Here are my positions (in a nutshell) on my top priorities:
Affordable HousingSan Francisco faces a housing crisis that is not unique to our city but is nevertheless quite acute here. I propose that we:
- Expand our first-time homebuyers loan program, which provides downpayment assistance in return for a share of return on investment.
- Expand our definition of "affordable" to include the middle class in addition to the lower class, because we are developing ourselves into a city of "haves" and "have-nots."
- Do all that we can to sustain existing tenant protections and inclusionary zoning laws.
Quality TransitSan Francisco has some of the greatest amount of transit access of any American city, and yet it is still difficult to get from one side of town to the other without a car. We need to:
- Do a better job of coordinating the services provided by the five major transit agencies, which could take advantage of opportunities to coordinate schedules, and eliminate redundancies in service.
- Fully implement the recommendations of the recently-released Transit Effectiveness Project, and consider that just the first step in overhauling our aging transit infrastructure.
- Finally get Geary and Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and other major infrastructure improvements underway.
A Diverse EconomySan Francisco has gone through boom and bust many times over the centuries, most recently with the dot-com era. There is no reason that this city, with its level of education, quality of work-base, and accessibility, should be so susceptible to the rise and fall of single industries. We have an opportunity now to:
- Encourage the development of new biotech and alternative energy companies in San Francisco.
- Provide better support for our thousands of small businesses.
- Determine where the greatest need is for additional services as the City changes, and review zoning regulations to ensure that they provide adequate economic benefit to all our neighborhoods.
Equal OpportunitySan Francisco's most polluting industries are typically located in our poorest neighborhoods. While this may make the problems associated with these industries invisible to those with the means to live elsewhere, we all have an obligation to:
- Ensure that we do not allow more polluting industries into our poorest neighborhoods.
- Mitigate, if not outright eliminate, the permanent damage being done to our poorest residents by poorly-placed power, sewage treatment, and trash facilities.
Engaging Cultural, Artistic, and Late-night activitiesSan Francisco was once known as a city that was on the cutting edge in opening the minds of its residents, and its many visitors, to new ways of looking at the world. In the past few decades our city has been slowly surpassed by other American cities as the combination of the land use squeeze, an aging population, and a lagging economy have reduced the number of cultural, artistic, and late-night outlets. In order to turns this around, we should:
- Better-coordinate services for street fairs and parties
- Lift the moratorium on new entertainment venues in the South of Market
- Push the State to allow sales of alcohol past 2am until 4am
- Provide better night-time transportation
