @markdietrichsf. Email him at markdietrichsf@gmail.com or
visit www.StopRichmondBurglary.org.
Categories: Commentary
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
I support Marjan!
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Well said Mark! I’m not in D1, but Chan has been on the wrong side of many important city wide issues, including her support for DA Boudin, for defunding the police, for the racist school board, etc. Vote for Marjan for a fresh start!
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While I understand Mark’s advocacy for Marjan it would have more credibility with a closing which reads, “I am Marjan Philhour and I appreciate this endorsement.”
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Wow, that’s a well-written piece. Thanks Mark for your tireless advocacy to reduce crime in the Richmond. Several years ago someone tried to break into my garage so I figured how to prevent future break-ins by installing an automatic deadbolt. I posted what I did on Nextdoor and my phone exploded with requests from neighbors to come help them prevent break-ins. My son and I have since secured over 200 garages in the Richmond and Sunset districts. Through the course of all this I’ve met some amazing neighbors as well as Mark. I am continuously surprised at how many people genuinely care about what’s going on in our district and don’t just throw up their hands in frustration. However, I am also continuously appalled by the rampant theft, increase in homelessness and the overall degradation of our neighborhood and that has happened under Connie Chan’s watch and before that Sandra Fewer’s watch. I agree with everything Mark says in this article and will be supporting Marjan in the upcoming election. Out with the old and in with the new I say. Let’s all let our votes speak for themselves and get someone to represent us that cares what we think.
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This is the story of why District 1 needs to unseat Connie Chan with Marjan Philhour in November, 2024. A side effect of San Francisco’s political shift Left after the George Floyd tragedy and deep in the initial uncertainties of Covid, Chan beat the more moderate Philhour by well less than 1% of the D1 vote in 2020. San Francisco embarked upon a multi-year period thereafter of civic-breakage as Chan and other Leftists occupied a majority of the Board of Supervisors, a majority of the Police Commission, a majority of the SF School Board, a DA Office more interested in “restorative” criminal legislation than criminal prosecution, a judiciary more lenient in case dispositions, and a vilified Police Force–all contributing, in my view, to more property crime, cheaper and more plentiful street narcotics sale and use, more tent encampments with possibly a majority occupied by drug tourists, more organized fencing operations, loss of retail businesses, loss of commercial tenancies and conventions, loss of population, and downward pressure on San Francisco’s tax base. Yes, Covid contributed to some of this mightily, but for five years, we have been led by an ideology allergic to the notions of personal responsibility and consequences for illegality. With a big heart and many in actual need, we enabled and attracted additional bad behaviors and damaged SF’s quality of life. The experiment failed, common sense is returning, and we must now cast out those who still cling to Leftist delusions of how Cities thrive or fail. Let’s finally get Marjan Philhour into office this Fall, to get the Richmond back on track and to help save San Francisco.
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Thank you Mark for all you do for the Richmond District. Your commentary is spot on and if residents want the same old, same old, they can vote for the incumbent. But if people want meaningful change that will improve our neighborhood, vote for Marjan Philhour.
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I have lived in D1 continuously since 1976. The comments I am reading in the Richmond Review do NOT in any manner represent the neighborhood my wife and I live and raised two now adult children. What I read here is nothing more than gratuitous cherry picking. Taking several horrific crimes and stretching them into the norm. It is a misleading and disingenuous portrayal of the Richmond. Being used for one political goal. Oust Connie Chan next November
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Lee: perhaps read the room before making blanket statements about how your neighbors in D1 feel about our sadly out of touch incumbent representative on the BOS? And if that doesn’t work, consider how last week’s primaries with across the board victories for moderates and common sense ballot measures?
By all means—support and vote for the candidate of your choosing. But, please do not deflect and seek to obfuscate the widely held and very real concerns of your neighbors on public safety, quality of life and leadership/engagement.
Connie Chan has consistently failed us on these issues, and like it or not, elections are about voter choice and accountability.
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Slight twist to the famous quote ”are you better off than four years ago?” Is district 1 better than 3 years ago? As clearly outlined above most would say “no”. Vote for change.
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Marjan thank you for everything you do!
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I could not agree more. As a public school parent I found the SFUSD board of education led by Lopez and Collins a failure to our children. Dr. Matthews asked for a consultant to expedite the return of students during COVID and the SFBOE denied it because Collins said that would be “recreating white supremacy.” The ridiculous focus on school names and infuriating changing of the admissions process at Lowell High. The narrative that the recall of Boudin was a Republican billionaire takeover was ludicrous and we are seeing the same theme with this upcoming election. The call to dismantle our police force, backing the unqualified Police Commission and telling residents that property crime is not real crime. Our small business suffering from burglary and vandalism. All of the above is what Ms. Chan has given us and stood for. We need change across the board in this City. Getting to know Marjan and engaging with her supporters, my neighbors and community gives me hope that things are starting to finally go in the right direction.
