Because Supervisor Aaron Peskin terms out next January, five candidates have filed to run for the seat to lead District 3, which includes North Beach, Chinatown, Union Square, the Financial District, Russian Hill and Nob Hill.
Between now and the November election, Mission Local will ask each candidate one question per week, and candidates will get 100 words to respond. We will compile all responses to the 40-odd questions on a “Meet the candidates” page, so that voters can get a full picture of their stances.
Question one: What is your number one issue in this election, and what do you plan to do about it?
Moe Jamil
Deputy City Attorney, San Francisco City Attorney’s Office
As District 3 Supervisor, I’ll hold our City government accountable for standing with our communities and ensuring our neighborhoods are clean and safe. I know City Hall inside and out from years of experience in the City Attorney’s Office and as a community leader. I’ll bring strong leadership to City Hall to re-establish trust, make sure District 3 residents are heard, and address everyone’s frustrations with the state of the City. I will remain open and accessible, actively meeting with — and listening to — voters’ concerns. By doing so, I’ll demonstrate that I’m committed to transparency and responsiveness as District 3’s next Supervisor.
Sharon Lai
Economic recovery leader at the World Economic Forum, former board member at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Public safety: After being attacked on MUNI and rising anti-Asian hate, I tripled the public safety budget for SFMTA to increase ambassadors, visibility staffing, outreach staff, as well as increased data transparency with SFPD.
As District 3 Supervisor, I will:
- Build interdepartmental relationships, reduce inefficiencies, use appropriate technology to address hate crimes, theft and personal attacks.
- Hire, train, retain police officers: Tackle the 600 vacant police positions and streamline the job they should do. Expand alternatives like community policing and focus the officers’ time on violent crimes, instead of paperwork.
- Increase pedestrian safety to stop senseless fatalities and injuries now!
JConr B. Ortega
Self-described formerly homeless, DAD democrat, leatherman, boxer
Sustainability is the biggest issue we face. What’s happening now, in both our district and the city, cannot be sustained any longer. Crime, homelessness, loss of businesses and the City at risk of bankruptcy; our city is on the verge of collapse. My RR&R plan is to remove drugs dealers (include deportation) and get addicts into treatment. While Prop 47 supports thieves, alternative ways of accountability can be developed to ensure thieves learn their lesson. Rebuild our community’s infrastructure and reinvest by making it easier and faster to start a business, encourage innovation and support our youth!
Danny Sauter
Executive Director, Neighborhood Centers Together
My top priority is ensuring that everyone feels safe in San Francisco. This starts with a fully-staffed first responder network, from police officers to street crisis teams and 911 dispatchers. I will increase hiring bonuses, especially for those who speak priority languages, like Cantonese to serve our Chinatown community.
We also need to do more with our existing resources. This means utilizing the latest technology to prevent and solve crimes and getting police officers out of the station and into the neighborhoods so that we have a community-oriented safety response.
Matthew Susk
Former lead with Divvy Homes
When I was growing up in District 3, I was encouraged to explore San Francisco by walking around the community. I now speak with elders who are afraid to go out after dark, and young families who are worried about walking their children to school. That is unacceptable. As supervisor, ensuring the safety of our streets will be my number one priority. We will recruit the best law enforcement officers, fully staff the SFPD, arrest fentanyl dealers and compel all hospitals to treat those suffering from drug addiction and mental health issues.
Candidates are ordered alphabetically. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at yujie@missionlocal.com.
Read the rest of the series here. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.
Aaron Peskin will be missed. A lot. I like the suggestion that his staff be kept…he was nobody’s fool and made good choices. I hope these young people know they have to grow to fill his shoes!
Sydney,
You married a Clemens ?
Missouri family ?
h.
To Replace Aaron Peskin we get this ??!!??
One of them promised to establish ties to various parts of …
Just keep Aaron’s Staff as I’ve promised to keep Hillary’s in D-9.
Aaron was always a master at picking staffs.
His Chief of Staff, what’s her name … best in building.
Bottom line is reading these thumbnails I don’t see a Progressive voter anywhere.
I don’t know what I think about these candidates yet, except for one: I definitely don’t want a member of the Board of Supervisors, let alone D3, who works for the WEF. As for none of them being a Progessive, good! Progressive just means Marxist.
“Streets! Popo! Drugs!” These are all AI-generated “virtual” candidates, right? They sure seem cloudbased..
It’s called being responsive to the electorate.
I know the US Army just changed their rules on neck tattoos, but no. It points to a history of bad decision-making. I don’t want my supervisor going on a bender and selling off Coit Tower to a Belarussian dictator for a bag of horse.
Ironic that a lot of these candidates are espousing the same failed policies that Paul Harkin rightfully pointed out in an article today: https://missionlocal.org/2024/02/prop-fs-biggest-foe-shocked-to-find-himself-in-prop-f-ad/ as not working.
Why didn’t JConr B. Ortega get a line about who they are and/or what they do? Everyone else did . . .
Looks like D3 is going to have a very different kind of supervisor come next year.
Hey cardinal,
Imagine meeting you in another chat space what are the odds ?
100% apparently.
lol
Yeah, BOS will definitely have a ‘Moderate’ majority.
In fact, if Chan and Preston lose it could be 10-1 Mods against only Shamann Walton.
Reminds me of when Ammiano and Sue Bierman were only Progs who could get elected to the City-Wide Board.
Willie appointed every commissioner and all department heads were ‘Acting’ and everyone had their Letters of Resignation to spend more time at home with their families in his top drawer.
Now, those were the days !!
Don’t fret, we’re getting back to them.
If I win the D-9 Race I’m going to suggest we withdraw from the City.
Form our own Town.
Let’s see …
‘Sin City’ is already taken.
lol
Go Niners !!