Dear John,

Two years ago, I became the only Democrat to have ever faced Nancy Pelosi in a general election.

After we won the primary, and forced half a dozen policy concessions that ultimately passed the House of Representatives over Pelosi’s initial objections, the San Francisco Chronicle published a front page story, with a headline above the fold: “Pelosi Ignoring Calls for a Debate.”

The next week, I was falsely accused of sexual misconduct by a network of former staffers who we had replaced on our team, working with an accuser in Washington with a long history of targeting anti-war politicians and activists with fabricated accusations of harassment and assault.

Can you stand with us today as we continue to confront racist disinformation orchestrated to insulate a corrupt party establishment?

I believed then, as I am reminded today, that the truth shall set us free.

This weekend, the Marina Times published an exposé revealing the conflicts of interest among the sources on whom the writers who smeared me relied, as well as conflicts of interest among some of those writers, themselves.

Investigative journalist Susan Dyer Reynolds has a long history of exposing corruption in San Francisco, from previous smear campaigns targeting other candidates of color like Julian Davis, to the corruption scandal engulfing our city’s Public Utilities Commission. As I explained to her, “The only thing more alarming to me than being the target of racist accusations was watching the fragility of ‘progressives’ and ‘socialists’ in San Francisco lead them to double down and shoot the messenger even after the lies were exposed.”

Can you join us again today to expand our efforts challenging corruption from Washington to San Francisco?

Fearing overdue accountability for their self-serving lies, some of the voices who orchestrated the disinformation to insulate Pelosi in 2020 have suggested that the Marina Times is biased, conveniently overlooking the 2021 exposé published by whistleblower Gloria Berry in the SF Bayview, a national Black newspaper based here in SF.

In a one-party city, it’s not surprising that the entire press establishment would ignore a story about the corruption of the dominant party, its use of racism & Islamophobia as an election strategy, and the vindication of the only challenger to ever pose a threat to the dynastic oligarch who continues to occupy the seat.

For two newspapers with essentially diametrically opposed editorial perspectives to corroborate the same story reveals the depth of the corruption infecting the rest of the local press.

That's part of why we're dragging the San Francisco Chronicle into federal court to defend election integrity from corporate publications that abandon journalism in favor of character assassination. Lawsuits, however, require resources that Pelosi has in much greater abundance than I do.

Are you able to consider a campaign contribution to help level the playing field? I discovered that it’s not just a wealthy oligarch who we confront, but also her sycophants in the party establishment and the press.

Given the headwinds we have faced and overcome, I feel overwhelming gratitude to the thousands of supporters who are fueling our campaign today.

We could not have gotten this far without you!

Many thanks for standing with me—and with the future, against the continuing corruption of the past!

Shahid

PS — Want to do more to help defend election integrity from disinformation? Check out our grassroots media activism toolkit, and reply if you'd like to join a volunteer team coordinating outreach to journalists, editors, and podcasters.

PPS — Want to learn more about our lawsuit agains the Chronicle? Read our complaint, and if you're available on March 17, join us via zoom for a crucial court hearing.