After his Oakland home and neighborhood were harassed by a 90-car march of people representing a non-profit group effort organized by someone named Anya Svanoe, Phil Tagami posted this question on Facebook:
So the new campaign by ACCE and certain special interests funding ACCE (a multi million dollar state wide advocacy organization) is to attack a few individuals to soften the field and sow a new tax structure to sell to the voters and literally bully the local elected’s into adopting before November…
ACCE is arguing this campaign is for the disenfranchised and poor…is it ? Who are the masters of this campaign? Who are the founders and funders of ACCE ? Let’s have some transparency? Is the SF chronicle being paid a media consulting fee? Where is the fourth estate. Let us understand what came of ACORN?
Well, Phil Tagami, Here’s A Big Piece Of Your Answer
As it turns out, ACCE and its Communications Director Anya Svanoe, aren’t the poor volunteer-ran non-profit some of its Oakland-based employees would have you believe.
Update: Carroll Fife, listed below as the Regional Director of The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, is now Oakland City Council District Three Councilmember-Elect, thus leading me to make this vlog:
The ACCE, or “The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action” and what is the group that produced the 90-car-drive past the afforementioned Oakland businessman, builder of the Oakland Rotunda, The Fox Theater, friend-to-many, and currently co-developer (with Zennie62Media client Insight Terminal Solutions) of the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal OBOT, are, indeed, as they say on the street, “hooked up”. ACCE received a substantial grant of $200,000 from The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative on October 2, 2019.
Unless you’re under a rock, the The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is “a limited liability company established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of “up to $1 billion in Facebook shares in each of the next three years”, and has as its mission “to find new ways to leverage technology, community-driven solutions, and collaboration to accelerate progress in Science, Education, and within our Justice & Opportunity work.” I don’t see anything about “harassing millionaires” in the mission statement.
Now, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative money was to be used for “Efforts to keep tenants and homeowners in their existing housing” and observed that
“The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action is a grassroots community organization working with more than 15,000 members across California. It’s dedicated to raising the voices of everyday Californians, neighborhood by neighborhood, to build the community power needed to win policies and programs that support a just and equitable society. ACCE Action is a multi-issue organization that works on a range of issues including education, health care, criminal justice, infrastructure development, and tax equity, though are perhaps most well known for their housing justice work.”
I did not see any reference to “harass millionaires” – maybe because with SF Bay Area housing price averages over $1 million, almost everyone’s a millionaire. But I did spot this text next to the $200,000 grant announcement:
ACCE action organizes in the Bay Area and on state legislative issues in order to advocate for reforms to housing policy in California that benefit working and low-income people. This funding will help the organization build grassroots support across California for housing reform
I still don’t see any reference to “harass millionaires” in that paragraph. Plus, Phil Tagami is not an apartment landlord!
Now, before we go futher, here’s the video and blog post that started this thread of content around Anya Svanoe and ACCE and their plan to bug Phillip Tagami, strictly for being a millionaire. Not kidding.
The Original Post: Anya Svanoe March On Phil Tagami’s House In Oakland Because She Thinks He’s Rich Is Stupid
Anya Svanoe March On Phil Tagami’s House In Oakland Because She Thinks He’s Rich Is Stupid
Anya Svanoe, is planning a march on Oakland-based California Capital Investment Group President Phil Tagami’s home in Oakland, and purely because she thinks he’s rich. This is what was put out about an hour ago:
“5 P.M. today July 1 AS PART OF STATEWIDE DAY OF ACTION, LOW-INCOME EAST BAY RESIDENTS AND SUPPORTERS WILL HOLD A MARCH AND CAR CARAVAN TO DEVELOPER AND MILLIONAIRE PHIL TAGAMI’S HOUSE TO CALL ON THE WEALTHY HELP FINANCE RECOVERY FOR ALL.”
Considering that the average home value in Oakland is over $1 million, then why is Anya picking on one of 128,000 milionaires in Oakland? Doesn’t Anya Svanoe have better things to do?
I am sick and tired of people wasting time protesting someone they think is wealthy when they could be building companies that impact real change and employ people. Do something that makes the lives of people better. That protest will yield nothing but tired bodies and bruised feet and hurt feelings on top of all that. Who gains from such a situation? The answer is no one.
Who Is Anya Svanoe?
So, I wondered just who Anya Svanoe was, since the announcement did not tell me, and I found this: Anya Svanoe, Communications Director at Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. The Californians for Community Empowerment on Linkedin says its “a new, independent, state-based nonprofit that was started by former members and staff of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which will be closing many of its operations in California.”
Looking at the Linkedin listings of employees and we find that Carroll Fife is listed as Regional Director, Oakland. Carroll also recently worked to help Cat Brooks in her 2018 campaign to be Mayor of Oakland. Other names are John Eller, Alia Phelps, Helen Duffy, Jovana Fajardo, Estuardo Mazariegos, Lara Dmitruchina, Julien Ball and Ramon Saldivar.
The organization claims to want to help from “The bottom up” but provides no jobs other than organizing to, well, protest. The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment is not doing anything to create jobs for people, or do job training that would land jobs, or have incubators to help start companies. None of that. So, who is it really helping? I my view, no one. Plus, it says it’s going after billionaires, but then if that’s the case, why is it picking on Phil Tagami, my friend for 32 years? Leave Phil alone. https://www.acceaction.org/about
And speaking of millionaires, according to its own non-profit records, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment is a million-dollar company! It raised over $1 million in 2016, and over a half-million in 2017. Moreover, it’s the off-shoot of the disbanded Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which had a giant series of finance disclosure problems that ultimately resulted in the stoppage of federal funds payments. One issue that still remains: it’s hard to tell who’s in charge or who’s really funding it.
So, basically, it looks like Anya Svanoe is not an Oaklander with an issue, but working for a multi-million-dollar non-profit company based in Los Angeles. A company that’s monetized protest. But, since it’s hard to see who’s financing it, it’s fair to assume someone out there that has an issue with Phil has tabbed the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment to do what in my view is its stupid dirty work.
UPDATE: an estimated 90 cars rolled past Phil’s house, honking horns. Meanwhile, The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Jose Lopez of The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment called Phil Tagami “a billionaire” and in the same sentence with Elon Musk, in reporting its protest plans. When I shared that with Phil, we had a giant laugh. He then asked if I found the money. I told him I’m still looking for it.
What Would Priscilla Chan Say About How Her Money Is Being Used By ACCE?
The question begs for an answer: what would Priscilla Chan say about this use of her money by ACCE? Only one way to find out.
Stay tuned.