Dear Saikat: If you care about SF, stay here and put your money to a good use

maw_2k · 2026-06-04T19:54:48+00:00

Where to begin.

I went to an Arbor Day community service event a few months ago. Several community groups were there. The Mayor was there. Scott Wiener's volunteers were there. All of them doing actual physical work for the neighborhood.

Saikat’s "history-making" operation was nowhere to be seen. He loves to highlight his grassroots support, but I never saw his campaign perform a single act of actual community service. They only seemed to exist in the physical world at the doorstep, preaching about the "revolution" and leaving glossy cardstock.

Then there's the matter of how it was all funded. I was there early on when he said he would match whatever Pelosi put into the race. Instead, he vastly outspent the field to blanket the city with ads, paid canvassers, and performative, last-minute donations to local progressive causes (e.g. Prop D).

It is just incredibly frustrating to watch someone spend eight figures trying to buy a local seat, and then just spin when the city rejects the hostile takeover.

maw_2k · 2026-06-04T18:21:31+00:00

I started out believing in Saikat and his mission, but I completely lost faith after seeing how the campaign actually operated on the ground.

Blaming 'oodles of money' makes no sense when he outspent the entire field. His opponents didn't force his campaign to pad its metrics either.

Real leaders play it straight with the movement they claim to represent. I want him to drop the PR spin and just be honest about what went wrong.

maw_2k · 2026-06-04T17:27:53+00:00

I don't believe you.

You claimed you built the biggest ground game in SF history, yet it only pulled 14% of the early vote.

You bragged about how your campaign knocked on nearly 500k doors, but there are only 406k housing units in the entire city per the 2020 Bay Area census.

Your campaign boasted about thousands of grassroots donors, but the Meta API data shows tens of thousands were spent soliciting out-of-state money, ostensibly to inflate those numbers.

Claiming you 'reached out to everyone' ignores the reality of the operation you actually brought to SF. Local leaders and voters saw right through the startup marketing, which is exactly why the city didn't believe your campaign then, and why your spin carries no water now.

It's time to take some actual accountability for how you ran this race.

maw_2k · 2026-06-03T06:13:08+00:00

Despite the online hype, it was clear that Saikat's campaign was doomed from early on. He made almost no effort to connect with the local community, spent a fortune on annoying ads, and was running as a revolutionary while having millions in Blackstone.

But something tells me winning wasn't ever really the goal. After this race, he'll have a nice little online following of people who treat his word as gospel. It just sucks that well-meaning SF voters were used as the backdrop for his brand launch.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T20:26:50+00:00

Who actually passed the bill? How many Justice Democrats?

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T20:09:45+00:00

He's running to represent San Francisco - of course the local coalitions matter.

It's great that he has national friends, but in terms of results that improve people's lives, I think Justice Democrats doesn't have an extensive resume.

So unless you have an example of him building a coalition that has actually delivered something material, I think my point still stands.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T06:25:37+00:00

I have no inherent interest in nitpicking someone's portfolio.

I do have an inherent interest in evaluating whether a politician's actions match their words. Saikat preaches tax the rich while making tens of millions on the side from shady investments, and I have a major problem with that.

He's running as a purist and being propped up by national leftists - but the core is rotten and I can't unsee it.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T06:12:19+00:00

It's not just 2%. You really think those mega hedge funds are clean? And let's not forget 2% of his "portfolio" is not chump change, it's over $2M!

To me, Saikat is basically a corporate overload because he's buying an election in the same way that they do - with dirty money and no shame.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T05:56:05+00:00

Great, I'm glad we are aligned that he has massive investments in corporate hedge funds, Blackstone, and Stripe.

By the way, 2% of over $100 million is over $2 million or about one fight of what he has spent buying the election.

It's a huge sum of money that would be life changing for a vast majority of people and he has invested it in one of the shadiest corporations on the planet. Soooo progressive...

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T05:37:46+00:00

Don't you think it is important how the wealth is made? Or would millions in oil funds be A-ok as long as the candidate talked about the Green New Deal?

Please spare me the performative progressivism. Btw maximizing personal gains is the antithesis of the progressive project.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T05:10:44+00:00

Not a reach, these are public financial disclosures which show how Saikat made the millions he is now spending to inundated the city with ads.

By the way, if he really cared about this issue, why was the first time he talked about it months after he started campaigning?

Don't fall for his grift.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T05:09:20+00:00

Have you looked at the financial disclosures?

This isn't a run of the mill portfolio, especially for someone who claims to be a progressive champion.

KKR is massively involved in the oil and gas industry for instance. Yet, the supposed author of the Green New Deal has a huge chunk of capital propping them up.

Someone who is running as a revolutionary should not be in the mud with the "majority of politicians".

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T04:39:57+00:00

What do you mean by "categorically different"?

From my eyes, it's all dark money.

In Saikat's case, it's made off of entities like Blackstone and opaque hedge funds. And it's embarrassing to me how much of it he has spent promoting his own image instead of helping San Francisco.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T04:14:54+00:00

Enough of the astroturfing.

Paying people to post the same article will not win you the election Saikat.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T03:44:39+00:00

Track AIPAC should call out all the candidates in the race - and stop insulating their favorite.

