{"id":36137,"date":"2024-09-13T12:56:38","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T19:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=36137"},"modified":"2024-09-13T12:56:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T19:56:38","slug":"district-7-is-not-a-big-fan-of-change-will-it-change-its-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/13\/district-7-is-not-a-big-fan-of-change-will-it-change-its-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"District 7 is not a big fan of change. Will it change its leader?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Avatar by\u00a0KELLY WALDRON<\/a><\/strong> SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Myrna Melgar speaks at her re-election campaign launch. July 27, 2024. Photo by Kelly Waldron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Mission<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sign up below to get Mission Local\u2019s free newsletter<\/strong>, a daily digest of news you won\u2019t find elsewhere.Sign up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u95b1\u8b80\u4e2d\u6587\u7248<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

West Portal Avenue, one of the Westside\u2019s main commercial corridors, looks very much like it did 70 years ago<\/a>. A Muni line still runs through its center. The buildings are the same height as the facade of the Empire Theater, which operated on West Portal Avenue for some 96 years until 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing production is slow: Between 2019 and 2023, only 37 of the city\u2019s 16,822<\/a> new units were built in the Inner Sunset and Ingleside planning districts, 0.2 percent of the total. When city officials proposed redesigning a major West Portal Avenue intersection after the deadly crash in March that killed a family of four, merchants and others erupted in protest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the district is evolving, at least politically. Through the years, the area has generally elected more moderate supervisors. But, in 2012, residents elected a progressive when Norman Yee won by a slim margin. In 2020, Myrna Melgar replaced him, promising more housing<\/a>, more density and more investment in public transit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mission<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stay informed on local elections \u2014 sign up for Mission Local’s free daily newsletter<\/strong> today!Sign up<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question now: Have enough residents become tired enough of change to oust the incumbent?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe group of challengers mirrors the typical historical candidates that have represented the district,\u201d said David Ho, a San Francisco political consultant, who led the campaign for Melgar\u2019s predecessor, Yee, and was raised in District 7. Those previous supervisors, who were generally considered more moderate, include Sean Elsbernd, who is now Mayor London Breed\u2019s chief of staff, and Tony Hall, who is retired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Professional<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Melgar\u2019s opponents include Matt Boschetto, heir to a $830 million janitorial business<\/a> and a political newcomer who has not voted<\/a> in previous local elections, and Stephen Martin-Pinto, a firefighter and Marine veteran who was a registered Republican until 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
(From left) District 7 candidates Matt Boschetto, Stephen Martin-Pinto and Myrna Melgar. Photo by Xueer Lu, June 27, 2024.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While they might seem unlikely to unseat an incumbent, it\u2019s not impossible: Melgar, like Yee before her, won in 2020 \u201cby a hair,\u201d said Ho. She received 18,561 votes, compared to 16,370 for her opponent, Joel Engardio; Engardio actually won more<\/em> first-place votes, but Melgar beat him in subsequent rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melgar will have to overcome the same challenge once again, Ho said, pointing to a staunch moderate base which has partly helped Boschetto outraise her<\/a> by $89,464. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Verdi2\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMyrna has her work cut out for her,\u201d Ho added.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But so do her opponents. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is very difficult to oust an incumbent, particularly one without a tarnished record or scandal while in office: Engardio was the first San Francisco supervisor in two decades<\/a> to do this when he ran in District 4 in 2022. (Engardio, whose home was redistricted into District 4 along with three moderate-voting precincts, beat out then-Supervisor Gordon Mar by 460 votes.)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boschetto \u201ccan say a lot of things about Myrna, but I don\u2019t think he can say she\u2019s incompetent or corrupt,\u201d said Jim Ross, a veteran political consultant and Gavin Newsom\u2019s former campaign strategist. The question for Melgar\u2019s chief opponent is: \u201cWhy should he<\/em> replace Myrna?\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boschetto and Martin-Pinto have tried to criticize her for past comments, like a 2020 statement about needing to \u201cdisband the police<\/a>,\u201d but Melgar has since hewn more closely to her constituents: Last year, Melgar supported a $25 million bill<\/a> to secure more funding for police-officer overtime, and in a weekly Q&A with Mission Local<\/em>, Melgar said she supports increasing police staffing levels<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to similar bread-and-butter issues, Melgar has been able to appeal to her suburban voting base. \u201cA lot of that district connects more to the peninsula than it does to the rest of San Francisco culturally, socially \u2014 politically, even,\u201d said Ross. \u201cThey go to the Westlake Joe\u2019s, not the Joe\u2019s in North Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melgar, who was born in El Salvador and moved to San Francisco as a child, has leaned into the duality of her district\u2019s voters, finding allies across the political spectrum: From Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin to Mayor London Breed, and from groups including the San Francisco Tenants Union and San Francisco YIMBY.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
