District 11 candidates discuss transit shortcomings

A person with long dark hair wearing a white shirt and black blazer stands in front of a textured red wall, smiling. by XUEER LU JUNE 27, 2024 (MissionLocal.org)

Drawings of the six candidates for District 11 supervisor for 2024, from left to right are: Michael Lai, Adlah Chisti, Ernest "E.J." Jones, Roger Marenco, Chyanne Chen, and Jose Morales.
Michael Lai, Adlah Chisti, Ernest “E.J.” Jones, Roger Marenco, Chyanne Chen, and Jose Morales are running for District 11 supervisor in the November 2024 election. Illustrations by Neil Ballard.

Welcome back to the “Meet the Candidates” series for District 11, where we ask each candidate to answer one question every week leading up to the election. They must answer the question in 100 words or fewer. We will link to longer answers. 

With District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí termed out and running for mayor, seven candidates have thrown their hats in the ring to represent the Excelsior, Oceanview and the Outer Mission.


Three candidate forums in, transit is always one of the major topics in the crowded District 11 race, alongside and intertwined with others, such as public safety and housing. 

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This week, we are going to hear more details from the supervisor candidates on the subject of transit: Name one specific transit shortcoming in District 11 and tell us how you would change that as supervisor? 

Mission Local is hosting a candidate forum in District 11 on July 10 from 6 to 7:30pm at the Italian American Social Club, at 25 Russia Ave. I will be the forum moderator. The event will be free to attend and you can register here.

Next week, I will be at TS Cafe at 4754 Mission St. on Tuesday, July 2, at 6 p.m. Drop by and share your thoughts! xueer@missionlocal.com

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Drawing of Roger Marenco, District 11 supervisor candidate for 2024

Roger Marenco

  • Job: Transit operator
  • Age: 42
  • Residency: Tenant, living in District 11 since May 2014
  • Transportation: Public 
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in environmental sustainability and social justice from San Francisco State University. City College San Francisco
  • Languages: English, Spanish

Brotherhood Way is an obvious transit shortcoming that needs to be addressed immediately. However, I would like to address the roads in general, which have gained the title of the most dangerous roads in America because of how deteriorated they have become due to political neglect. 

We need to invest immediately into repairing the roads for the safety of everyone who travels up and down the streets. We need to prioritize funding for this transit shortcoming immediately in the name of public safety. Let’s establish “safe streets” as a daily, general mode of operation in San Francisco.


Drawing of Jose Morales, District 11 supervisor candidate for 2024

Jose Morales

  • Job: Sales professional, small-business owner
  • Age: 28
  • Residency: Tenant, born in District 11 in 1995 and has lived there since, except for time away in college from 2014 to 2017 and living in Idaho from 2021 to the end of 2022
  • Transportation: Car 
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from Sonoma State University
  • Languages: English, Spanish

One major transit shortcoming in District 11 is the 29-Sunset bus route

June 24

Since my freshman year at Archbishop Riordan High School, the 29 has been overcrowded and slow. Despite student advocacy for shorter wait times and more buses, the SFMTA’s solution of removing routes to speed up buses has failed, causing accessibility issues for elderly residents and students. 

The SFMTA oversees too many city functions, leading to underperformance. Public transportation should be its top priority. If elected, I will push for breaking up SFMTA’s power to ensure focused management and frequent audits for better transit services.


Drawing of Chyanne Chen, candidate for District 11 supervisor for 2024

Chyanne Chen

  • Job: Worker organizer, community facilitator and educator
  • Age: 39
  • Residency: Homeowner, landlord, living in District 11 since August 2000
  • Transportation: Walk, public transportation, rideshare, and car
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis, master’s degree from Cornell University, doctoral degree in education in progress at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese

We must first start by re-evaluating misguided decisions that have made it harder for residents to use transit. As a committed transit rider, I’ve seen how the loss of the 14X line has significantly lengthened commute times for the cross-city connect, especially access to Chinatown. The consolidation of bus lines over the past 10 to 15 years has made it difficult for seniors and people with mobility issues trying to get around the district. SFMTA removed some “redundancies” by moving the 29-Sunset, 52-Excelsior and 54-Felton lines but, as a result, those lines became less accessible to many. The 29 line serves … read more here

Endorsed by: Assemblymember Phil Ting, former police commissioner Larry Yee, San Francisco Board of Education commissioner Jenny Lam, former supervisors Norman Yee, Sandy Fewer and Mabel Teng.


