Welcome to “Meet the candidates,” where Mission Local asks supervisor hopefuls questions in the lead-up to the November election. In District 7 — which includes the Inner Sunset, Parkmerced and West Portal — Matt Boschetto and Stephen Martin-Pinto are running against incumbent Myrna Melgar.
Between now and the November election, Mission Local will ask each candidate one question per week, and candidates will get 100 words to respond. Take a look at all the answers from District 7 candidates here.
Here’s our second question: Why are you running for supervisor?
Matt Boschetto
Trying to build a business and raise a family in SF, I became very frustrated by the politics of our city. For decades City Hall has been dominated by professional politicians who have prioritized ideology and career trajectories over the needs of their constituents. By challenging an incumbent, I am challenging that status quo, taking the power away from the establishment, and putting it back into the hands of the people. And I hope I will not be the only one. I hope to see others like me join this political process and serve the city we love.
Stephen Martin-Pinto
We need working-class, blue-collar representation. I’ve been a union ironworker, U.S. Marine, and San Francisco firefighter. I’ve seen first-hand the end results of how our city policies play out. I have unique real-world experiences and common sense perspectives that very few in politics have, and will offer pragmatic solutions. We need someone with a vested personal interest in San Francisco; I was born and raised here, attended public schools here (Lowell High School) and have family here. I started this campaign myself; it’s neither a political arrangement nor a career move. I’m running because I actually care and want to improve San Francisco.
Myrna Melgar
I am running again because I want to continue serving my community. I think that my particular set of skills, knowledge and relationships are useful for District 7 as we navigate this period in the life of our city. Over the past four years, I have prioritized the very diverse needs of District 7 through the pandemic and the recovery — and delivered on safety, support for small businesses, housing, transportation, and support for families with children and seniors. We are not out of the woods just yet, but I am proud of my legislative record, and the constituent services my office … Read more
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 kelly@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.