Tech Has Bought Itself a More Moderate San Francisco

The moderate political wave that crested over San Francisco this election is the culmination of several years of anger, frustration and tech-funded organizing. It was propelled by millions of dollars in campaign money, hundreds of thousands of fed-up voters, several upstart political organizations, two recall elections and one sad San Francisco teenager.

Let’s start with the kid.

Almost a year into the pandemic, Shriyans Sivaraj was refusing to get out of bed, barely eating and rarely turning on his laptop camera. Adding to his unhappiness and feeling of isolation, three of his siblings who attended a school on the Peninsula had returned to the classroom months earlier. His parent, Autumn Looijen, a longtime San Francisco software engineer whose career stretches back to Netscape, was worried sick about Shriyans, the oldest of five children she shares with her partner.