most left wing major city in America

[Free Palestine]

Probably SF, since they actually almost had a Green Party mayor.  Even though it's dominated by rich people who hate the homeless.

Also, while it's not that major, Burlington, Vermont is quite possibly the most leftist city, given how strong the Progressive Party is and how they've got Al-Jazeera English on their cable network.

How the hell is Detroit leftist?  As we see with some parts of the South, voting D != leftist.

[traininthedistance]

I'm more than a little surprised that nobody in this thread has stood up to explain how DC is the most liberal city.

This is a place where Obama got 86 percent of the white vote, which is more than he got from the entire population in San Fran.

I think you probably could make a case for the Bay Area being the most liberal metro area, however.

...

Also, if you just look at the area within the city limits, I think Philly is more liberal than NYC.  While there are definitely some conservatives in South Philly and the far Northeast, you don't have anything like the monolithically R South Shore or Borough Park here.  

[ModerateCoward]

anyone who thinks NYC is the most liberal city in America has never been to 75% of the neighborhoods in the city.

Because a minority neighborhood is not a neighborhood?

[NY Jew]

I'm more than a little surprised that nobody in this thread has stood up to explain how DC is the most liberal city.

This is a place where Obama got 86 percent of the white vote, which is more than he got from the entire population in San Fran.

I think you probably could make a case for the Bay Area being the most liberal metro area, however.

...

Also, if you just look at the area within the city limits, I think Philly is more liberal than NYC.  While there are definitely some conservatives in South Philly and the far Northeast, you don't have anything like the monolithically R South Shore or Borough Park here.  

in SF the Asians voted for McCain way more then whites did.  McCain was getting under 10% in most white neighborhoods.

[NY Jew]

anyone who thinks NYC is the most liberal city in America has never been to 75% of the neighborhoods in the city.

Because a minority neighborhood is not a neighborhood?

over half the "white" (Jewish, Italian Irish) neighborhoods in NYC are not liberal.

[memphis]

anyone who thinks NYC is the most liberal city in America has never been to 75% of the neighborhoods in the city.

Because a minority neighborhood is not a neighborhood?

over half the "white" (Jewish, Italian Irish) neighborhoods in NYC are not liberal.

Keep in mind that Manhattan has more than twice as many white people as Staten Island, more white than Queens, and almost as many as Brooklyn. And that the city as a whole is only about a third white.

New York has a very high variance, granted. And if the question were city with the most left wing white people, you'd have more of a point. But as a whole, the city is undeniably one of the most liberal in the country.

[TJ in Wisco]

NYC may be heavily Democratic, but I don't think it's very close to being the most left wing city in America. The fact that it even has sizeable conservative Republican neighborhoods at all makes it one of the more conservative major cities outside the south.

[memphis]

NYC may be heavily Democratic, but I don't think it's very close to being the most left wing city in America. The fact that it even has sizeable conservative Republican neighborhoods at all makes it one of the more conservative major cities outside the south.

The conservatives may segregate themselves better than in other cities. I'm not sure because I don't have precinct results handy for a lot of cities. Obama still won roughly 80% of the vote in NYC. Which is on par with many large cities in the region like Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. And I don't get the impression that there are a lot of conservaDems in New York City. 

[bgwah]

NYC also has a history of being more economically left-wing. The American Labor Party had a couple Congressional seats at one point in the 1940s, and of course Wallace did unusually well there in 1948. (on that note, the Socialist Party was very strong in Milwaukee, even having the Mayor as late as 1960. Seattle also had some mid-century leftism, with the general strike , a member of Congress who was probably a Communist, and the Washington Commonwealth Federation).

Anyway, I guess it depends how you look at it. If you picked gun control as an issue, NYC would most definitely be at the front.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

Portland might not be the most Democratic city but it's arguably the most leftist city (yes, even on economics). It's not upscale outside of a few hilly neighborhoods on the westside and has a disproportional large lower middle class alt community that I'd argue is lacking in SF and Seattle. If we had a significant left-wing third party candidate ala Nader in 2000, Portland would probably give him/her the largest percentage of the vote at this point. Portland keeps attracting more and more young adults without gentrifying rapidly.

Portland's numbers never live up to the hype. But I'm listening. Show me some data. Present some facts.

