{"id":32967,"date":"2024-04-17T12:33:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T19:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=32967"},"modified":"2024-04-17T12:33:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-17T19:33:21","slug":"meet-the-district-5-candidates-what-will-be-your-first-housing-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/17\/meet-the-district-5-candidates-what-will-be-your-first-housing-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the District 5 candidates: What will be your first housing move?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-IMG_6941-scaled-1.jpg 2x\" height=\"80\" width=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/cropped-IMG_6941-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"A smiling person with glasses standing in front of a red background.\"> by\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/author\/elenib\/\">ELENI BALAKRISHNAN<\/a><\/strong> APRIL 16, 2024  (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-missionlocal.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/District-5-Banner-1.png?fit=1200%2C800&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Illustration of district 5 supervisory race 2024 with landmarks and four candidate portraits.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>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<p>Three candidates are challenging Supervisor Dean Preston in District 5, which spans from the east end of Golden Gate Park through Haight-Ashbury, Japantown and the Western Addition, the Lower Haight and Hayes Valley, and most of the Tenderloin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the next couple weeks, we\u2019re talking about housing. Last week, we asked candidates about what they will focus on to improve the housing situation here in San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This week\u2019s question is:&nbsp;<strong>What will be your first move as supervisor to start chipping away at this focus issue?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We asked candidates to be specific \u2014&nbsp;their answers are below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Note: I will be in District 5 this week on Thursday, April 18, at 12 p.m. at Alamo Square Cafe (711 Fillmore St.). Come say hi and share your thoughts.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/D5-Bilal-Mahmood-640x640.png?resize=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"District 5 candidate Bilal Mahmood\" class=\"wp-image-582662\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in District 5 since May 2023, lived adjacent since May 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bilal-mahmood\">Bilal Mahmood<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-renter\">Renter<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>I will prioritize&nbsp;<strong>fixing our broken permitting system<\/strong>. There\u2019s too much red tape that makes it take&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/opinion\/openforum\/article\/sf-housing-development-red-tape-17815725.php\">over 1,000 days<\/a>&nbsp;to build affordable or middle income housing, driving up costs of development and in turn, rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I will work to&nbsp;<strong>cut the bureaucracy<\/strong>&nbsp;impeding the permitting process \u2014 investments in&nbsp;<strong>technology to speed up application approvals<\/strong>, allowing parallel permitting and approvals, and&nbsp;<strong>reducing discretionary permits<\/strong>&nbsp;to effectively cut the time to build affordable housing in half. When there\u2019s less obstacles, we build more homes affordably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/D5-Dean-Preston-640x640.png?resize=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston\" class=\"wp-image-582663\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in District 5 since 1996<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dean-preston\">Dean Preston<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-homeowner\">Homeowner<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>As a tenant rights attorney and affordable housing advocate for decades, my priority is&nbsp;<strong>housing for low-income and working class<\/strong>&nbsp;people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Priority D5 sites include the&nbsp;<strong>DMV lot<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>730 Stanyan<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Parcel K<\/strong>&nbsp;&amp; more. In November, we\u2019ll push for the&nbsp;<strong>regional housing bond<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Costa-Hawkins repeal<\/strong>&nbsp;to expand rent control. We\u2019re also&nbsp;<strong>launching a public bank<\/strong>&nbsp;to scale up investment in affordable housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My Right to Counsel law gives tenants facing eviction a free attorney, we passed legislation to ban pandemic evictions, and raised over $300m for affordable housing by taxing the rich. I\u2019ve voted for 30k homes, 86 percent affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/D5-Allen-Jones-640x640.png?resize=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"District 5 candidate Allen Jones\" class=\"wp-image-582664\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in District 5 since Nov. 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-allen-jones\">Allen Jones<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-renter\">Renter<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>When I think of the San Francisco NIMBY vs YIMBY fight, it reminds me of the game show Family Feud. A clever episode addressed an old feud between two families: The Hatfields and the McCoys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Some say this 1863 to 1891 feud between two families was over love. Some believe it was over land. Others think it had to do with a stolen pig. Nevertheless, years of ugly ensued. My first piece of legislation on the subject of housing would be&nbsp;<strong>a resolution declaring a truce between<\/strong>&nbsp;the Hatfields and McCoys \u2014 I mean,&nbsp;<strong>NIMBYs and YIMBYs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/missionloca.s3.amazonaws.com\/mission\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Autumn-Looijen-640x640.png?resize=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Illustration of a smiling woman with glasses and long hair in a circular frame.\" class=\"wp-image-594267\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Living in District 5 since Dec. 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-autumn-looijen\">Autumn Looijen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-renter-0\">Renter<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you walked by the&nbsp;<strong>abandoned carwash site at 400 Divisadero<\/strong>? It was approved for 182 homes five years ago (20% affordable) but was tied up in delays and never built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Dean is insisting on 100 percent affordable, and blamed the Mayor when he couldn\u2019t get it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need homes on that site.&nbsp; I will work with the mayor and city departments to use every tool at our disposal (including our new Housing for All tools) to&nbsp;<strong>actually build affordable homes<\/strong>.&nbsp; If we also need to streamline the building process or take other measures, I will make sure it happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>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&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:eleni@missionlocal.com\">eleni@missionlocal.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Read the rest of the District 5 questions&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/2024\/02\/meet-the-candidates-all-2024-district-5-supervisor-answers\/\">here<\/a>, and the entire \u201cMeet the Candidates\u201d series&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/tag\/meet-the-candidates\/\">here<\/a>. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>You can register to vote via the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/sf.gov\/register-vote\">sf.gov<\/a>\u00a0website.<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/author\/elenib\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/author\/elenib\/\">ELENI BALAKRISHNAN<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"mailto:eleni@missionlocal.com\">eleni@missionlocal.com<\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/miss_elenius\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<a href=\"https:\/\/missionlocal.org\/author\/elenib\/\">More by Eleni Balakrishnan<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by\u00a0ELENI BALAKRISHNAN APRIL 16, 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&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/04\/17\/meet-the-district-5-candidates-what-will-be-your-first-housing-move\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/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\/32967"}],"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=32967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32968,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32967\/revisions\/32968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}