San Francisco CLT
The San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) received its first-ever and so-far, only national CCHD grant in 2022 for $50,000.
At the very heart of the issue with the San Francisco Community Land Trust (SFCLT) is the fact that it was founded by a Marxist who pushes anarchist-syndicalist ideologies – ideologies carried on by the organization through its leadership even now.
Tom Wetzel is the founder and past president of SFCLT. In his author’s bio for the Marxist publication, Z Magazine, Wetzel provides a brief sketch into the mindset behind the creation of SFCLT:
Tom Wetzel
In Deer Hunting With Jesus Joe Bageant says “those who grow up in the lower class in America often end up class conscious for life” and so it has been with me. After leaving high school I worked as a gas station attendant for quite a few years and got let go from that job in one of the first job actions I was involved in. I gradually worked my way through college and in the early ’70s was part of an initial group who organized the first teaching assistants’ union at UCLA in which I was a shop steward. I had been involved in the anti-war movement in the late ’60s and first became involved in socialist politics at that time. After obtaining a PhD at UCLA I was an assistant professor for several years at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee where I taught logic and philosophy and in my spare time helped to produce a quarterly anarcho-syndicalist community newspaper. After I returned to California in the early ’80s, I worked for a number of years as a typesetter and was involved in an attempt to unionize a weekly newspaper in San Francisco. For about nine years I was the volunteer editorial coordinator for the anarcho-syndicalist magazine ideas & action and wrote numerous essays for that publication. Since the ’80s I’ve made my living mainly as a hardware and software technical writer in the computer industry. I’ve occasionally taught logic classes as a part-time adjunct. During the past decade my political activity has mainly been focused on housing, land-use and public transit politics. I did community organizing at the time of the big eviction epidemic in my neighborhood in 1999-2000, working with the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition. Some of us involved in that effort then decided on a strategy of gaining control of land and buildings by helping existing tenants convert their buildings to limited equity housing cooperatives. To do this we built the San Francisco Community Land Trust of which I was president for two years.
In short, SFCLT was created by a Marxist for the spread of Marxist ideologies and agendas. Wetzel’s website, www.OvercomingCapitalism.info is completely dedicated to a combination of anarchism, socialism, and syndicalism, bits of which all contribute to the philosophy behind Community Land Trusts.
The very concept of Community Land Trusts (CLTs) originated as an anti-Capitalist idea intended to take land and property off the speculative markets. In 2010, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy published a book titled, “The Community Land Trust Reader,” which was edited by John Emmeus Davis. In the first portion of the book, under the heading of “Origins and Evolution of Community Land Trusts in the United States,” Davis attempted to establish a principle of precedent in the communal ownership of land. According to Davis, land is “part of a shared human heritage that should be shepherded and used for the common good,” and not “treated as individual property.”
In 2023, Steven Soifer (a former community organizer turned author and adjunct professor) wrote an article titled, “The Burlington Community land Trust: A Socialist Approach to Affordable Housing?” In the article, Soifer explored the socialist aspects of CLTs, using the Burlington CLT (BCLT) as an example and a model. Citing a 1986 communication from the current director of the BCLT, Tim McKenzie, Soifer wrote:
McKenzie admits that land trust is a very radical and socialist concept because “its primary goal is social benefit as opposed to individual gain.’ While it involved in engaging in some ‘unholy alliances (that is, with the banks) … it’s [still] a definite challenge to the way we think about a very fundamental thing [that is, land] … [and] land reform is where most revolutions start.”
Building on this, Soifer concludes that the implementation of CLTs will so challenge capitalist notions of ownership that they present a new socialist model for society. He wrote:
“In theory, the dominant ideological hegemony concerning the sanctity of private ownership of land in relation to one’s own home is also challenged by community land trusts. By challenging this notion, the land trust helps present a new, democratic-socialist model for society. The idea of affordable housing for everyone is presented as the norm, fundamentally questioning such accepted capitalist behaviors as real estate speculation.”
A YouTube channel called “Socialism Explained” explored the question, “Are Community Land Trusts a Form of Socialism?” In the end, it concludes:
“In the context of social justice reforms under socialist systems, CLTs serve as a practical example of socialist principles in action. They provide a model for community-led development that prioritizes social equity and affordability. While CLTS may not representing a pure from of socialism, they certainly embody elements of socialist ideology in their approach to community ownership and resource management. In summary, community land trusts reflected many socialist principles such as community control and resource redistribution while still operating within a capitalist framework. This makes them a unique and important part of the conversation around socialism and social justice in the United States.
