The coordinator for Plaza 16, the nominally community-based group in the Mission fighting to stop Maximus Partner's huge condo development at Mission and 16th Streets. As I've said in recent months, Plaza 16 is too controlled by nonprofits and folks who don't live in the Mission, and suffers from a huge lack of democracy and transparency.
Imagine my surprise learning Plaza 16's chief coordinator, Andy Blue, who is no supporter of democracy within his organization, is demanding it from the San Francisco Bike Coalition. The biking advocacy folks are contemplating changes to their board and policies, upsetting Blue as he outlined in a Facebook note.
How ironic and hypocritical of Blue to complain about another group that does have printed rules on the web for all to read, allows members to vote on leadership and other matters, democratic principles that are not part of Plaza 16.
Marc Salomon, who lives a stone's throw from the 16th Street BART Plaza where Maximus Partners is ready to build apartments, called Blue on his nonsense:
"Andy Blue, I celebrate your conversion to grassroots democracy and await the Plaza 16 coalition's self-conversion from a closed group of nonprofit operatives who meet at their convenience into a a democratic, open participatory Mission resident collective!"
Bravo, Marco, for calling Blue and his coalition on their hypocrisy. If only Plaza 16 had meetings open to all in the Mission community and folks beyond the nonprofit world were allowed to set the agenda, we would be able to discuss holding all activists accountable including Blue and his cohorts.
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