PAC Recommendations for Candidates in SF Races & State and Local Ballot Measures - November 2024 Election - San Francisco Women's Political Committee

This past weekend, we interviewed the San Francisco Board of Education, CCSF Board of Trustees, BART Board of Directors, and District Attorney candidates, along with several state and local ballot measures and provided our PAC recommendations here for the November 5, 2024 election.

We also invite you to vote from August 20 – August 22, should you be an eligible member. If you have not received an electronic ballot via email by noon on Tuesday August 20 and believe you are an eligible member, please contact our Membership Chair at membership@sfwpc.org

For our thoughts, please read our statements below these PAC recommendations.

Candidates

Board of Education (4 seats)

Virgina Cheung
Jaime Huling
Matt Alexander (incumbent)
Parag Gupta

CCSF (4 seats)

Aliya Chisti (incumbent)
Heather McCarty
Alan Wong (incumbent)
Luis Zamora

BART Board of Directors, D7

Dana Lang

BART Board of Directors, D9

Edward Wright

District Attorney

Brooke Jenkins (incumbent)

State ballot measures

Prop 6 – ACA 8 Ends Slavery

Prop 33 – Justice for Renters Act

Prop 36 – Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act

Local ballot measures

Prop A – San Francisco Unified School District School Improvement Bond

Prop B – Healthy, Safe, and Vibrant San Francisco Bond

Prop D – City Commissions and Mayoral Authority

Prop E – Creating a Task Force to Recommend Changing, Eliminating, or Combining City Commissions

Prop F – Police Staffing and Deferred Retirement

Prop G – Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund for Seniors, Families, Persons with Disabilities

Prop H – Retirement Benefits for Firefighters

Prop I – Retirement Benefits for Nurses and 911 Operators

Prop J – Funding Programs Serving Children, Youth, and Families

Prop K – Parkway at Upper Great Highway

Prop L – Business Tax on TNCs and Autonomous Vehicle Businesses

Prop M – Business Tax Reform

Prop N – First Responder Loan Forgiveness

Prop O – SF Reproductive Freedom Act

SFWPC Statements on our PAC Recommendations

The general election in November is set to be historic and we believe that we will elect a record breaking number of women into office up-and-down the ticket. Although POLITICO California Playbook dubbed 2024 ‘The Year of the Man?’, the SFWPC PAC committee believes 2024 will close as the ‘Year of the Woman.’ And our second set of PAC recommendations for November 2024 reflect our commitment to seeing gender equity in elected representation here in San Francisco.

Our framework for evaluating candidates and ballot measures for the PAC recommendation included:

Preparedness and responses of candidates and ballot measure representatives in their PAC interview
Responses to the SFWPC questionnaire (or ballot measure fact sheets) submitted pre-interview
Alignment with SFWPC’s mission, values, and policy agenda per both their interview and questionnaire
(Candidates only) Whether they identify as a woman or non-binary person
(Candidates only) Engagement with and track record with SFWPC
(Ballot measures only) Analysis of intended and unintended consequences upon the measure’s passing

We appreciate all those who made time to participate, complete our questionnaire, and speak to us during their interviews this past weekend.

We’re resharing some initial statements we made along with our previous PAC recommendations this cycle.

Warning Against Toxicity in Campaigning

Reducing toxicity in San Francisco politics is essential to supporting our work combating abuse, harassment, assault, and all forms of violence. Especially in this moment when we have seen political violence escalate to life or death situations here in the U.S.

Candidates should campaign on 1) what makes them the best candidate for their race and on 2) actual policy and strongly discourage the use of ad hominem attacks from the campaign and/or its supporters.

Although all candidates and campaigns should comply, our expectations regarding this are most applicable to and should be taken seriously by the candidates we have recommended for endorsement.

