| Format | Online |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Website | sfstandard |
The San Francisco Standard is an online news organization based in San Francisco, California, launched in 2021 and funded in part by the billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital. [1]
The San Francisco Standard was originally Here/Say Media, a project of Civic Action Labs, a 501(c)4 nonprofit. Some journalism ethicists were concerned about the organization's structure (nearly all nonprofit journalism organizations are 501(c)3 nonprofits) and refusal to disclose its donors. [2] [3] In March 2021, Here/Say disclosed on its website that it was funded by Crankstart, a foundation funded by Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman. [3] In August 2021, Here/Say wrote that it had incorporated into an independent, for-profit entity, and that Moritz and Heyman had invested $10 million. [4]
In November 2021, Here/Say Media announced that the organization had changed its name to The San Francisco Standard. [5]
In December 2021, the Standard partnered with ABC 7 to cover the 2022 California's 17th State Assembly district special election.
The San Francisco Standard's voter poll was featured in news coverage on the recall election of progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. [6] [7] In May 2022, the Standard published a story showing that Boudin's office secured three convictions for drug dealing in 2021, whereas Boudin's predecessor George Gascón oversaw over 90 convictions in 2018. Instead, Boudin's office emphasized convictions for a different crime which would not penalize foreign nationals with deportation or threats to naturalization. [8] The story generated secondary coverage in the National Review, [9] Washington Monthly, [10] and Courthouse News Service. [11]
In October 2022, editor-in-chief Jonathan Weber resigned, citing differences with chief executive Griffin Gaffney. [1]
Kathy Boudin was an American radical leftist who served 23 years in prison for felony murder based on her role in the 1981 Brink's robbery. Boudin was a founding member of the militant Weather Underground organization, which engaged in bombings of government buildings to express opposition to U.S. foreign policy and racism. The 1981 robbery resulted in the killing of two Nyack, New York, police officers and one security guard, and serious injury to another security guard; Boudin was arrested attempting to flee after the getaway vehicle she occupied was stopped by police. She was released on parole in 2003. After earning a doctorate, Boudin became an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
David Gilbert is an American radical leftist who participated in the deadly 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored vehicle. Gilbert was a founder of the Columbia University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society and became a member of the Weather Underground. Gilbert, who served as the getaway driver in the robbery, was convicted under New York's felony murder law in the killing by co-defendants of two Nyack, New York police officers and a Brink's security guard.
Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz is a Welsh-born American billionaire venture capitalist, philanthropist, author, and former journalist. Moritz works for Sequoia Capital, wrote the first history of Apple Inc., The Little Kingdom, and authored Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler. Previously, Moritz was a staff writer at Time magazine and a member of the board of directors of Google. He studied at the University of Oxford and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and went on to found Technologic Partners before becoming a venture capitalist in the 1980s. Moritz was named as the No. 1 venture capitalist on the Forbes Midas List in 2006 and 2007.
The 1981 Brink's robbery was an armed robbery and three related murders committed on October 20, 1981, by several Black Liberation Army members and four former members of the Weather Underground, who were at the time associated with the May 19th Communist Organization. The plan called for the BLA members – including Kuwasi Balagoon, Sekou Odinga, Mtayari Sundiata, Samuel Brown and Mutulu Shakur – to carry out the robbery, with the M19CO members – David Gilbert, Judith Alice Clark, Kathy Boudin, and Marilyn Buck – to serve as getaway drivers in switchcars.
Chesa Boudin is an American lawyer who served as the 29th District Attorney of San Francisco from January 8, 2020, to July 8, 2022. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The San Francisco Ethics Commission is a regulatory body established to uphold ethical standards in city government. Its mandate encompasses several critical functions aimed at promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity among public officials and employees.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office is the legal agency charged with prosecuting crimes in the City and County of San Francisco, California, under California state law. The current district attorney is Brooke Jenkins. Occupants of this office have gone on to higher elected offices, including: governor of California, United States senator, and vice president of the United States.
LaDoris Hazzard Cordell is an American retired judge of the Superior Court of California, and a retired Independent Police Auditor for the city of San Jose, California.
Garry Tan is an American venture capitalist and executive who is the CEO of Y Combinator and a founder of Initialized Capital. He previously co-founded Posterous and Posthaven. He was an early employee at Palantir Technologies, and previously a partner at Y Combinator. Tan is also known for his engagement in San Francisco politics, both as a commenter on social media and as a political donor.
Diana Becton, also known as Diana Becton Smith, is a former trial judge and is currently both the first woman and first African American to be elected district attorney in the history of Contra Costa County in California.
The 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5, 2019, to elect the next District Attorney of San Francisco. The election, which was held alongside the 2019 mayoral election in which incumbent mayor London Breed won her first full term, was won by public defender Chesa Boudin.
Suzanne Theresa Loftus is an American attorney who served as interim San Francisco district attorney, nominated by Mayor London Breed after the resignation of George Gascón. Loftus ran in the 2019 San Francisco District Attorney election, losing narrowly to criminal justice reform advocate Chesa Boudin.
The 2022 California 17th State Assembly district special election was a special election to fill the vacant 17th Assembly District. The special election was called after incumbent Assemblymember David Chiu resigned the seat to become City Attorney of San Francisco. Matt Haney, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, won the election.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney recall election was a successful special recall election to remove San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office. It was held on June 7, 2022, concurrent with the 2022 statewide primary elections.
The 2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections were held on February 15, 2022. In a landslide election, over two-thirds of voters chose to remove three San Francisco Board of Education Commissioners—Alison Collins, Board President Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga—from office. All three commissioners were replaced by appointees chosen by Mayor London Breed. The other four members of the school board were not eligible for recall at this time.
Lara Bazelon is an American academic and journalist. She is a law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law where she holds the Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy and directs the Criminal & Juvenile and Racial Justice Clinics. She is the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles. Her clinical work as a law professor focuses on the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.
Brooke Jenkins is an American lawyer serving as the 30th District Attorney of San Francisco. On July 8, 2022, Jenkins was appointed interim district attorney by Mayor London Breed following the successful recall of Chesa Boudin, for which she actively campaigned. She was elected in her own right to fill the unexpired term the following November. She would then be elected to a full term in November 2024.
The 2022 San Francisco District Attorney special election was held on November 8, 2022, following the successful recall of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. It was held concurrent with the 2022 statewide general elections.
Joel P. Engardio is an American politician, writer, and public-safety advocate. He is the supervisor for District 4 of San Francisco, California, serving since 2023 after unseating incumbent Gordon Mar in the 2022 San Francisco Board of Supervisors election.
The 2024 San Francisco District Attorney election was held on November 5, 2024, concurrent with the election for San Francisco mayor and the 2024 statewide general elections.