The problem is that it's difficult to find precinct results for many elections in Multnomah County. I've found 2010 Gubernatorial results and all of 2008's results but nothing else.  I suppose I could check the library here for an electoral history of Portland and post maps/data? Which initiatives and referendums do you think would be good metrics for leftism?

[bgwah]

I can't think of anything. You're supposed to convince me!

[nclib]

Didn't Oregon have an anti-gay marriage referendum?

[© Tweed the Younger]

anyone who thinks NYC is the most liberal city in America has never been to 75% of the neighborhoods in the city.

not to mention the Mayor is one of the top 2-3 financial magnates in the country with a $22b net worth.

[後援会]

anyone who thinks NYC is the most liberal city in America has never been to 75% of the neighborhoods in the city.

not to mention the Mayor is one of the top 2-3 financial magnates in the country with a $22b net worth.

Yeah. NYC elected Giuliani and Bloomberg. Yes, they are very moderate Republicans. But how many cities in America would ever elect a Republican under any circumstances? Would San Francisco, Portland, or Madison ever do so?

[Senator Sbane]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Oakland. And does Berkeley count? In that case it it is the most left-wing city in America.

[後援会]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Oakland. And does Berkeley count? In that case it it is the most left-wing city in America.

Isn't Richmond slightly more liberal than Berkeley?

[Senator Sbane]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Oakland. And does Berkeley count? In that case it it is the most left-wing city in America.

Isn't Richmond slightly more liberal than Berkeley?

Probably about the same. Berkeley is very left-wing.

[johnbuterbaugh]

What are some of the stereotypes you associate with liberals?
You could go with the Starbucks-to-Walmarts ratio. That would probably put Seattle up there. Number of Whole Foods is another metric.
You could go with history of counterculture and social or cultural liberalism (support for gay rights, abortion, untraditional lifestyles, being "weird"). San Francisco would be #1.
You could go with economic liberalism (support for high taxation, high spending, welfare, entitlement programs, affirmative action, etc.) I don't really see Detroit being a LIBERAL city as much as a DEMOCRATIC city. I associate the high voting percentages there with the African-American voting bloc, which is the most united racial voting bloc. Ever since FDR, their voting bloc has been part of the Democratic Party coalition.
Personally, I consider San Francisco the most liberal city in America mostly because it is the trendsetter for so many other liberal cities. It more accurately depicts the vision that liberals want for a city. Do most liberals want American cities to be modeled after Detroit? Not necessarily.
Obviously, liberal can mean different things to different people. After all, the major political parties take different stances from state to state and from place to place.

[So the Heroes Fall]

LOL Whole Foods is a vile right wing company. In 2009 some liberals were organizing pickets and protests of it.

[Diabolical Minds Think Alike]

Clearly it's Romney, WV

[Emperor SJoyce]

LOL Whole Foods is a vile right wing company. In 2009 some liberals were organizing pickets and protests of it.

The founder is a Rand/Friedman guy who voted for Barr who did one op-ed in the WSJ in which he advocated a typical position on healthcare that apparently aggravated several liberals. However, it remains that Whole Foods is the only place where I've seen multiple people with "Single-Payer Healthcare NOW!" t-shirts.

[Spanish Moss]

San Francisco.  They came insanely close to electing a Green Party mayor, the only major city that can say that (Matt Gonzalez).

[後援会]

San Francisco is not the most liberal city. You see, Matt Gonzalez actually lost. A large hispanic/asian population in SF makes it more Democratic than liberal, because there most moderate hispanics/asians vote Democrat.

On the other hand, nearby Richmond actually did vote in a Green. And Berkeley is only slightly less liberal than Richmond.

[JFK-Democrat]

SF hands down.

[Fmr. Emperor PiT]

San Francisco is not the most liberal city. You see, Matt Gonzalez actually lost. A large hispanic/asian population in SF makes it more Democratic than liberal, because there most moderate hispanics/asians vote Democrat.

On the other hand, nearby Richmond actually did vote in a Green. And Berkeley is only slightly less liberal than Richmond.

     It's not like most people even knew that Matt Gonzalez was a Green. Municipal elections are nonpartisan in California, so party identification really isn't a factor in mayoral elections. On the other hand, he did endorse Nancy Pelosi's Paulite opponent in 2010, so you might question how left-wing he actually is.