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Mark: extremely well put and I completely agree, which is why I will be voting for Marjan and encourage neighbors who have had it with the status quo to do the same.
I met Marjan at my first SFPD community meeting about a year ago. I went to voice concern about a couple of garage break-ins, witnessing mass shoplifting(with one of our young kids!) at the now-shuttered 9th/Clement Walgreens, and a dangerous, messy and growing encampment led by a convicted child molester (across from an elementary school, next door to library!).
I had previously met with Connie, in her office, to seek assistance, and learned she knew and had met with the encampment folks and did not seem particularly bothered about it or other issues I raised. She pointed the finger at Mayor Breed often, and declined to engage or offer help, other than to consider supporting the emergency SFPD funding bill (which she did eventually approve).
By contrast, Marjan listened, shared my concerns, and helped me and other neighbors navigate relevant city agencies, bringing attention and ultimately resolution to the encampment, along with hope that engaging with our public servants can make a difference. What a breath of fresh air!
I have multiple emails with Connie documenting futile attempts to get her help (and her consistent deflections and non-responses) over a course of months. And more importantly, I am fired up for Marjan and cannot wait for her to be our official D1 BOS representative following November’s election!
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Julia: this is rich coming from the individual who ran a series of frothy “op ed” articles in this paper seeking to trash Marjan and distract voters from Connie’s out of step and failing policies on public safety and quality of life issues. And contrary to your smeary comment, Marjan is committed to working for a better, safer and saner D1 and city for all of us, instead of the pet “progressive” projects and causes Connie spends her time on.
It was not long ago that your well publicized act of political vandalism—ripping down a Marjan campaign sign from a local business—was a low point of our current election season. With your continued breathless and highly questionable attacks on Marjan and her family (give us a break please) it seems you may yet show us new lows.
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Yes, we need new leadership in D1. Connie Chan has been on the wrong side of too many issues. She was against the recall of Chesa Boudin; she was against the recall of the three incompetent school board members; she supported Proposition B, the “cop tax”. She’s out of touch with the residents in her district.
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Julia, you live in bizarro world. I hope most readers know that reality is the opposite of just about everything you say.
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Deserve? What Richmond Review readers deserve is to have a content warning included along with anything Julie Pitta vomits through her keyboard.
Shameful? Pitta actively sought to DEFUND the police … yes actively … yes explicitly … THAT is what’s shameful.
And all Connie Chan could do at an “ice cream with a cop” event where BLM thugs screamed obscenities into a bullhorn and made children cry was shrug her shoulders … it’s all on video … and that’s also shameful.
So Pitta should spare us the lecture on what’s shameful. Voters will soon make Connie Chan a one term Supervisor. Just like her buddy Gordon Mar. D1 voters understand how shameful Pitta and Chan are. They’ll soon be voting Chan OUT.
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I am surprised that so many people are willing to support someone who basically abandoned the District over the last 3 years and did nothing in our time of need.
Why? Ideological belief systems and perceptions perhaps? Lack of paying attention perhaps? Or maybe even group think partisan hand slapping.
Feel free to vote for someone who has been the go-between the large donor classes and the mayor and think you are getting someone who has your back. If you are concerned (legimitely) about crime in the neighborhood, realize that only the mayor can have any influence over city policy, especially as regards the SFPD.
All the hits are repeating in the comments. “out of touch” because Connie was against the recall of someone only to be replaced by a integrity compromised person who got paid by a Billionaire LLC – with marginal results at best, and worse in other areas. Calling Proposition B a “cop tax” is silly, because if you propose something that costs money, you need to propose a funding source. That’s called responsible. I thought fiscal conservatives understood that principle.
Funny that I’m reading Nathaniel W say something completely contradictory to my own personal experience, an experience where Marjan goes dark during the pandemic and Connie actual is very responsive to the various encampments and to the Geary Merchant community. The SFMTA would have been much worse without her intervention because the mayor certainly wasn’t doing anything. How about all that perpendicular parking that just got created on 29th and 24th ?
I’m glad that other people could not agree more. I guess that’s the thing about social media. Everybody is hand slapping and playing for their team I guess, but I would rather vote for someone who actually gets personally involved in district issues rather than staying silent, waiting for her handlers to puff her up and buy all the adverts, so that she can get elected and be the facilitator of what her handlers prefer, even if that is against her very own constituents.
