Garry's List

Introducing Garry’s List

2026-02-11 · 00:00 UTC ·Garry Tan ·2 min read

Brief

Garry’s List is a new civic media and organizing product from Garry Tan that combines sourced local-policy explainers, a vetted membership network, and accountability tooling for elected officials. Starting in San Francisco and California, the project aims to convert fragmented grassroots activism into reusable political infrastructure by synthesizing public records into shareable narratives and coordinating members around outcomes-focused local action.

Why it matters

Garry Tan launched Garry’s List on 2026-02-11 as a San Francisco- and California-focused membership community for local political coordination and accountability.

Key details

  • Tan says the project is built around three functions: turning public-source material such as budget documents, board meeting transcripts, tweets, and other 'receipts' into sourced plain-language stories; connecting approved members in the same city; and tracking whether elected officials keep campaign promises with personalized, evidence-backed updates.
  • The launch post frames Garry’s List as an attempt to institutionalize tactics Tan says were previously improvised in San Francisco politics, citing recalls of a district attorney and school board members and support for electing a mayor who 'wants the city to work.'
  • Tan says the initial team is just three people—Garry Tan, Forrest Liu, and Shaudi Fulp—and that he used Claude Code to build the system on nights and weekends while retaining human editorial control over what is published.
Source evidence

title: Introducing Garry’s List
author: Garry Tan
contenttype: article
publication: Garry's List
published: 2026-02-11T00:00:00
sourceurl: https://garryslist.org/posts/introducing-garry-s-list

word_count: 442

Introducing Garry’s List

We’re starting a citizen’s union for people who care about what works

TL;DR

We proved local politics is winnable in SF. Now we’re building the community to do it everywhere — sourced news and commentary and accountability for policies that closes the loop. Apply to join.

I’ve spent the last three years in the trenches of San Francisco politics. We recalled a DA. We recalled school board members. We helped elect a mayor who wants the city to work. None of it was supposed to happen. All of it did.

Nobody tells you how improvised local politics is. We were knocking on doors, getting signatures, passing out fliers at farmers markets, finding each other one by one because we all saw the same rot. It worked — barely. But every cycle we were starting from scratch.

So I kept asking: what would it look like if we actually built the infrastructure? And with Claude Code, I realized I could do it in nights and weekends. So you’re looking at it now.

Today we’re launching Garry’s List. It does three things.

It tells you what’s actually happening. We take the real information that’s already out there — the tweets, the budget documents, the board meeting transcripts, the receipts — and turn it into sourced, readable stories in plain language. Evidence-backed explainers you can share at the dinner table and not get dismissed.

It connects you to people who care. Garry’s List is a membership community, not just another news and commentary email list. You apply, we review it, and if you’re in, you’re connected to other people in your city who want outcomes, not theater. We host convenings, working groups, and real coordination.

It closes the loop. When an elected official you supported reverses course on a promise, we tell you exactly what happened, give you the evidence, and show you how to hold them accountable. Personalized. Sourced. Actionable. That’s the product — turning informed citizens into coordinated action.

We’re starting in San Francisco and California because that’s where we’ve already proven the model works. But everyone watches California. What happens here sets the template.

The team is me, Forrest Liu, and Shaudi Fulp. We’re lean on purpose. I’m editor-in-chief. Nothing ships without editorial judgment. The system makes us fast.

If you care about what works more than what polls well, and if you’re tired of the politics that don’t work — welcome to your community.

This is the citizen’s union for radical centrists, and we saved you a seat.

Apply to be a Garry’s List Member →

— Garry

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