From cameras and GPS to spending data and phones, Americans are already deeply surveilled. With political leaders aligned with startups promising to “eliminate all crime,” unrestricted mass surveillance has become a multi-billion dollar Silicon Valley-backed industry.

The influential progressive third party announced Thursday that it was putting out a recruitment call for candidates specifically opposed to data centers. www.wired.com/story/oppose...

A new proposal to rewrite San Francisco’s charter is raising alarms among democracy advocates. Critics say the SPUR-backed “Charter for Change” masks an agenda that strips away long-standing checks on executive power under the guise of efficiency.

Eugene joins the growing list of cities that are parting ways with ICE-collaborating Flock Safety at the same time that San Francisco is doubling down.

Amid rising authoritarianism, a grassroots movement is defending San Francisco while elites claim credit. As billionaires applauded Trump’s threat to deploy the military, everyday residents were already on the front lines resisting an escalating crisis.

Wait so there are Peter Thiel-backed landlocked seasteading libertarian cities that the current Honduras govt wants to get rid of that Roger Stone has been advocating for that JOH also supports? And Stone has also been advocating for JOH 's pardon? www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/m...

SF Mayor Daniel Lurie’s fast-unraveling appointment of political newcomer Isabella “Beya” Alcaraz to the Board of Supervisors exposed major cracks in his promise of competence. Reports of tax improprieties and a poorly run pet store quickly engulfed his pick.

GrowSF is calling for a 10% signature threshold on the justification it will keep "half baked" initatives off the ballot. All that would do is ensure only well-heeled interests can run initatives, half baked or not. There are process reforms that will do more good than changing the threshold. 🧵

At a packed Richmond District event, congressional hopeful Saikat Chakrabarti drew a crowd with his AOC credentials and progressive pitch. But as San Francisco tilts right, questions are mounting about whether the Stripe co-founder matches the movement he invokes.

Patrick Wolff is running for California Insurance Commissioner as a political outsider. But his campaign is supported by some of the most influential right-leaning donors in California and beyond.🧵

Tech investor David Sacks, now Trump’s crypto/AI czar, lives in a Pacific Heights mansion built on a former public school site—an irony given his role in funding efforts to weaken San Francisco’s public schools.🪡

This is what we end up with when we elect an idiot billionaire who’s never had a real job as mayor.

Check it out! Our Doom Loop Report is available for free download on our website. www.phoenixprojectnow.com/doomloop-rep...

“Why would a prominent venture capitalist [Peter Thiel ally Marc Andreessen] bristle at a pope calling for basic ethics? Because Pope Leo XIV may be the one authority on earth that Big Tech cannot control.” 1/

When Salesforce’s Marc Benioff called for the National Guard in San Francisco, many were shocked. But it was no aberration. The city’s billionaire class has completed its evolution—from technocrats to theocrats of a new, corporate American order. 🪡

Police cameras track billions of license plates per month. Communities are pushing back. www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...

1/ A 450-foot statue of Prometheus has been proposed for Alcatraz by crypto executive Ross Calvin, with funding support sought from President Trump. Critics say the monument, planned on sacred Lisjan Ohlone land, reflects tech-fueled nationalism and echoes authoritarian monument-building.

The Phoenix Project also runs a blog that has a lot of great pieces. Here’s their piece on MAGA Marc (Benioff)

Days before Salesforce’s flagship Dreamforce conference, CEO Marc Benioff ignited controversy by telling the New York Times he supports Donald Trump and wants the National Guard deployed to downtown San Francisco. The remarks drew swift political and public backlash.

Seconding Dean. @phoenixprojnow.bsky.social does such essential work for San Francisco and the Bay Area (and frankly what happens here often exports elsewhere, like say, oh, federally, because billionaires/technofascism)

If you want to keep up with what’s happening in the Bay Area and especially the Astroturf Network that now controls City Hall and the local Democratic Party, be sure to follow @phoenixprojnow.bsky.social

Billionaire politicking www.sfchronicle.com/us-world/art...

During San Francisco’s “doom loop” years (2022–2024), media and conservative voices painted the city as a crime-ridden wasteland. But for many residents—especially older progressives living their daily lives—that narrative didn’t match reality.

