The Phoenix Project

Tracking a network of Bay Area political pressure groups, secretly funded by a handful of conservative tech and real estate robber barons.

[Harlo Pippenger 🥕🛠🎀 @PippengerHarlo]

The Lurie/GrowSF agenda is primarily about austerity, with other issues as window dressing. Hollowing out public investment and unleashing privatization is the fundamental goal.

[Y Disassembler @loomdoop]

Being henchfolk to billionaires has become the prevailing mode in Bay Area politics.

Huge industry. All the political spending and influence operations, the people with money are generally idle and serving their egos is an easier route to their money than a business pitch.

[Darwin BondGraham @DarwinBondGraha]

Trump plans to fund Oakland coal terminal:

The president will use the Defense Production Act to provide $75 million for a controversial West Oakland coal export hub.

https://t.co/zkrU7EjTa6

[Y Disassembler @loomdoop]

In six years, SF went from being historically one of the most left-ish cities in the US, to being its most far-right. Surpassing places like Oklahoma City and Virginia Beach, and far beyond big cities in red states like Miami and Houston.

Tech-AI bubble money.

[Louise Whitlock @lcwhitlock14]

I'm depressed about the politics here in San Francisco. Big money wins everytime. Lurie's part of that crowd. He and his big money buddies buy elections everytime. We everyday SFers don't have a chance and our voices are NEVER heard. Wiener's awful.

[The Phoenix Project @PhoenixProjNow]

Read more at the Phoenix Review - https://t.co/xhuI19RshG

[The Phoenix Project @PhoenixProjNow]

Bay Area Primary Results & What Big Money Bought 🧵

[The Phoenix Project @PhoenixProjNow]

Money ruled this election. Lurie, heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, has built a compliant Board of Supervisors and allied offices. If his policies fail, he has no one to blame but himself.

[Joe Rivano Barros @jrivanob]

It is obviously worthwhile to the people who live & pay rent in San Francisco to know the upside, locally, of an IPO that will flood the housing market with newly-minted multi-millionaires.

Rent is up 22% YOY to $4k/mo, avg. home is $1.4M—people here worry about these things.

[Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer]

Tonight is shaping up to be a tough night for Silicon Valley and the tech sector.

Matt Mahan, the tech-backed California governor candidate, has conceded and had a poor showing given all the spending for him.

Self-funder Saikat Chakrabarti is not looking strong in a San Francisco congressional race.

Eric Jones, another self-funder from the tech community, is currently trailing outside the top two in a different Bay Area race (though it's close.)

And Ethan Agarwal, a tech entrpreneur who some thought would mount a serious challenge to Ro Khanna, is a total non-factor in the South Bay.

[Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer]

No more Matt Mahan, but we'll always have the escrow account.

https://t.co/zrZApXOnIp

[Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer]

will be interesting to see if Ethan Agarwal, who challenged Ro Khanna over his support of the wealth tax, makes the top two or if he fades away and doesn't even make it to November

https://t.co/Rr3ZguHXci

[Dimitry Yakoushkin @decadimitry]

Six year history of San Francisco politics, meme format.

[Y Disassembler @loomdoop]

in 2024, billionaires Chris Larsen and Bill Oberndorf, both Republican megadonors, spent millions to run a slate of 20+ candidates to take over the local Dem party committee, to game its endorsements.

There is no longer a Dem party in SF. It was acquired by Republicans.

[Noah Sloss @noahsloss]

It’s a good strategy to vote the opposite of what Gross AF (@growsf) and SF Privileged Parents (@SFParents) recommend.