LIKE MANY POLITICALLY radical, sexually deviant women of color with a superiority complex, I found my way to San Francisco for a reason. I came here because in the rest of the country I'm a freak. It's not so safe in Middle America for a person like myself, but it's different here. San Francisco is our oasis, and we form a beautiful mosaic of every different kind of person that can possibly exist. Together we are the unstoppable force that said no to the Manhattanization of San Francisco in the 1980s and said yes to the progressive supermajority of the 2000 Board of Supervisors.

In 1999, Tom Ammiano came out of nowhere and scared the hat off Willie Brown by registering homeless folks to vote in the mayor's race: It turns out street people can list an intersection as a primary residence. It was a tantalizing example of how even the most disenfranchised in San Francisco have the right to cast a vote.

In 2003, Matt Gonzalez came out of nowhere and scared the pants off Gavin Newsom because his candidacy showed the depth of progressive values in San Francisco. The grassroots refused to swallow Newsom's trumped-up giveaway to luxury high-rise developers, and in the March 2004 election, right after Newsom's razor-thin victory, the Workforce Housing Initiative was killed by 70 percent of voters.

After a few good licks, Newsom did the right thing and obeyed the will of the voters. He moved to the left, walked the UNITE HERE Local 2 picket line during the hotel strike, and did that wonderful thing instigating queer marriage. A wide cross-section of San Francisco – progressives, moderates, and apolitical, old-fashioned romantics – shared the joy of the LGBTQ community.

All of which leads to naming the elephant in the room. Let's face it. Most people in San Francisco share our values. We have everything we need to have our voices heard.

Let us raise them in plans and actions, rather than complaints! Let us let go of assumptions that we are just as powerless as we used to be, struggling to get out of whatever godforsaken, right-wing hell hole we came from.

Can we believe in our own power? Our common vision? Can we invent San Francisco in our own image, with all the things we dream of? Can we have a living wage and health care for all, friendship between all races, classes, and orientations, affordable housing, and marriage equality? Can we have it all, and more?

The San Francisco Peoples' Organization believes this can happen. Our members have recently come together with the basic optimistic belief that we can make a difference. We come together with the hope that we can be the best of ourselves, even when we've seen the worst. We believe that we can seize the day and take our activism to the next level.

The time is now. There is no other time. There will be no more perfect moment to create San Francisco as we would like it to be.

We've heard it all as we build our coalition. We're not Asian enough, not Black enough, not queer enough, not Latino enough. But that's the point. We welcome everyone – diversity and breadth are our means and our mission. Our goal is to build vital friendships between the young activists inspired by Matt Gonzalez, seasoned union organizers, queers, immigrant communities, and every stripe in between. Our power is in our unstoppable belief that these alliances can be forged despite our differences.

Our founding convention is a new beginning. We are electing 17 board members, and we encourage you to run for a seat. We welcome you to bring issues and ideas, the best and the brightest San Francisco has to offer. Join us on Saturday, June 11. We believe you have the power to move us.

Marlena Sonn is the community organizer for the San Francisco Peoples' Organization and has been a member of the leather and sex-work communities for more than 10 years. The SFPO founding convention takes place Sat/11, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. St. Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough, S.F. (415) 546-1342, www.sfpeople.org.