Calling Rose Pak a Chinatown powerbroker is a tired San Francisco cliche. People in and out of City Hall know the Chinatown Community Development Center and its high-profile associate, Pak, as powerful political kingmakers. Not so much as of late -- Pak has been out of favor with Mayor Ed Lee, who prefers his new tech allies (including angel investor Ron Conway).
That's not to say you should write-off Pak or the Chinatown Center just yet. Because their political power might regain momentum soon.
In a little-talked about deal, the federal Housing Authority is planning to hand over its public housing operations to local nonprofits. That's not surprising, considering the Housing Authority was officially labeled "troubled" by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Examiner wrote after the deal was announced.
One of the nonprofits charged with taking over the housing units is the CCDC, which already manages or owns 2,088 units within 25 properties throughout San Francisco. The feds will transfer management of more than 500 units to the CCDC starting in October and will continue well into July, 2016.
The CCDC's reach will grow to more than 2,500 units, and this will translate to increased political power.
This is how: The CCDC's (and Pak's) strength rests in people power. This power will become magnified with a captive audience living in homes they manage. All they have to do is send some people to knock on doors, and they've got themselves the beginnings of a political movement.
"Yes, they knock on doors to start with," Amy Beinart, the Rental Assistance Demonstration strategies coordinator with the CCDC told SF Weekly. "They engage with people individually, encourage them to come to meetings, do surveys and one-on-one discussions. We engage with the existing tenant associations, where there are a lot of people already in positions of leadership and have acted as leaders."
This is exactly how the CCDC helped Supervisor Jane Kim win her first election to the Board of Supervisors, and how Pak mobilized Chinatown to support Mayor Lee in his first mayoral bid. But it's not just about benefiting the people at City Hall. It's also about protecting vulnerable Chinatown tenants.
The CCDC has long fought for tenants' rights, recently championing the cause of the residents of Emery Lane, a single room occupancy hotel taken over by big-time developers. The deep-pocketed developers used every shady trick in the book to try to oust the largely Chinese residents, even penalizing them for hanging their laundry outside.
The CCDC organized the residents, along with other Chinatown groups, including the Chinese Progressive Association, to help urge the mayor to intervene. He did, and the tenants managed to escape eviction.
And just when you thought Pak's and the CCDC's power had started to dissipate, she and her ilk resurfaced – with just enough people to shake things up in San Francisco again.
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