The American Legion's District 8 in San Francisco is not worth the time or effort of any productive veteran. Anyone who tries to get involved here will waste a tremendous amount of energy with no positive result. The American Legion in San Francisco is too far gone to be responsive to a salvage effort. I have learned this from personal experience.
District 8 has reinstated a fraudulent post and allowed that post's corrupt leadership to once again assume positions of trust and responsibility. The District has learned nothing after seeing the good name of veterans dragged through the mud by a Stolen Valor fraud. Other post commanders have included a convicted felon running an illegal bingo parlor and a renegade attorney who was disbarred in California.
The San Francisco veterans' community seeks to retain use of the War Memorial Veterans Building but cannot even utilize the space they are currently allotted. The SFWMPAC Board of Trustees is charged with fully utilizing this City-owned space to deliver full value to taxpayers. I say let the San Francisco Opera and the arts community have the entire building. They have a solid plan to utilize every square inch of space and can commit money and expertise to fulfill that plan.
Veterans don't deserve the building anymore. The veterans' presence inside the WMVB is nothing more than a magnet for an endless parade of addicts, vagrants, lunatics, and scam-artist "commanders" whose greatest ambition in life is to rub two government benefit checks together. Each derelict who stumbles through the front door degrades the veterans' community and the dignity of the building. The Trust Agreement governing use of the building grants veterans the right to use space but IMHO this commitment can be met with a minimalist allocation. Veterans can claim a shoebox under the desk of the WMVB's Managing Director, which is all they can productively utilize anyway. Evicted veterans' organizations can reconvene off-site in a suitable alternate locale, such as the nearest junkyard or toxic waste dump.
District 8 is a waste of everything and then some.
Full disclosure: I am a veteran.