Legitimate Male Allyship Has Measurable Outcomes

Identifying the women in your life and telling us about how great they are is not allyship, nor does it mean that you will prioritize and work towards the policy change required to combat the most pressing issues women and non-binary people are facing, including gender-based violence and harassment, pay equity, access to childcare, affordable housing, etc. Male allyship and mentoring women is more than speaking about the women in your life.

Allyship is a verb, not a noun and candidates seeking SFWPC’s endorsement recommendation must demonstrate concrete actions they have taken, and speak to the policies they plan to champion and support in order to earn our endorsement recommendation.

Candidates:

Board of Education (4 seats):

Virgina Cheung
Jaime Huling
Matt Alexander (incumbent)
Parag Gupta

Since the 2022 Board of Education elections, San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) has faced significant challenges when it comes to addressing sexual violence, ensuring equitable resources for all students, and budgeting. Our PAC is recommending candidates we feel have best-demonstrated accountability for the outcomes in SFUSD and the willingness to put students first in all of their decision-making.

We believe that with our four recommended candidates on the Board of Education, all K-12 students, educators, and families will be heard and represented in decision-making spaces.

We are excited to recommend Matt Alexander for re-election to the San Francisco Board of Education. As the current Vice President of the Board and the only educator in the race, Matt has the experience and expertise to hold the SFUSD administration accountable for implementing policies that prioritize students and educators. We look forward to seeing Matt continue his work in building a stronger SFUSD.

We also recommend three new candidates for the Board of Education:

Virginia Cheung brings a unique expertise in early education and differentiated background in addressing chronic absenteeism by breaking down barriers to getting kids to school. We trust that her work with early childhood education in marginalized communities will uplift a population and issues that have not been previously addressed.

Jaime Huling has fought to defend LGBTQ+ and women’s rights as a long-term attorney and a previous Deputy City Attorney for San Francisco. In an era where LGBTQ+ youths are under attack, we believe that Jaime will be a strong Board of Education Commissioner who will put the voices of young women, queer, trans, and non-binary students first.

Parag Gupta recognizes the untapped power of the Student Advisory Council and the importance of uplifting their voices. He also recognizes it is crucial to uplift the voices of affected marginalized communities in the Southeast side of the City for the Resource Realignment Initiative, especially for single mothers and immigrant families.

The SFWPC PAC Committee values the work and advocacy that Supryia Ray has done around anti-violence and school safety. If elected, we would be pleased to work with her on issues impacting young women, trans, and non-binary students in SFUSD.

CCSF Board of Trustees (4 seats) :

Aliya Chisti (incumbent)
Heather McCarty
Alan Wong (incumbent)
Luis Zamora

All four candidates who we recommend demonstrate substantive policy knowledge applicable to CCSF. We believe this experience is vital for the continued existence of CCSF, as it navigates critical accreditation and solvency challenges.

We are excited to recommend Alan Wong for re-election to the CCSF Board of Trustees. As the current President of the Board, Alan has demonstrated his determination to get CCSF to financial stability. He has a commitment to the different communities that make up the student body, faculty, and staff and we trust his leadership toward a thriving CCSF.

We also recommend Aliya Chisti for re-election. As an incumbent, Aliya provides competence and stability to the Board, as well as a vision of how to grow enrollment, strategically fundraise, and eliminate student debt. Her directness and focus on improving Board procedures and processes will be important to reduce bias and subjectivity across the Board. As a the first elected Muslim woman in San Francisco, Aliya’s position on the board will continue to uplift voices of a large, but oftentimes, silenced community.

We also recommend two new candidates for CCSF Board of Trustees:

We enthusiastically recommend Heather McCarty. Heather is an impressive candidate: she has significant experience teaching at community colleges, and is a proven advocate for women and minorities in education. With extensive experience in creating spaces for students to thrive, we trust that she will bring expertise and knowledge of students’ experiences to the Board.

