IT'S HARD TO talk about "uniting the San Francisco left, in part because it's hard to even define what the San Francisco left is – and because, whatever it is, it seems to defy, as a matter of basic nature, all attempts at cohesive organization.

Whom do you bring to the table, when there are literally hundreds of legitimate constituencies, groups, and interests that ought to be part of any credible coalition? How do you make sure they all get along, when there are some real historical issues (and a whole lot more personal agendas and personality clashes) to get through? How do you find a manageable number of things that everyone can agree to put energy into right now – without shirking all the many, many other things that really ought to be at the top of the agenda too?

Well, you probably can't, not perfectly, not without some seemingly intractable problems. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try – because San Francisco really, really needs a credible umbrella organization that can help the independent/neighborhood-based/left-leaning activists in this town win citywide races and set an agenda that will put downtown on the defensive.

I give the founders of the new San Francisco Peoples' Organization immense credit for taking that challenge on.

As we report on page 18, they still have a whole lot of work to do: Some people who should have been in on the planning from the start feel excluded, and some issues that should have been on the initial agenda weren't, and on and on and on. A lot of the group's leadership came out of the Gonzalez for Mayor campaign, which had some nasty baggage along with its wonderful political energy. And – not surprisingly – nobody's seriously tried to do this in San Francisco for about three decades.

But SFPO is trying now. There are veteran organizers (like Bruce Livingston of Senior Action Network) and young activists (like Jane Kim of the Chinatown Community Development Center). There are Democrats and Greens, and signs that labor is actively interested. Sup. Chris Daly has been heavily involved, but he's made it clear that he's going to step back and let others run it.

As I said, it's not perfect. I understand, for example, how some longtime queer activists feel that the new vanguard of the straight left hasn't been inclusive enough. But the potential here is awesome.

Tim Redmond