How San Francisco’s toxic political culture enables abusers

Last week, the San Francisco Standard broke a story that sent shockwaves through the city’s political sphere: Three women brought forth heart-wrenching accounts of alleged sexual and physical abuse at the hands of Jon Jacobo, a rising star in San Francisco politics.

Within hours, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott issued a statement on Twitter stating his department was “diligently working on these open investigations;” Supervisor Hillary Ronen called for a hearing on how the city handles sexual harassment and assault cases; and Anna Yee, CEO of TODCO, an affordable housing nonprofit that is one of the city’s most influential political players and Jacobo’s employer, issued a statement announcing his resignation along with the claim that they were “not aware of the issues raised today.”  

While the Standard story was the first time these women’s stories were published widely, they were no secret.

Many within the San Francisco political sphere were aware of rumors about multiple women Jacobo had allegedly abused or assaulted. The information was published by the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee in a widely circulated statement in 2021 and shared publicly on Twitter as recently as last year.

I was president of the committee in August 2021 when local activist Sasha Perigo shared a meticulously detailed account accusing Jacobo of rape. Within days, the committee became the first organization in the political space to issue a statement in support of Perigo and a call to action to the local political community to speak up against assault and abuse.

In the days and weeks following that initial statement, multiple women reached out to the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee regarding their experiences with Jacobo and the abuse and harassment they faced within their workplaces and at the hands of others in political spaces. In the months and years to follow, I stayed in touch with these women as they navigated how to bring accountability and prevent anyone else from getting hurt.

It took years before we saw any progress.

Despite Perigo’s account, which was widely reported, and direct accounts others shared with those closest to Jacobo, including his colleagues at TODCO and an email that I sent to CEO Yee and President John Elberling in 2023 in response to a call-to-action by Perigo informing them that multiple women had alleged to have been abused and/or assaulted by Jacobo — he continued to work at TODCO and was being groomed to rise within the organization.

Additionally, he retained influential roles within the Mission community at Calle 24 and the Mission Street Vendors Association. He never acknowledged what he was accused of, the harm or the pain his accusers say they endured. Because the people around him did not hold him accountable for the accusations, he faced no meaningful consequences.

This case begs the question: How does something like this happen? How can claims of rape, harassment and abuse of multiple women be blatantly ignored in a city that prides itself as the progressive beacon of the United States?

The reality is that San Francisco’s politics — progressive and moderate alike — are exceptionally toxic. The way our political system functions, and the cronyism embedded within it, allows abusive people to fail up without consequence.

San Francisco politics is often described as a knife fight in a telephone booth; it’s rough, tough and ugly. There is something unique about the edge that San Francisco can sharpen in the people who survive this fight; the vice president, House speaker emerita and the governor of California all came up in San Francisco politics.

But what comes of those caught up in the collateral damage? 

Even though the top candidates in every San Francisco race are Democrats running against each other, each race is also framed to be a fight to save the soul of the city. Candidates villainize their opponents, sometimes in misogynistic, racist and dehumanizing ways. These battles to the death resulted in brutal election cycles. They also get press attention, which further adds to the toxicity. 

I’m convinced that many lose a bit of their soul due to the relentless attacks. That doesn’t just impact the candidates directly; it impacts the campaign staff, their volunteers and their advocates on social media, too. 

In this type of environment — maximum villainization — there is little collaboration. Instead, people protect their own. And if you are seen as disloyal in any way, you’re shaken down and voted off the island.

In politics, you need to move as a group to win elections, especially in San Francisco, where races are often won by a handful of votes. This requires relying on people you can trust in a very toxic and untrusting environment.

Allies are aware of each other’s deepest political secrets and weaknesses. As a result, they become indispensable, valued beyond measure and reward each other for their loyalty.

This is precisely why there is a lack of accountability and consequences for people within this system who abuse others. Bad behavior is either overlooked or ignored until it becomes a liability. 

The reality is that every few years, an abuser or predator is outed within San Francisco politics. Some examples include: Julian Davis who was accused of making unwanted sexual advances in 2012; Enrique Pearce, who got a slap on the wrist after being convicted of possessing child porn, including infants as young as six months being abused, and Nate Ballard, who was convicted in 2021 of abusing his wife and 4-year-old daughter.

Somehow, seemingly no one influential or powerful knew how bad their behavior was before the stories broke — even allies and friends.

Abuse occurs on a spectrum. On the most harmful end, there may be the predator who has serial accusations of sexual assault. And on the other end, there are those who serially abuse people verbally, emotionally and mentally to manipulate them. These cases are often ignored. And if the abusers have influential and powerful friends, they are protected. 

Many of us have received abusive phone calls, been yelled at, threatened and coerced into silence or doing things we did not want to do. Sometimes, people’s consultants can intervene and keep the noise of someone’s bad behavior out of the press, out of the realm of real accountability.

Abuse prevails because people surrounding abusers remain silent and passively let it continue. Because leaders fail to act. Sometimes, those leaders themselves are the ones who are abusive. 

This moment is not just a reckoning for one faction, one tribe or one group of allies in San Francisco, this is a reckoning for everyone. 

Stop pointing fingers and take a long hard look in the mirror.

How is your own behavior fueling this culture? 

Who are you protecting that you know to be abusive? 

Why are you silent? 

Doing the tough work of holding those close to us accountable and losing friends is not something many, including those in power, are willing to do. They are not willing to cut ties, turn people away from events, leave jobs, fire people, break from donors or even have difficult conversations. 

Instead, the toughest work is done by those who are forced to endure and survive the abuse.

That’s unacceptable. It’s time for San Francisco’s political community to meaningfully demonstrate what we mean by “San Francisco values”: stop enabling bad behavior and hold your friends and allies accountable. 

Nadia Rahman is an activist and organizer in San Francisco who has worked on multiple local campaigns.