Mayor London Breed speaks at Myrna Melgar\u2019s re-election campaign launch. July 27, 2024. Photo by Kelly Waldron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Her experience has given her credibility. A graduate of San Francisco State University, which is in District 7, Melgar moved to Ingleside Terraces in 2011. She is an urban planner by training and, before becoming supervisor, sat on the Planning Commission for nearly four years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Melgar\u2019s staff is a political mixed bag. Her team includes legislative aide Emma Heiken, a member who was elected as part of the moderate SF Dems for Change slate to the Democratic County Central Committee, and Jen Low, a progressive and Norman Yee\u2019s former chief of staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Whitehurst, the political consultant who works for Melgar, said people try to characterize Melgar as either a progressive or a moderate. \u201cI just say she\u2019s Myrna,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHer politics, overall, reflect that of the district,\u201d said Eric Jaye, another campaign strategist in San Francisco. He added that Melgar has generally done well as a supervisor, and has not had any major hiccups nor given voters a reason to turn her out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hot-button election issues <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Instead, Boschetto and Martin-Pinto have taken a stance against Melgar on what might appear to be innocuous proposals \u2014 and have found traction by escalating the discord surrounding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One is the proposed renovation outside the West Portal Muni Station. In April, Melgar, along with Breed, requested that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency reorganize traffic flows in front of the station, shortly after a driver crashed through the adjacent bus stop, killing an entire family of four<\/a> \u2014 <\/strong>Diego Cardoso de Oliveira, Matilde Moncada Ramos Pinto, Joaquin Ramos Pinto de Oliveira and Cau\u00ea Ramos Pinto de Oliveira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal sparked backlash from local merchants, and Martin-Pinto and Boschetto immediately sided with the merchants, who felt they had been blindsided, and spoke out against the changes<\/a>. In a candidate forum hosted by Mission Local<\/em>, Boschetto said that if he could make one bold or unpopular decision, he would stop the traffic proposals from happening<\/a>. Ultimately, Melgar created a task force to review the proposal and a reduced version was approved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, both Boschetto and Martin-Pinto have opposed Proposition K<\/a>, a measure co-sponsored by Melgar to permanently close the Upper Great Highway to vehicles. As with the traffic changes in West Portal, the proposal has created backlash among some residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of a gotcha issue,\u201d said Ho, who added that it is one that largely doesn\u2019t impact District 7 residents, who don\u2019t all live within the vicinity of the Great Highway. Still, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s smart to capitalize on a hot-button issue.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, Boschetto is doing just that. He and his family have contributed $65,000<\/a> to a ballot measure committee he controls called \u201cGreat Highway for All, a Matt Boschetto Committee.\u201d The PAC in his name allows him to run on a wedge issue, but also to fundraise outside city campaign contribution limits and prominently feature himself in campaign material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a more general sense, Ho added, Boschetto is appealing to the idea of \u201ceverything seems to be changing now, can we go back to the old days?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A slowly changing district <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For most of District 7, those good old days never left. The area is, geographically, the largest supervisorial district in San Francisco, and covers a broad swath of the Westside: From the Inner Sunset down to West Portal and along 19th Avenue to Stonestown and Parkmerced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of its housing stock is San Francisco versions of Levittown: Planned communities of low-density areas zoned for single-family homes<\/a>. The district has more homeowners than renters, and more than half of its homes are occupied by their owners; in the city overall, that number is about a third of homes, according to the campaign data firm Political Data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melgar, for her part, is pushing for change: She endorsed<\/a> the Planning Commission\u2019s upzoning plan<\/a>, which would allow for more units to be built along select corridors; her opponents have been more critical of the proposal.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June, Melgar said of a group of neighbors who were decrying new development that they were \u201cnot her people.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Street
After redistricting in 2022, the Inner sunset became part of District 7. Photo by Junyao Yang. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That tenor may serve her well come November: While District 7 has leaned more moderate<\/a> than other parts of the city in the past, the redistricting of 2022 redrew the area\u2019s boundaries<\/a>, giving the district more progressive pockets. Namely the Inner Sunset, which was previously part of District 5, was grafted into District 7. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with that expanded base and the advantage of being the incumbent, however, consultants cautioned that her main difficulty may be the general political environment, locally and nationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVoters are concerned that City Hall is not listening to them,\u201d said Jaye, the campaign strategist. Polling shows San Franciscans think the city has been on the wrong track for going on two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery incumbent is swimming against the tide,\u201d Jaye added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whitehurst, Melgar\u2019s consultant, agreed that is a challenge, as well as the fact that many in the district still aren\u2019t open to change: \u201cPeople want the date and time to stop when they arrive in San Francisco,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reality is that things always change,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE ELECTION NEWS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Mark<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mark Farrell ads violate campaign law, opponents say<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Only<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Only one District 11 supervisor candidate supports the Great Highway closure<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"See<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

See how they run: Aaron Peskin visits the zoning panic zone<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

KELLY WALDRON<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

Kelly is Irish and French and grew up in Dublin and Luxembourg. She studied Geography at McGill University and worked at a remote sensing company in Montreal, making maps and analyzing methane data, before turning to journalism. She recently graduated from the Data Journalism program at Columbia Journalism School.More by Kelly Waldron<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0KELLY WALDRON SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 (MissionLocal.org) Sign up below to get Mission Local\u2019s free newsletter, a daily digest of news you won\u2019t find elsewhere.Sign up \u95b1\u8b80\u4e2d\u6587\u7248 West Portal Avenue, one of the Westside\u2019s main commercial corridors, looks very much like it did 70 years ago. A Muni line still runs through its… 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\/36137"}],"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=36137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36138,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36137\/revisions\/36138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}