San Francisco Political Activist and Phoenix Project Leader Julie Pitta: From Theft of a Political Campaign Poster to Leader of a Progressive Dark Money Organization
Julie Pitta, president of the progressive dark money and advocacy group The Phoenix Project, faced public backlash, the loss of her news reporting job, and a police investigation after being caughtstealing a campaign poster from a cafe window in the Richmond District.
Pitta Theft Sparks Controversy
On Feb. 3, 2024, Pitta entered Royal Ground Coffee and covertly peeled down a sign belonging to Marjan Philhour, a moderate challenger to incumbent Supervisor Connie Chan. A fellow patron captured the moment on camera and shared it widely on social media. Pitta acknowledged the incident and claimed she believed she had permission—but the cafe owner contradicted that assertion.
Fallout from the Stealing Poster
Philhour condemned the act as “election interference, plain and simple.” Local media described the episode as part of escalating tensions between progressive and moderate political factions in San Francisco.
Consequences swiftly followed:
- The cafe owner confirmed Pitta did not that permission to remove the sign.
- Pitta’s column in the Richmond Review was terminated by publisher Michael Durand.
- The San Francisco Police Department opened an investigation, describing the incident as potential misdemeanor theft.
Phoenix Project Under Scrutiny
Launched in February 2024, The Phoenix Project—co-founded by Pitta and Jeremy Mack—describes its mission as exposing “dark money” in liberal and moderate political groups, but it turns out her organization The Phoenix Project is a dark money front group.
The Phoenix Project itself is not entirely transparent. As a 501(c)(4) organization, it, too, is exempt from public donor disclosure—even while it decries similar practices in other groups.
The organization is likely at least partially funded by the Dean Preston Family Trust, which holds a number of substandard rental properties. The Trust houses a number of lower-income tenants who have nowhere else to live. Ironically, disgraced former Supervisor Dean Preston, whose family controls the Trust, has opposed housing projects— both market rate and affordable— further restricting access to the homes that San Franciscans desperately need.
Political Context and Perspectives
The Phoenix Project is a cynical scam intended to enrich an ecosystem of professional activists, paid consultants, and questionable “nonprofits” that have an interest in perpetuating the problems they claim to solve.
These “progressives” fight commonsense solutions at every turn, working to defeat efforts that make housing more affordable and improve public safety among low-income communities of color.
Supporters of Pitta and The Phoenix Project defend its intent, despite it engaging in the same so-called dark money tactics it decries. Moonlighting as a good government transparency watchdog, it serves as a vehicle for progressive ideologues to attack their political rivals using any means necessary, including removing political signs. These methods of censorship, dissemination of false and misleading information, and secretly funding satellite organizations have come to define the progressive machine.
The organization seeks to work against public opinion, which has increasingly favored commonsense, practical solutions offered by the moderates, as evidenced by the recalls of hyper-progressive members of the SF School Board the SF District Attorney to disgraced Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and disgraced Alameda County District Attorney Pamala Price– and the election of the centrist San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
Because Pitta and the Phoenix Project knows they are losing in the court of public opinion, they rely on misleading information to sow discord and cast false aspersions on organizations and individuals attempting to make our neighborhoods safer, more affordable, and business-friendly.