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jonsdarc: you may be missing the point, Connie has been our elected representative on the BOS the past 3 years, and is the individual that should be judged/accountable for public safety and livability in D1. And the verdict among community members here and elsewhere is consistently (except among a small number of “true believers”) that she has failed across the board.
Connie has advocated defunding the police, supported Chesa Boudin and blown off numerous and repeated attempts to seek her engagement and leadership on safety and quality of life issues impacting all residents in the Richmond.
Only once have I ever seen Connie attend a SFPD community meeting, at which she unsuccessfully attempted to sidle up to Mayor Breed as a city leader who wanted to listen to community concerns and offer solutions. Which failed sadly after the mayor pointed out the times and ways Connie opposed and obstructed public safety measures. Connie eventually walked out of the meeting.
By all means-play for the team that suits you-but please don’t try and obfuscate basic facts. I have had a lengthy email correspondence with Connie, showing her aloof disengagement and deflection on safety and encampment concerns. I can also vouch for the fact Marjan’s engagement and assistance was a night and day difference thar helped resolve them.
We need more of the kind of leadership and compassion Marjan brings to the table. And sorry, no amount of smearing you or other fringe “true believers” will be doing in the months ahead of her, Mayor Breed or DA Brooke Jenkins will fool voters into supporting our leadership vacuum status quo.
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I am not missing the point just because you say I am missing the point.
Connie has never advocated defunding the police. Why are saying something that is not true.
Anecdotal cole slaw about what you say you saw at one SFPD community meeting means nothing when you have not address all of the truth that I mentioned. Breed is performative and caustic, relies on speaking events to bluster about matters she has no record of actually doing any thing. Could it be that Connie walked out because she realized she was in a room with a charlatan puffed up by donor classes who use the mayor as a puppet for their agenda.
Saying “leadership and compassion” does not make it so when all of us who live in the Richmond district know what happened over the last 4 years. Someone went silent and did nothing because their handlers had a strategy to puff up their latest stooge.
The truth is not a smear.
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Welcome to the world of alternative facts and reality jonsdarc. And while you are free to believe and delude any way you wish, it is telling and also a little sad how you speak authoritatively about things you have no firsthand knowledge of, and/or knowingly distort in service of our failed D1 incumbent’s last-ditch effort to hold her seat.
In fact, Connie walked out tail between legs from the SFPD community meeting, practically booed out of the room when her show up for the photo op posturing was politely dressed down by Mayor Breed. Who brought concrete solutions and leadership, as opposed to blame everyone else complaints as is Connie’s go-to. And yes, Connie did call for diverting funding away from the police – look it up. And no, I have not seen Connie at any of the other SFPD community meetings I have regularly attended (Marjan is consistently there). Nor can I recall seeing any mention of public safety/law enforcement/addressing encampments and public drug use/dealing, or rampant shoplifting and property crime mentioned in any of Connie’s newsletters.
So no, i don’t think the truth you think you are mentioning merits a response, other than to point out that you are clearly hating on Mayor Breed and the fact she like so many of us is frustrated by recidivist bad behavior eroding our safety and quality life. And no, you cannot compare the past-4 year record of our current flailing D1 BOS representative and Finance Chair, with that of a private citizen who will likely succeed her come November’s elections.
But by all means, keep trying, and those of us committed to accountability and change in our city government will meet you there, with the facts.
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Alternative facts? You are repeating an anecdotal occurrence at one SFPD community meeting. Partisans show up at such meetings. Partisans have confirmation bias.
You haven’t refuted anything of what I said btw. You know the facts that you claim to care about.
If you want accountability and change in government than it seems silly to prefer a political consultant who was a London Breed insider. And I would worry about the integrity of someone who has flout election laws twice — recently mingling money from different funds for which the Harvey Milk Club filed a complaint, and also when an ex-campaign office member left and started funding independent dishonest campaign ads for which Marjan claimed to be ignorant. Then she accuse the Harvey Milk Club complaint of stirring up dirt?
Accountability? Really? Actions speak louder than words.
If you want to puff up a political animal fine, but you are getting a cut-out who like her mentor mayor Breed seems to prefer talking tough into microphones and tv cameras and then not following through or … flailing all over the place hoping her handlers can message better – rather than actually having substance and real policy decisions.
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thanks (?) jons. voters have spoken loudly in the primaries and want moderate common sense policies that will restore safety and quality of life to SF. We have had enough of performative “progressive” politics that have failed these basic governmental functions. Expect more of this in November; and we will expect to see more of the spin and deflection that you and Connie’s apologist brigade will be adding to the mix. Should be an interesting election season — and see you at the polls.
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