San Francisco, CA
My first name, Honest, was given to me at birth. Honest was my great-grandfatherʼs nickname—he started a business named Honest Charleyʼs Speed Shop, which was the first national catalog to sell hot rod and race car parts. Most of my friends and colleagues call me Charley, but I also go by my first name, Honest. I welcome a good joke or two about my name.
I started my career at the Los Angeles Times, where I did data journalism and product engineering for their realtime news desk, which enabled the Times to win a Breaking News Reporting Pulitzer Prize. I then co-founded a tech startup that sold services to clients like the Los Angeles Times, Vox Media, CalMatters, and Lookout Local to help them more efficiently send daily newsletters to readers. I am a an experienced software engineer, and graphic designer.
I ran for Mayor of San Francisco in 2024, before joining forces with a fellow candidate, Dylan Hirsch-Shell. I helped manage his campaign, and promote his platform consisting of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) and Universal Social Housing as a registered political consultant.
Following the election, we formed San Franciscans for Social Housing (SFSH), which is a grassroots activist organization dedicated to promoting Social Housing in San Francisco. Dylan and I, through San Franciscans for Social Housing, are calling on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor to permanently allocate Prop I funds to their intended purpose of affordable housing Social Housing.
In 2025, I founded the District 5 Democratic Club, and was elected its president for the 2026-2027 term. I am currently working on campaigns for the California Billionaire Tax, the California Children's Education and Health Care Protection Act, Connect Bay Area Transit, and the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition. If you're interested in information on 2026 ballot measures, visit my ✍️ 2026 Ballot Measure Petition Guide for campaign links and my own opinions on the measures.
In everything I do, I am committed to building a more equitable society for working people that empowers all to thrive. I've personally, and through my family, been affected by issues of cancer, substance abuse, homelessness, and mental health issues. I've recovered from substance abuse, and am active in the recovery community here in San Francisco.
I walk the streets of San Francisco and talk to all walks of life, and I've seen how the issues impacting our community are often interconnected. San Francisco in many ways is an extreme and highly visible microcosm of the issues facing the United States and the world—from wealth inequality to systemic racism to the affordability crisis to the impact of climate change on our communities. I am committed to doing my part to solving these challenges, and I believe in the power of community to effect change locally that will ripple out to the rest of the world.
Send me an email at hcbodkin@gmail.com to connect with me.
Thank you for your interest,
Honest Charley Bodkin