Candidate for
Board of Supervisors; San Francisco County; District 8

I love this town. I loved it back when I used to fly up to San Francisco on school holidays to visit my grandmother and see the Big City. I loved it when I moved here at 11, and somewhere between studying at Brandeis and Lick, running in Golden Gate Park and along Ocean Beach, and wandering the hills and neighborhoods of this most beautiful metropolis, I found my way to adulthood. Today, a grown-up in the City where I grew up, my appreciation for its history, its people, and its values has only grown.

Of course it is human to complain, and there are those who tend to focus on all that's wrong with San Francisco. They say that we San Franciscans are the victims of our own outsized, outmoded and misdirected notions of compassion and humanity. They say we have made it too difficult to develop here. They say we are too permissive and have let the place spiral out of control.

I see things a little differently. Our City, like all California cities, faces serious challenges, but the simple truth is that few of the public problems facing San Franciscans were created here. Rather, from our underfunded public transportation system to the increasing un-affordability of our housing stock, from the abandonment of our public schools to the evisceration of our safety net, the challenges we face have largely been thrust upon us by decades of policy failures at the state and federal levels.

Much as we would like to, San Francisco alone cannot right every social wrong that has been thrust upon us by Washington or Sacramento. But neither should we set aside the very values and social commitments that have made this place so unique and wonderful. In fact, I believe that it is only by staying true to our City's best values and commitments that we can successfully navigate our current crises and restore San Francisco, not just as the City that knows how, but as the City that shows how.

Leaving No One Behind

San Franciscans are rightfully proud of having created a safety net unmatched anywhere else in California. Our commitment to affordable housing is unparalleled, with 30 percent of the 12,129 new homes built in the last five years being affordable to low and moderate income households. Going back to the early days of the AIDS crisis, we have made a significant commitment to our public health system, and we are the first city to offer a universal healthcare program. And yet for all our good intentions, we know that lots of people are still struggling in San Francisco just for a decent life.

As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I will work to:

• Lead San Francisco forward with a budget that shares sacrifices fairly, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and focusing on long-term solutions
• Make our City's commitment to ensuring that every San Franciscan who wants to quit using drugs can access effective treatment a reality
• Expand street outreach programs to bring our City's homeless off the streets and into real care
• Protect our public health hospitals and community clinics, and expand on the successes of Healthy San Francisco
• Require that our private and nonprofit hospitals continue to carry their fair share of our City's healthcare needs
• Pass a new affordable housing bond allowing the creation of thousands more units affordable to families of all income levels.
• Secure additional funding for affordable rental and homeownership programs
• Support our City's policy of providing affordable housing as part of all new developments
• Preserve the supply of rent-controlled units and other tenant protections
• Expand on the Public Education Enrichment Fund, which brings much needed resources to our public school system

San Franciscans have made a tradition of standing up for their neighborhoods against the economic interests that would use those neighborhoods merely as profit-centers. From the Freeway Revolt of the 1960s, to the slow growth activism of the 70s and 80s that culminated with the passage of Proposition M, we have long understood that our neighborhoods express the unique character of our City and they need to remain vital and strong. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I will work to:

• Reform our Planning Department to restore the public's confidence in its integrity and independence by supporting Planning staff in standing up to powerful special interests
• Ensure the Planning Department has the resources to make long-range community planning a priority
• Engage neighborhoods in identifying their priorities for neighborhood development, street improvements, transportation and open spaces
• Support the work of the City's Historic Preservation Commission
• Prioritize funding for public community resources such as parks, recreation centers, neighborhood libraries, and senior and community centers
• Reduce the regulatory burden on locally owned small businesses
• Make our neighborhoods safer by ensuring adequate funding for our police and fire departments, and ensuring that public safety resources are used effectively
• Support the community patrols and Patrol Special police that have been used with such success in several District 8 neighborhoods

The Bay Area has long been a hotbed of environmental innovation. Today, in a million different ways + from clean tech to urban farming, from the creation of bicycle-friendly streets to the passage of groundbreaking environmental legislation + San Francisco and the larger Bay Area are leading the way toward a more sustainable future.

As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I will work to:

• Transform our MTA into an agency capable of transporting all San Franciscans safely, quickly and reliably
• Ensure that the developments are energy efficient, transit-reliant and pedestrian friendly
• Promote the "greening" of existing buildings and public facilities
• Address environmental justice issues, including high asthma rates and toxic sites facing the southeast portion of our City
• Adequately fund our parks and other open spaces
• Support Community Choice Aggregation to ensure the cleanest and most cost-efficient electricity available
• Continue the undergrounding of utility lines throughout San Francisco

San Francisco has long been a City of dreamers, a place where someone could come without a lot of money and pursue a good idea. Entrepreneurs, artists, and political activists have been able to come here, follow their dream, and in so doing help make the Bay Area one of the most dynamic and creative places on earth. We need to preserve and sustain that culture. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I will work to:

• Ensure adequate funding for the arts, especially community-based arts organizations
• Create additional community spaces for public performances and community gatherings
• Create new affordable housing to attract creative people who could not otherwise live in San Francisco.
• Contribute to the creative life of our City by ensuring our schools have the resources and community support they need
• Sustain public celebrations, street fairs, and entertainment activities

San Franciscans believe in democratic decision-making. We have enacted some of the most far-reaching Sunshine reforms in California, because democracy demands we have full access to the political process and public policy debates should occur in public, not behind closed doors. As a leader of our local Democratic Party, I have been a consistent champion of public financing, lobbying reform, and disclosure. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I will work to:

• Ensure that San Franciscans determine the future of our neighborhoods by limiting the influence of private interests that seek to profit from our public resources
• Enforce our ethics laws to promote transparency and accountability
• Guarantee adequate funding for public financing of elections
• Close existing loopholes in campaign finance law
• Make our City's websites more useful to members of the public