Finally, Luis Zamora is the rare combination of a candidate with proven policy chops, experience in local government, and a deep understanding of how policy decisions impact people every day. Additionally, while many allies speak about the need to keep abusers from rising to prominence in our political spaces even when doing so is uncomfortable, Luis has “walked the walk.” We recognize and appreciate his willingness to demonstrate allyship and step up when it counts.

While Ruth Ferguson did not receive PAC recommendation for a CCSF seat, we are deeply grateful of her commitment to SFWPC’s mission and values, and relentless fight to end sexual abuse in our political spaces. We look forward to a continued partnership on this issue in the future.

BART Board of Directors, D7 – Dana Lang

We are recommending Dana Lang for District 7 BART Board of Directors. As the current vice president of the BART Police Civilian Review Board, Dana has been representing BART and effectively collaborating with community members, transit riders, and the BART Police. She has led outreach events to address safety concerns on BART and raised awareness for the “Not One More Girl” campaign. With decades of experience in transportation and fundraising, Dana has successfully secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state funding—a critical skill for navigating BART’s impending fiscal challenges. If elected, Dana Lang will be the only Black woman on the BART Board, bringing much-needed diversity and representation to the leadership.

BART Board of Directors, D9 – Edward Wright

We are recommending Edward Wright for District 9 BART Board of Directors. While both candidates are strong, we believe Edward’s lengthy direct transit policy experience best equips him for this seat. His professional experience with public budgets, public policy, and public transit will be critical in addressing BART’s fiscal cliff and securing a sustainable and stable financial future for the system. His experience as strategy and communications advisor for the SFMTA in implementing SB 434 for Muni well equips him to support the successful strategies undertaken in BART’s “Not One More Girl” campaign, which works to make transit safer for women and non-binary people.

District Attorney – Brooke Jenkins

We are recommending Brooke Jenkins for District Attorney of San Francisco. District Attorney Jenkins has an immense level of prosecutorial experience, serving as the District Attorney for the last two years.

During her time as the current DA, she has clearly acknowledged the challenges that survivors face, especially women and communities of color. She has worked to break down the barriers for those reporting crimes. The “Access To Hope Initiative” and work within the Youth and Young Adult Services Unit are examples of a commitment to non-prosecutorial prevention and interventions, and recognize the need of the justice system to build trust amongst youth and families in communities most often impacted by cycles of violence.

As an organization that champions intersectional feminism, we also recognize that the bar is often set higher for women of color. While we recognize that we have not always aligned on public safety policies, we appreciate the District Attorney’s forthrightness in her perspective and we look forward to working with her to uplift the voices of marginalized communities in the fight for justice.

State ballot measures:

Prop 33 – Justice for Renters Act

We recommend Yes on Prop 33, the “Justice for Renters” Act, which repeals the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (1995). Currently, under Costa-Hawkins, California limits the amount of rent control that cities and counties can impose on residential units to 5% plus inflation (up to a total of 10 percent) annually and does not allow cities to have rent control on single-family homes or apartments built after 1995. This proposition will allow cities and counties to expand rent control and limit the ability of the state of California to regulate it, potentially allowing local jurisdictions to craft their own, stronger rent control rules.

California rent has skyrocketed over the last few decades, disproportionately impacting single mothers, BIPOC women, and nonbinary people, and this proposition may better protect renters from future increases. Similar proposals were on the ballot and rejected by voters in 2018 and 2020.

However, while SFWPC fundamentally believes in rent control in an expensive and highly exploitative housing market, we also want to note the legitimate concerns about the potential weaponization and abuse of this proposition, which may open the door for some localities to maximize rent control to disincentivize developers from building housing, gutting housing production and Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) targets.

California is currently in a housing shortage – a crisis that is the result of five decades of bad housing policy that has limited the production of housing and driven up housing costs across the board, resulting in skyrocketing rents; pushing home ownership out of reach of many middle class and hourly workers; resulted in super commutes for workers who cannot afford to live where they work; and contributed to pollution and health inequity in some of the poorest regions of the state.

