Y Combinator’s Garry Tan chastises a San Francisco lawmaker again; this time about an email bill

Garry Tan, president of Y Combinator took the social platform Tuesday to once again express his dissatisfaction with the elected officials representing San Francisco, where the legendary accelerator is based.

This time, he was lambasting California State Assemblyman Matt Haney over a late-night email bill that he authored. Haney represents San Francisco in the state’s equivalent of the House of Representatives.

The tweet read: “Legalize hard work. Haney is spreading nonsense again, from the guy who killed algebra and started the fentanyl crisis in the net. Then he posted a topic saying, “Is this a foreign operation or what?”

Haney is what you might call Tan’s “favorite punching bag.” In 2016, Haney led the San Francisco Public Schools board when the district discussed moving out of middle school algebra. The course was later reinstated in 2024. That Tan was not a fan of this earlier decision is evident in several tweets, notably in April 2023, October 2022 And June 2021.

Meanwhile, in 2022, Haney was appointed to head California’s opioid committee, to which Tan tweeted“Politics, as usual, puts the incompetent supe who presided over thousands of fentanyl-related deaths in his SF district in charge of the California Opioid Commission. Matt Haney has done nothing to support recovery and treatment…”

Haney defended his work fighting the opioid crisis in a February LinkedIn Post. In it, he referenced AB 1976, a bill that he said would “build on existing requirements requiring California employers to have “adequate first aid materials” for workers. Its aim is to manufacture kits containing naloxone, a life-saving drug, available “as a fire extinguisher”.

What angered Tan this time was Haney’s proposed bill, AB 2751, which would give employees “the right to disconnect” after agreeing to work hours. This means they would have the legal right to ignore calls, emails, texts or messages sent after this time, except in an emergency, and employers in violation could face fines, a reported the San Francisco Standard.

Haney told the publication: “If you work 9 to 5, you shouldn’t expect to work 24/7. This should be accessible to everyone, regardless of the existence of smartphones.

It’s worth emphasizing that the purpose of the bill is not so much to prohibit people from working long hours if they choose to do so, as Tan implies, as to prohibit companies from imposing ever-present expectations. available to workers. However, this idea runs counter to startup culture, part of the YC world, which reveres dedication to work, especially in the early years.

Tan’s latest tweet finding fault with a California lawmaker is not unique. In January, he launched a rant against seven San Francisco supervisors in a violent tone. He later apologized, explained that the tweet was meant to be an obvious reference to a popular rap song, and subsequently deleted the tweet.

But it didn’t stop there. In February, three San Francisco supervisors received threatening letters at their homes containing a photo of Tan and the phrase: “I wish a slow and painful death for you and your loved ones.” »

TechCrunch spoke with Supervisor Aaron Peskin about the letter at the time, and Peskin said he didn’t think Tan was directly responsible for anyone sending the letter. However, with its threatening tone aimed at a person, and not just political speech, Tan’s tweet nonetheless “harmed democratic discourse,” Peskin said.

Attempts to reach Tan and Haney for comment were not successful at the time of publication. Y Combinator declined to comment.