Senior politics reporter at The San Francisco Standard, @SFStandard. Priors: @POLITICO, @sfchronicle, @azcentral. Fan of trails & mountains. 🏔🏳️‍🌈DMs open.

San Francisco, CA
Joined August 2009
Dustin Gardiner retweeted
Gavin Newsom spent 90 minutes in the Oval Office with Donald Trump. Trump responded by illegally seizing control of California’s National Guard and deploying 4,700 troops to Los Angeles. Thanks for the advice, KKKaroline.
Karoline Leavitt takes a shot at California’s Democratic leaders, right in Bill Maher’s studio. “Maybe your governor should call.” She points to Trump’s work with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and says California could look better if its leaders worked with him.
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Now we know why Todd Blanche wouldn’t rule out blocking election results yesterday because he was ALREADY working to do just that! Trump does not get to block election results he doesn’t like. Voters decide. I’m not going to let this CORRUPT interference slide.
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
BREAKING: In an escalation from the DOJ, prosecutors sent demand letters to individual registrars across California, giving them 48 hours to sequester the ballots of suspected noncitizen voters. sfchronicle.com/politics/art…
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
He did sign a copy of his book tho
Shout out to the group of journalists in San Francisco, who jumped literal human hurdles and chairs trying to get Gov. Newsom to talk to them after a rally. He made brief remarks about the need for Democrats to win the House before walking away without taking more questions.
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
Steyer v. Pelosi in race to succeed her in #CA11:
We have two good candidates for Congress in San Francisco, but I'm voting for @Scott_Wiener. He's been a tireless fighter for the city, first as a supervisor and then in the State Senate. He takes climate change and clean energy seriously, and he's focused on bringing down costs for Californians.
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In queer spaces, unwanted touching is too often waved off as something that’s part of the culture rather than a violation of it. Join @sfstandard and @SFLGBTCenter on Oct. 28 for a live conversation with advocates and nightlife leaders about consent, accountability, and what it will take to change how queer communities respond to sexual assault. Free with RSVP: sf.news/4iivLl3
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Three Bay Area Democrats in Congress demanded an investigation into who ordered restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite services in Ukraine, saying the limits disrupted drone operations and air defenses during Russian attacks. 📝: @allaboutgeorge sfstandard.com/2026/10/23/li…
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
Tech investor Eric Jones put another $4.8 million into his congressional campaign this month, per new filing. He has now put nearly $15 million into his own run for a seat in Northern California.
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The SHADE Act has been passed into law today by Mayor Lurie! Over the past 10 years, over 2000 units of housing have been blocked or delayed because NIMBYs said the housing would cast a "shadow". So we're done letting red tape cast shade over our housing future. The SHADE Act will no longer allow shadows be used as a basis for environmental appeals. It will save between 3-9 months on some environmental reviews and up to $25,000 per project in reduced staff, consultant, and administrative costs. We can protect our parks, respect our environment, and welcome more neighbors. We don’t have to choose. It’s time to let housing projects see the light of day. Thank you to all those who helped turn this into law. My cosponsors Matt Dorsey, Danny Sauter, and Myrna Melgar. My legislative aide Raynell Cooper, all the incredible members of the Planning Department including Lisa Gibson, Lisa Gluckstein, Ryan Shum,Kei Zushi, Tania Sheyer, Debra Dwyer, members of the Mayors Office including Ned Segal and Adam Thongsavat, and our drafting attorney Andrea Ruiz-Esquide.
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Election: Gavin Newsom throws weight behind Daniel Lurie’s charter reform Gov. Gavin Newsom, who once ran the city, joins a roster of deep-pocketed donors backing the props. sfstandard.com/2026/10/23/ga…
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
.@TomSteyer is one of our most fearless leaders on climate and so many progressive issues. On clean energy, housing, and so many other issues, he’s a leader. It’s an honor to earn his endorsement.
We have two good candidates for Congress in San Francisco, but I'm voting for @Scott_Wiener. He's been a tireless fighter for the city, first as a supervisor and then in the State Senate. He takes climate change and clean energy seriously, and he's focused on bringing down costs for Californians.
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Tracks. Endorse the guy who won’t tax you. Feckless corporate dems stick together while working people suffer.
We have two good candidates for Congress in San Francisco, but I'm voting for @Scott_Wiener. He's been a tireless fighter for the city, first as a supervisor and then in the State Senate. He takes climate change and clean energy seriously, and he's focused on bringing down costs for Californians.
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On the latest episode of "PST with @EmilyDreyfuss," the Standard's Comedy Correspondent Sophia Garrow and reporters @dustingardiner and @ggreschler help our host make sense of the eight-page ballot. Listen now: sf.news/4yCAcgy
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
Congress has a responsibility to enact meaningful AI regulations, but to do so, we need to dramatically increase the base knowledge of Congress. I've worked to bring leading AI experts to Capitol Hill to help my colleagues better understand the technology, but we still have a long way to go – and AI isn’t going to wait for us to catch up.
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Exclusive: The incumbent has campaigned heavily for Connie Chan since endorsing her. But voters who view Nancy Pelosi favorably aren’t flocking to Chan, an independent poll finds. 📝: @dustingardiner sfstandard.com/2026/10/22/po…
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This week in the Election Insider newsletter: Farm workers union breaks with Dolores Huerta to endorse Chan, candidate spends big in North Bay race, and District 8 candidates ready for debate. 📝: @FitzTheReporter and @dustingardiner sfstandard.com/2026/10/20/el…
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Dustin Gardiner retweeted
Among Bloomberg’s donations this cycle: $5.4M in disclosed giving to 314 Action. That super PAC has, between spending disclosed and not, spent its largest sum of the cycle helping a Dem challenger to Republican-turned-independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, per a spokesperson.
NEWS — Mike Bloomberg is back, baby. Bloomberg is putting $80 million into an effort to help Democrats, becoming one of the largest disclosed donors in the midterms. At least $50 million of that is to help Democrats in the House. Exclusive details with @boreskes.
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