We feel that rent control is necessary in the immediate-term to protect the most vulnerable people from the risk of homelessness or being forced to leave the state. However, we know that San Francisco and, more broadly, the state of California, must commit to producing the housing needed (especially affordable housing), to meet RHNA targets by 2031 to address our housing crisis.

Prop 36 – Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act

We recommend No on Prop 36. This measure would roll back some of the progress made with Prop 47 (2014) to decrease mass incarceration and fund treatments and diversion programs. Prop 47 was set so that cost savings in prisons would be used to fund long-term programs, like mental health and drug treatment, which are more effective in lowering crime in the long run. Passage of Prop 36 would reverse those program investments and significantly increase the state courts’ workloads and the state prison population, raising state costs to the hundreds of millions of dollars every year. We believe that Prop 36 would bring back over-punitive, costly, and ineffective measures that have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, including communities of color and families affected by incarceration.

Local ballot measures:

Prop D & E – San Francisco Commission Reform Measures

We recommend No on D. We acknowledge that the number of commissions in San Francisco needs right-sizing, and Prop D provides a much-needed sense of urgency to address the maze of commissions; however, this measure has other less-advertised components that raise the alarm for us. First, Prop D cuts certain commissions without engaging with the communities that will lose a governing body they rely on. Some of these commissions include the Commission on the Status on Women, Arts, Health, Library, Youth, and Environment Commissions. Second, changes to the Police Commission included in the measure are especially problematic to us: it would give the Police Chief sole authority on rules governing police conduct, resulting in the additional chipping away at the civilian oversight power of the Police Commission. Prop D undermines police oversight in a way our organization can’t support.

We recommend Yes on E. If voters want a way to reform our current commissions, Prop E will provide a more transparent, community-engaged, and voter-engaged process. Prop E will mandate that an independent task force conduct a cost-benefit analysis of all commissions, and then present its recommendations for reform for voter approval in November 2026.

Prop F – Police Staffing and Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP)

We recommend No on F. While we acknowledge that police staffing and public safety are important issues in San Francisco, we do not believe that Prop F is the appropriate response to address them. The measure would create a Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) which would pay eligible officers retirement benefits along with their current salaries, effectively double-paying them in an attempt to slow the rate of retiring officers down. This measure would cost our city millions at a time of budget deficit on top of existing bonuses, retention premiums, and salary increases given to the police department in the past few years. Along with the ACLU, the Public Defender Office, Supervisors Ronen, Preston, and Walton, we strongly believe that there are more efficient ways to invest in our community’s safety.

Prop K – Great Highway Park

We recommend that our membership vote Yes on Prop K, which will permanently close a portion of the Great Highway to cars and convert it into a park. We recognize the impact that this will have on westside drivers and traffic diversion in the area. However, due to the impacts of climate change and continuing coastal erosion, closure of the southern portion of this road has been planned for some time. If Prop K does not pass, the plan to close and convert that portion of the Great Highway in the near future will still go forward out of necessity. Passing Prop K will allow this conversion to move forward in an intentional way that provides a benefit to residents already enjoying the park on weekends. We recommend a yes vote.

Prop O – San Francisco Reproductive Freedom Act

In bygone elections, Measure O, which seeks to formalize support for reproductive freedom and access to abortion services, would be an anodyne policy. But in a post-Roe America with a potential second-term Trump Presidency, it is anything but.

In an emergency, time matters, and in a post-Roe world, days count. Prop O responds to the existing emergency of abortion access parity between states, and puts concrete resources in place for a potential future where additional factual information and abortion services on a much shorter timeline may be needed. Creating the infrastructure locally to allow women to access timely and accurate reproductive care now, including the creation of a fund to protect these services, is sadly necessary at this moment in our country’s history.

We strongly urge our membership to vote Yes on Prop O.

PAC Recommendations for Candidates in SF Races & State and Local Ballot Measures – November 2024 Election