SFCLT’s own website alludes to this on its webpage on “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.” On this page, SFCLT wrote:
“We believe equity is not just about fairness and non-discrimination; it’s also about transforming the structures of oppression and inequities that exist under racialized capitalism through altering the ownership and distribution of wealth in our society. We strive to change the material circumstances of those communities who have been historically denied access to wealth due to race, ethnicity, gender, and class.”
While researching SFCLT, a rather interesting image came up, linking the organization to a movement called “anarcho-syndicalism.” The New World Encyclopedia presents the flag of anarcho-syndicalists as a red triangle over a black triangle, and describes the ideology as:
“a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labor movement. Syndicalisme is a French word meaning “trade unionism.” Anarcho-syndicalists view labor unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system, regarding it as “wage slavery,” and state or private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions.”On 4 March 2019, SFCLT posted photos from a protest it participated in “to save the historical Redstone Labor Temple.” SFCLT declared that it “stands in solidarity with the community efforts to preserve this cultural and political landmark!” But what is of interest is that on the walls during the protest are the red and black flags of anarcho-syndicalism.
Drawing on the socialist founding of SFCLT, the fact of the matter is that the leadership of SFCLT are also socialists.
The president of SFCLT is Hope Williams. In November of 2020, Hope Williams filed a form with the San Francisco Department of Elections. On the form she identified herself as the Electoral Committee Co-Chair for the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The executive director for SFCLT is Saki Bailey. One thing her public bio failed to mention was the fact that she was a “generous” contributor toward the publication of a book by Jacobin Magazine called, “The ABCs of Socialism.”
On 8 February 2020, Bailey declared that socialism is getting what you paid for in taxes.
In 2017, Bailey nominated Nate Nicholson to be a delegate for the East Bay DSA 2017 National Convention.
The Policy Director for SFCLT is Kyle Smeallie. The end of his bio on the SFCLT website makes an oblique reference to his socialist disposition by stating, “Kyle and his wife enjoy parenting their puppy Stuart, who is a socialist.” As it turns out, Smeallie is indeed a member of the San Francisco chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. On 1 June 2021, the DSA published an article identifying Smeallie as one of its members. It wrote:
Big Week for Evictions & Rent Debt Legislation
This week, the Board unanimously passed legislation introduced by our office to extend the no-fault eviction ban for another 90 days. Additionally, we introduced legislation to cancel small business back rent, and another emergency law known as the Tenant Lifeline Act. The Tenant Lifeline Act would save tenants from the eviction cliff by extending the period in which tenants only have to pay 25% of their rent until the end of the year. Huge shout out to Kyle Smeallie, one of our legislative aides and a DSA member, who led the charge on all of these critical bills!
On 13 September 2021, Smeallie was identified as a member of Socialist candidate Dean Preston’s political campaign team.
On 7 June 2022, Smeallie was identified as Dean Preston’s legislative aid in an article regarding his political agenda for LGBT-related issues. The article first stated that Smeallie told the Bay Area Reporter that Preston’s office “contacted the Transgender District’s leadership to find out which issues were on their agenda.” It then quoted Smeallie, who told the publication, “Our intention is to create a space and commemorate a space that has significance to the LGBTQ community.”
In addition to being founded as a socialist organization, SFCLT is quite involved in the promotion of LGBT ideologies. On 21 June 2018, SFCLT posted a story about the Queer Land Trust, taking a stand against “displacement of the LGBT community.”
On 21 March 2018, SFCLT posted about “preserving a queer, trans, people of color-centered space … for the next 100 years.”
On 6 March 2018, SFCLT posted an article concerned about landlords evicting drag queens.
On 29 January 2020, SFCLT declared its intention to stand against “displacement of Black, Latinx, immigrant, and working class (including artists and LGBTQ) San Franciscans.”
On 11 April 2025, SFCLT held an annual general meeting at the SF LGBT Center.
Conclusion
The SFCLT is steeped in socialist ideologies, in its published words, its background, in its activities, and through its leadership. Furthermore, it is intimately involved in the promotion of the LGBTQ agenda. As a thoroughly Marxist entity, created by a Marxist and run by Marxists, it should never have received a dime from the Catholic Church.
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