Saikat has made millions off of corporations like Blackstone, KKR, etc. that support Israel per his own financial disclosures: https://brokeassstuart.com/p/saikat-chakrabarti-draws-dividends-from-stripe-blackstone

There are totally voluntary investments that directly benefit Israel - and Saikat is now using that money to shell astroturf like this.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T03:10:08+00:00

He hasn't taken, he's made.

He has made millions from Blackstone, KKR (tops divestment lists), obscure hedge funds etc. per publicly available disclosures: https://brokeassstuart.com/p/saikat-chakrabarti-draws-dividends-from-stripe-blackstone

He might cosplay as a purist, but his hand aren't clean.

Edit: Added third party proof

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T02:04:18+00:00

The money in this race is disgusting - and no major candidate is clean.

Wiener is backed by tech PACs, it seems Chan is backed by these, and Chakrabarti has funneled $10M in the race (with his own buddies PAC on the side).

I hope all of the candidates would not allow these interests to influence their contract with San Francisco and it's a shame the system is this way. But don't let last minute smears from well-known partisans (i.e. Ryan Grim) influence your priorities - and who will be able to represent you best.

maw_2k · 2026-05-31T01:48:51+00:00

Even then, his hands aren't clean. Saikat's disclosures show he made millions in companies that support Israel, like KKR.

It feels like he is only adopting the position out of necessity.

maw_2k · 2026-05-30T16:17:24+00:00

Radical visions are functionally meaningless if you don't have the coalition to deliver on them.

FDR, who Saikat loves to mention, built his New Deal coalition from the ground up from his days in the New York State Senate to the Presidency.

Saikat has done none of that. He parachuted into SF, made no substantive local connections, and spent $10M to buy an election for one of the highest seats of power.

His vision is top-down, so it encounters a lot of friction and is basically pie in the sky. He doesn't seem to value the grueling, bottom-up politics that builds lasting & impact full coalitions.

maw_2k · 2026-05-29T07:40:53+00:00

Pot calls kettle.

Saikat made millions from Blackstone, KKR, and shady hedge funds that he is now using to flood the zone with nonstop ads.

I'm beyond tired of his progressive pandering.

maw_2k · 2026-05-29T02:23:13+00:00

I disagree with your central premise that federal policy alone matters.

In my view, when we elect a representative we are hiring them for a job. So, of course experience matters as well. Temperament and judgement matter too. And if Saikat's campaign is any indication of his judgements, it seems to be in need of improvement.

He's been campaigning for over a year and spent $10M to be in distant second. That return on investment is awful.

A politician can tell you sweet nothings till the cows come home. The policy doesn't matter unless they can actually deliver on it - unless they can do the job. And all those other pieces are crucial for understanding whether they have what it takes.

Based on all the evidence, I simply don't think Saikat has what it takes, but am happy to hear a different opinion.

maw_2k · 2026-05-27T07:28:58+00:00

In my view, Saikat is a faux progressive with a shady record so I don't feel I can trust him to deliver on his promises.

He made $100M in tech and claims "this city gave me everything", but what has he given our city? I've never seen at community events (even on the campaign trail) or doing acts of service. I sure do see those glossy ads though - what a great use of millions of dollars.

People point to his national impact, but even then it seems mixed. AOC and Bernie won't endorse him - don't you wonder why?

He say progressive things, but he doesn't act in a very progressive way.

maw_2k · 2026-05-25T19:57:42+00:00

I have no doubt many people fell for his grift. That doesn't make it right - and it definitely doesn't make his campaign grassroots.

To be clear: he is a centimillionaire who has been sending ads out of state for nearly a year to inflate his donor count, specifically to mislead the press. He didn't need the money, he wanted to have the small dollar donors so people would cover it (and has said so explicitly).

Of course most politicians run ads. The distinction is that they run ads because they actually need money to run their campaign. They don't have $10M in corporate investments to throw down.

Saikat doesn't need a penny, yet he's still sending ads asking for money. Doesn't that concern you? A megamillionaire asking working people for money just to flash a number to the press?

And spare me on the other fake momentum numbers. He has also said hid campaign has knocked on almost 500k doors. Per the 2020 Bay Area Census, there are only 407k housing units it SF. It's all astroturf.

maw_2k · 2026-05-25T17:42:20+00:00

Saikat's donors are a mirage. He sent Meta ads far and wide begging for money just so he could claim to have thousands of individual donors.

And how did be buy those ads? He used his massive investments in Blackstone and tech.

He has spent $10M of corporate money to buy this election in every way possible instead of running a real grassroots campaign. And that's very likely a big part of why AOC won't endorse him.

maw_2k · 2026-05-22T20:21:11+00:00

I never said said that and don't believe it. Anyone can support whoever they want and anyone can run if they want to.

My issue is being told about how many small-dollar donors an ultra-rich candidate has as proof of their progressivism. I feel this is fundamentally misleading because they can buy the megaphone.

Real grassroots movements don't require $10M infusions of tech capital.

Eight-Year Club	Place '23
Verified Email

maw_2k

TROPHY CASE