The City of San Francisco must do a better job keeping our neighborhoods clean and safe. Today, San Franciscans watch every day as litter piles up along our city streets. We need a city government that is honest and accountable about what’s happening in our community and invests in correcting the years of neglect in our midst. It’s impossible to walk around the city, or even stand outside your home, and not encounter open drug markets, find needles lining the streets and garbage piled high. We must do a better job attracting and retaining trained professionals to protect our city. The Police Department, Fire Department and 911 Dispatch all need more support – and more staff. Their jobs have become increasingly difficult through the pandemic and beyond, leading to even higher turnover. Increasingly, we have been losing ground where we need to be gaining ground. I will make a stand by investing in all of our first responders and enforcing policies to get San Francisco back on track while demanding accountability.

When it comes to housing, we must protect and preserve San Francisco’s current tenants and homeowners first to keep existing residents secure in their homes. That means protecting against the demolition of our historic neighborhoods, especially our rent-controlled housing stock. Today, local control and neighborhood self-determination are under threat when it comes to how and where housing is built and preserved in San Francisco. We can revitalize downtown by incentivizing the conversion of historic office buildings to housing. As Supervisor, I will demand meaningful community engagement and dialogue between developers, city departments and residents. Our neighborhoods must have a voice in the process so that we can reach the consensus required to build and preserve housing that respects the tapestry of our neighborhoods.

San Francisco’s small businesses are the heart of our city. I have been walking our commercial corridors building relationships with our merchants for a decade, listening to their stories, their struggles and their successes. Our small business owners should be able to operate without fear of crime affecting their business and trash littering their doorstep. The city has a responsibility to protect small businesses against crime. As Supervisor, I will support increased monitoring of our commercial corridors and grants to attract and preserve neighborhood-serving businesses in our city’s historic neighborhoods – especially local manufacturing and both fine and performing arts.

San Francisco is battling one of the largest homelessness crises in the state. Our local government is simply not doing enough to tackle the problem. We must take a compassionate yet firm approach to this crisis. We cannot allow people to die from overdoses on our streets. We need shelter space and options that provide basic services to put our unhoused neighbors on a path to more permanent housing. As Co-founder of the Van Ness Corridor Neighborhoods Council, I’ve shown that I’m willing to put in the hard work to revitalize one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares. As Supervisor, I’m ready to cut through the red tape to create solutions that humanely, but effectively, transition the unhoused off our streets and sidewalks. I will use the City’s money more efficiently to invest in both short-term shelter and long-term housing – and provide services that address the root causes of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. Mental illness is deeply personal to me as it is something my mother has battled her entire life and I have seen how support and treatment have kept her safe and housed. We must fight to destigmatize mental illness and addiction and focus on solutions.

San Francisco residents and business owners are tired of feeling ignored in the city’s policy making process and many believe their input has been disregarded in the delivery of city services. Over the years, San Franciscans have witnessed a systematic effort to stifle the voices of neighbors in both neighborhood-specific and citywide policies from transportation to housing to public safety. As Supervisor, I will make sure the voices of residents are considered before decisions are made for their neighborhoods and ensure the city is responsive and accountable to your concerns. I will ensure that city department staff does extensive community outreach before bringing policy proposals before the Board of Supervisors. Genuine community outreach goes beyond simply presenting an idea at a meeting – it involves actively listening to the concerns of neighbors and integrating their input into the policy-making process. As a community advocate and activist at heart, I see the role of Supervisor as being a true representative of the people in my district. With me as your representative, District 3 neighbors will always have a receptive ear open to their concerns and a loyal advocate to demand accountability from our city departments.