{"id":32861,"date":"2024-04-10T12:33:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32861"},"modified":"2024-04-10T12:33:08","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:33:08","slug":"meet-the-district-5-candidates-where-to-focus-housing-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/10\/meet-the-district-5-candidates-where-to-focus-housing-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the District 5 candidates: Where to focus housing efforts?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"A by\u00a0ELENI BALAKRISHNAN<\/a><\/strong> APRIL 9, 2024 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Illustration<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the latest in our \u201cMeet the Candidates\u201d series for District 5, where we ask each candidate to answer one question per week leading up to the election. All the responses are compiled onto a single page, where readers can peruse the potential District 5 supervisors\u2019 stances on upwards of 40 topics before it\u2019s time to vote in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the next couple weeks, we\u2019re going to talk about housing. It\u2019s a huge topic, and we\u2019ll have follow-up questions with more specifics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But first, this week\u2019s question is: What has been working well in District 5 with regards to housing in recent years, and what will be your focus areas for improvement? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: I will be in District 5 this week on Wednesday, April 10, at 11:00 a.m. at Alamo Square Cafe (711 Fillmore St.). Come say hi and share your thoughts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"District<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Living in District 5 since 1996<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dean Preston<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Homeowner<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

As a tenant rights attorney and affordable housing advocate for decades, my priority is housing San Franciscans can afford<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wrote the Right to Counsel law<\/strong> to give a free lawyer to any tenant facing eviction, passed legislation to ban evictions<\/strong> in the pandemic, and raised over $40m for rent relief<\/strong>. I voted for 30,000 homes (over 85 percent affordable), taxed the rich<\/strong> to raise over $300m for affordable housing, and broke ground on sites across D5. Visit www.deanshousingrecord.com<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    What works: rent control and social housing<\/strong>. What doesn\u2019t: relying on trickle-down economics to make housing affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"District<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Living in District 5 since Nov. 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Allen Jones<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Renter<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

    Regarding housing, I have not noticed anything<\/strong> get better in District 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This includes the fact; I\u2019ve heard of many obtain housing near where I live. Sure, I\u2019m happy to hear that one less person or family is homeless. But I scratch my head more about the criteria\/formula for obtaining subsidized housing than that of market-rate rents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Main gripe: The city is operating so desperate to house our most mentally unstable residents, it shows little to no regard\/respect for those who fork over hard earned money for rent<\/strong>. This will be my focus area for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n
      \"Illustration<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Living in District 5 since Dec. 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Autumn Looijen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Renter<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

      Our Victorian homes are an irreplaceable treasure, and our neighborhoods have done incredible work to preserve them. On Haight Street, we\u2019re building great affordable housing<\/strong> for families and youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Yet the rent is too high for families, working class people, artists, and youth we invite here for sanctuary. (My family moved here because Covid-19 dropped the rent.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We haven\u2019t been building enough homes<\/strong>. We\u2019ve been slow to approve homes \u2014 even in vacant parking lots \u2014 and even slower to build them. Slow process means financing falls apart and the homes we need are never built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Let\u2019s start by fixing the process<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n
      \"District<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Living in District 5 since May 2023, lived adjacent since May 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Bilal Mahmood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Renter<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

      San Francisco has made significant, but insufficient, progress<\/strong> on housing. Talking with residents every day in District 5, it\u2019s clear that affordable rent and cost of living have gotten undeniably worse over the last 4 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Especially for our nurses, teachers, laborers \u2014 we have not prioritized middle-income housing<\/strong>. The time to get any type of housing approved in San Francisco averages 1,000 days, the longest of any city in California. Until we solve this permitting crisis<\/strong> all types of housing \u2014 from affordable to middle-income \u2014 will almost never be developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      The order of candidates is rotated each week. Answers are capped at 100 words, and may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at eleni@missionlocal.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Read the rest of the District 5 questions here<\/a>, and the entire \u201cMeet the Candidates\u201d series here<\/a>. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You can register to vote via the sf.gov<\/a> website.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      READ MORE CANDIDATE ANSWERS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
      \"Meet<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Meet the Candidates: San Francisco\u2019s District 5 supervisor race<\/a><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      ELENI BALAKRISHNAN<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      eleni@missionlocal.com<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      REPORTER. Eleni reports on policing in San Francisco. She first moved to the city on a whim more than 10 years ago, and the Mission has become her home. Follow her on Twitter @miss_elenius.More by Eleni Balakrishnan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      by\u00a0ELENI BALAKRISHNAN APRIL 9, 2024 (MissionLocal.org) Here\u2019s the latest in our \u201cMeet the Candidates\u201d series for District 5, where we ask each candidate to answer one question per week leading up to the election. All the responses are compiled onto a single page, where readers can peruse the potential District… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32863,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32861\/revisions\/32863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}