The Tenderloin is full of life. It is not a bleak hellscape. A recent video game made my community the backdrop to dehumanizing violence. This depiction could not be farther from reality.
Every election, Windy Click gets a crowd of people together to cast their ballots. Not because she wants everyone to support a certain candidate or measure, but because, as far as Windy is concerned, voting is best done together.
Windy is the associate executive director of Hospitality House, an organization that operates a shelter, community arts studio, and two drop-in centers where residents can get help navigating services or just keep each other company. Her organization, along with the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation, will host her annual gathering this week for anyone who would like company when they vote or register to vote.
The event, called Walk with Windy, will kick off Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 11 a.m. at 150 Golden Gate Ave. Attendees will enjoy some pizza and performances there, and hear some remarks from the organizers, before the group walks together to City Hall to cast their votes.
Ahead of the event, I sat down with Windy to ask, since everyone is incredibly busy, why should they make time to vote?
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Laura: What is Walk with Windy, and how did it begin?
Windy: Growing up, my grandmother, who raised me, used to tell me that voting was something that people like us — meaning, poor people — had a right to do, to remind the authorities who they work for. We lived on this road, and we would all go vote together. My grandma, she would say the neighbor, Florence, was going, so “Let’s all go down and vote together.” My grandma went to one church, the neighbor went to a different church. But we all just did things together.
When I was paroled to San Francisco, I was not able to vote. And then once I was able to vote, I wanted to celebrate it not just for myself, but there are so many people that didn’t exercise their right to vote.
Laura: So for you voting was an ingrained tradition. Of course you would vote as soon as you could. A lot of people don’t see it that way. For a lot of people, it’s just a pain in the ass. Why should they see it as not just a chore?
Windy: I feel like it isn’t. I mean, people can view it as a pain in the ass, but, those who don’t vote are the people that it affects the most. Things like Medi-Cal, Medicaid, food stamps, General Assistance. All those things are being changed within our government, and it mostly affects those who don’t vote.
Another thing is our supervisors [who represent parts of San Francisco in City Hall]. They make a lot of decisions that affect those, mostly, that don’t vote, through housing policy, or nonprofit funding. Depending on the president or our mayor, the budget for nonprofits can change. That can result in cuts or in giving more money, but most recently, it’s been cutting, cutting the budget for nonprofits. That cuts the way that we nonprofits help the community.
Editor’s note: While voters don’t decide how city dollars are spent, they do elect the officials who do make those choices. This was a major reporting area for the Tenderloin Voice in June, when the supervisors and the mayor were deciding how to allocate the city’s money.
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Laura: Walk me through how Walk with Windy happens. You gather on Golden Gate Avenue, and then you all march together down to City Hall. And then what?
Windy: Those who already have their mail-in ballots, if you already have them filled out, we go to the ballot drop box on Polk Street. Those who do not have their ballot, and they’re ready to vote, we have a team that goes downstairs to the Department of Elections, which is in the basement of City Hall. That is where people can get ballots to vote, or if they have their mail-in ballots, they can go to one of the little voting booths and fill out their ballot. One or two people from our team will be, not at the booth with you, but you know that they’re there, in case you don’t want to feel like you’re there by yourself.
And that’s also where you can register to vote. You can register and get a ballot on the same day.
Laura: So what if I’m unsure if I do have the right to vote?
Windy: Hospitality House will help you figure out your eligibility. A peer advocate will help support you to see if you are eligible to vote, or help you to register.
Hospitality House is a peer-based model: We look like the people we serve. We’ve had the same life experiences, which helps us understand where people are at when it comes to voting. We’ve seen so many people voting for the first time. We’ve even had our own staff who didn’t believe in voting start to vote, due to Walk with Windy.
Laura: I think a lot of people might say, “I’m just one person. There’s so many voters in the city, and, like, it’s kind of already decided.” So why should they put in the effort when they think they won’t see the outcome that they want?
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Windy: If you want change, vote. If you vote, and then you talk about your vote to your friend, or to a neighbor, or someone in the grocery store, that piques their interest to vote. Even though you feel defeated, most of the time, you have to fight to make change. So why don’t we start with voting?
Laura: Have you seen things change as a result of elections?
Windy: Yeah! Let’s go with Prop. C.
Editor’s Note: 2018’s Proposition C was an initiative to impose business taxes to fund homelessness-related services. It passed with 61% of the vote, and has brought City Hall more than a billion dollars in revenue. While there has been contention around how much of that money should go toward specific initiatives, the tax generally funds shelters, hygiene access, permanent housing, mental health programs, and homelessness prevention.
When we started Prop. C, you know, it was a big campaign. The money that came in helps people with housing, financially assists folks to move into housing, it helps sometimes with preventative measures, like paying someone’s back rent [so they don’t get evicted]. That one ballot initiative has helped so many people, and it was a grassroots effort.
Laura: And it ultimately wouldn’t have happened if people hadn’t voted for it.
Windy: Mm hmm. All you see on the news right now is politicians bashing one another, but, you know, there’s more important things than them. There’s just a lot on the ballot — all of these propositions.
The Walk With Windy voters, having submitted their ballots, pose for a group photo at City Hall.
Laura: I’m really just trying to speak to people who can’t be bothered.
Windy: I don’t know if they can’t be bothered. I feel like they feel defeated.
Laura: Yes.
Windy: I feel like with all of the things that are happening in the world, voting is one thing working-class and poor people already felt defeated about. And then they don’t go out to vote. But if we all feel defeated, those who have money will always win.
I'm a journalist who has covered San Francisco and the Bay Area in writing, audio and video for about a decade; started and hosted a few podcasts; and co-founded News Relay Network, publisher of the Tenderloin Voice. Reach me at laura@tlvoice.org.
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