Brian Hanlon, president of California YIMBY, was surprised when Sanders made his 2016 endorsements. “My first reaction was, does Bernie understand the local politics here?” he says. “He was supporting people who were identified as progressive, but many of these people had been opposing homebuilding, including affordable homebuilding, for years.”

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“We’re convinced that the mayor’s race in Berkeley was tipped by Bernie’s endorsement,” says Matthew Lewis, communications director for the nonprofit California YIMBY, “and not in a good way.”