Drawing of Adlah Chisti, District 11 supervisor candidate for 2024

Adlah Chisti

  • Job: Public policy analyst, caregiver
  • Age: 40
  • Residency: Live with parents and caregive for them, born in District 11 in 1983 and lived there since, moved out in 2013 and back in 2017
  • Transportation: Public
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in politics and in environmental science, and master’s degree in education from University of San Francisco, master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy, juris doctorate from University of California Law, San Francisco
  • Languages: English, Spanish, Hindi

For a car-free working-class district, we need frequent buses, especially during peak hours. The 54-Felton and 29-Sunset buses, the main District 11 connectors, are infrequent and overcrowded, making it difficult to board for seniors and families with strollers. Often, it feels like SFMTA is not hearing us. 

As supervisor, I would increase bus frequency and ensure stops are less than half a mile to better serve seniors. Implementing a door-to-door electric shuttle or electric passenger bike service could help. 

Improving bike path and pedestrian safety, especially at freeway exits and entrances, is crucial for moms and families biking with their children… read more here


Drawing of Ernest "E.J." Jones, District 11 supervisor candidate for 2024

Ernest “E.J.” Jones

  • Job: Community advocate
  • Age: 38
  • Residency: Tenant, living in District 11 since November 1985 and has lived here always, except for time away at college
  • Transportation: Public, car
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree, Dominican University, master’s degree in public administration from University of San Francisco
  • Languages: English, Spanish

A transit shortcoming for the district currently is the lack of connection through the hilly terrain of the district. This makes it extremely hard for seniors who live at the top of the topography to access and use public transportation effectively. This in turn leads to additional need for car usage

In order to solve this issue, I would recommend expansion of service to a shuttle program similar to what we see with the paratransit system to help connect steep terrain to additional bus lines. This is something that can be used conveniently throughout the University Mound, OMI, and Excelsior areas of the district.

Endorsed by: Supervisors Shamann Walton and Myrna Melgar, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Former SF mayor Willie Brown Jr., Transit Workers Union Local 250A… read more here


Drawing of Michael Lai, District 11 supervisor candidate for 2024

Michael Lai

  • Job: Early education director, elected to the San Francisco Democratic Party
  • Age: 31
  • Residency: Tenant, living in District 11 since February 2024
  • Transportation: Public 
  • Education: Bachelor’s degree in government at Harvard College with coursework at Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Languages: English, Mandarin

First, we need to increase the speed, reliability, and safety of buses and trains: the speed of the 29Sunset, which takes so many kids to and from school; on-time arrivals for the 44-O’Shaughnessy; and making sure the J-Church, which often does not come once every 15 minutes. 

Second, we need better pedestrian safety, especially in car-busy areas like San Jose Avenue, Geneva Avenue and Brotherhood Way. We have not moved quickly enough — and done enough — to implement better lighting, curb extensions, and automated speed cameras ensure the safety of children, family and elders in District 11.

Finally, certain areas of the … read more here

Endorsed by: Attorney General Rob Bonta, Senator Scott Wiener, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, Supervisors Joel Engardio and Matt Dorsey, NorCal Carpenters Union. read more here


Candidates are ordered alphabetically but rotated weekly. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at xueer@missionlocal.com.

Read the rest of the District 11 questions here, and the entire “Meet the Candidates” series here

You can register to vote via the sf.gov website. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.

READ MORE CANDIDATE ANSWERS

Meet the Candidates: San Francisco’s District 11 supervisor race

Meet the Candidates: San Francisco’s District 11 supervisor race

XUEER LU

xueer@missionlocal.com

Xueer is a California Local News Fellow, working on data and covering housing. Xueer is a bilingual multimedia journalist fluent in Chinese and English and is passionate about data, graphics, and innovative ways of storytelling. Xueer graduated from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism with a Master’s Degree in May 2023. She also loves cooking, photography, and scuba diving.More by Xueer Lu

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