Mayor Daniel Lurie’s administration is facing mounting backlash over a $4M/year contract awarded to OpenGov, Inc. to overhaul San Francisco’s permitting system — a deal City Hall insiders are calling politically fraught. 🧵 sfstandard.com/2025/10/15/s...

Under billionaire rule, the city’s so-called abundance means more for the rich—and less for everyone else. www.currentaffairs.org/news/democra...

How it started…

Hated by most everyone, the abundance bros are now trying to buy Suisun City, CA. According to the CEO of California Forever, the city is on its "way to becoming California’s best example of the ‘abundance agenda."

The city: "Now this, with housing!" "Family Zoning" zones families out of their homes. It's a scam lead by tech billionaires to kill rent control

The collapse of the San Francisco Parks Alliance raises serious questions about the risks of public-private partnerships. Once a major source of funding for city beautification projects, the nonprofit shut down in June after $4M intended for community initiatives was misused.

San Francisco's "pragmatic" politics aren't moderate. They're rehearsing authoritarian techniques that could scale nationally.

Troublesome, to say the least

What could possibly go wrong

Mayor Daniel Lurie is restructuring how San Francisco’s government works—outsourcing core functions to private tech firms backed by politically active billionaires. His latest move: giving OpenGov, Inc. control over the city’s permitting system. 🧵

San Francisco District 4 voters have recalled Supervisor Joel Engardio, one of the city's most conservative supervisors, in what's being seen as the first major referendum on the recent conservative takeover of city government.

Surveillance tech enthusiast Chris Larsen of Ripple Labs (XRP) outspent others to appease Trump #politicalcorruption

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie is turning Golden Gate Park into a private concert venue, with recent Dead & Co. tickets costing $245-$635, pricing out working families from their own public space.

It appears GrowSF is lying about their position on Proposition K post Engardio recall (who used to help run their operation). This is blatantly false and easily refuted. @dustingardiner.bsky.social growsf.org/voter-guide/

speaking of which check out this report from the @phoenixprojnow.bsky.social that name checks this training which is still going on today

A new analysis reveals how San Francisco's ConnectedSF Institute markets itself as "non-partisan civic education" while functioning as a political advocacy pipeline backed by conservative donors.

The San Francisco Parent Coalition, led by Meredith Dodson (connected to the wealthy Parnassus Investments family), presents itself as a "grassroots" organization but is funded by billionaires including Michael Moritz and Mimi Haas.

Over the past two years, Piedmont investor Philip Dreyfuss has emerged as a major political donor, contributing over $1 million to support recall efforts targeting Mayor Sheng Thao and District Attorney Pamela Price.

Palantir backer Andreesen Horowitz and OpenAI are pumping billions into a new Super-PAC focused on preventing AI regulation and ensuring we keep adopting their shitty technologies. As if our politicians don't already get enough money from big tech and the AI industry! archive.ph/mXHGK

This is very bad actually.

Crypto billionaire Chris Larsen, who calls money in politics "gross," has donated nearly $10 million to create a San Francisco police surveillance center that bypasses normal oversight processes.

San Francisco District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio is facing a recall election on September 16th after angering constituents by sponsoring Proposition K to close part of the Great Highway without consulting them first.

San Francisco's new Mayor Daniel Lurie is governing like a CEO rather than a public servant, slashing $171 million in nonprofit funding while cozying up to billionaire business leaders on his Downtown Development Corp. board.

SF Mayor Daniel Lurie’s $350K spent on public image consultants; McKinsey ties. @phoenixprojnow.bsky.social

The alliance between “Tech Bros” & “Theo Bros” (via NatCon, New Founding, “the Gundo,” etc) needs *much* more attention and sunshine than it has received so far. Before the midterm election would be good. Thread.

San Francisco elected Daniel Lurie mayor in a political vacuum, before it was clear Trump would return to power.

BREAKING: Has Mayor Daniel Lurie’s eagerness to partner with powerful corporate players landed him in legal trouble? Another Planet Entertainment (APE) was one of the many contributors to Mayor Lurie’s lavish inauguration. (1/5)