{"id":38342,"date":"2024-12-20T13:06:39","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T21:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=38342"},"modified":"2024-12-20T13:06:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T21:06:41","slug":"myrna-melgar-won-district-7-now-the-trick-is-managing-constituents-competing-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2024\/12\/20\/myrna-melgar-won-district-7-now-the-trick-is-managing-constituents-competing-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Myrna Melgar won District 7. Now, the trick is managing constituents\u2019 competing concerns."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Person by\u00a0KELLY WALDRON<\/a><\/strong> DECEMBER 19, 2024 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Ingleside Terraces, a neighborhood made up of single-family homes in District 7. Photo by Kelly Waldron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

District 7 incumbent Myrna Melgar faced a particularly bruising re-election campaign. She squared off against significant numbers<\/a> of her own constituents by supporting hot-button issues, like Proposition K, to close the Great Highway to cars, and upzoning parts of her district that have been previously limited to single-family housing. \u201cIf I lose this election on this issue, then that\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d Melgar said in June<\/a>, after a particularly contentious meeting about zoning changes coming to her district and the rest of the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Melgar didn\u2019t lose the election. No matter the ideological differences, most of her constituents agree: She\u2019s good at the actual work of being a district supervisor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I call, somebody does get back to me,\u201d said Peggy da Silva, a West Portal resident who has reached out to Melgar\u2019s office over concerns like city workers using gas-powered leaf-blowers. \u201cThey\u2019re pretty good. They listen,\u201d she added.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That assessment was echoed in interviews with more than a dozen residents and business owners from neighborhoods across District 7. \u201cShe\u2019s a big advocate for the community,\u201d said Hanley Chan, a veteran affairs commissioner and West Portal resident. Chan campaigned for Melgar\u2019s re-election, even though he opposed Prop. K. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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So, barring unforeseen lunacy, Melgar will be managing the competing interests of her constituents for four more years, including the district\u2019s hot-button issues: Upzoning, housing<\/a> and transit<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

District 7 is the largest district by geography, and encompasses constituents from across the political spectrum. It contains more single-family homes, more homeowners and more drivers than elsewhere in the city, but it\u2019s also home to more dense neighborhoods around San Francisco State University, Parkmerced and City College of San Francisco. Those more urbanized areas played a big role in securing Melgar\u2019s win this November. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melgar did less well in low-density neighborhoods like West Portal, West of Twin Peaks and St. Francis Wood. Her main competition, Matt Boschetto, won 15 precincts in those areas, or 50 percent of first-choice votes, compared to Melgar\u2019s 35.2 percent.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, even if she managed to get significant support, she is well aware that many residents outside of the most urbanized areas appear reluctant to change<\/a>, and remain reliant on cars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housing and transit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More than half of District 7\u2019s homes are occupied by their owners, compared to the citywide average of about a third, according to Political Data, a campaign-data firm. In census tracts within the district\u2019s borders, 86 percent of households<\/a> have at least one vehicle, compared to 70 percent citywide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

In the coming years, the district will welcome new housing projects explicitly designed for pedestrians, transit users, and cyclists, rather than drivers. This includes 1,100 units at Balboa Reservoir<\/a>, up to 3,500 units in the parking lots around the Stonestown Galleria<\/a> shopping mall, and more housing further down the pipeline at the old El Rey Theater<\/a> and along Laguna Honda Boulevard<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Street
El Rey Theater on Ocean Avenue is one of several sites in District 7 slated for new housing. Photo by Kelly Waldron.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I learned is that all of these issues are controversial,\u201d said Melgar, about the process of moving these projects ahead during her first term. \u201cAll these issues that involve change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the most controversial projects in and around the district have hinged on the challenge of  getting around, and parking, in a district where many see driving as a necessity. In West Portal, when Melgar initiated traffic flow changes near the Muni station after a car crashed into a bus shelter and killed a family of four<\/a>, local merchants strongly opposed the changes, which redirected car traffic around the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, \u201cany project that we do to improve public transit is going to seem like a major inconvenience,\u201d said Andy Pham, a resident of Ingleside Terraces. Pham takes public transit often, but still drives occasionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Karen Tarantola, the vice president of the West Portal Merchants Association, was one of those people opposed to the West Portal traffic changes, and said they did not involve \u201cserious and honest regard for the neighborhood, and how we live here, and how we thrive here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, Melgar put together a committee that came up with a compromise plan, resulting in changes that seemingly no one was totally happy with. Some, however, were at least content to be part of the discussion. \u201cIt brought people who otherwise wouldn\u2019t even talk to each other to the table,\u201d said Janelle Wong, a West Portal resident and public-transit advocate.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you have compromises, nobody is truly 100 percent happy,\u201d said Norman Yee, Melgar\u2019s predecessor. \u201cBut hopefully, no one is 100 percent angry.\u201d During his term, Balboa Reservoir was a compromise: Some housing advocates wanted the site to host 5,000 units, others hoped for 200, he said. In the end, 1,100 will be created. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Proposition K, to close the Great Highway to cars, while not in District 7, was rejected by 56 percent<\/a> of District 7\u2019s voters. Nevertheless, Melgar\u2019s position did not derail her campaign. Meanwhile, District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio may face a recall<\/a> for supporting the measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Evidently, Melgar has not shied away from making bold decisions and letting constituents know where she stands. \u201cIn government, people are so paralyzed by the prospect of making change,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope to God I don\u2019t end up like that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bread-and-butter issues <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Her confidence, in part, appears to come from her success in knowing many of her constituents, and helping out on services, no matter whether they agree with her on other issues. Asked if they knew their district supervisor, most residents and business owners Mission Local<\/em> interviewed had directly received help from Melgar\u2019s office. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Iqbal Gill, the new owner of Reliable Rexall Sunset Pharmacy at 9th Avenue and Irving Street. He met Melgar when she paid a visit to his store, and her aide, Jen Lowe, has helped him file a legacy-business application with the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, Piedro Galletti, the owner of Mozzarella di Bufala Pizzeria on West Portal Avenue, was in touch with Melgar\u2019s office over a parklet permit last year. He reached out to the district supervisor after waiting months to hear back from the city on his application. \u201cThe next day, I got an email from the Planning Department,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Legacy business applications and permit applications are just one of a long list of tasks Melgar and her staff have dealt with. For all the ideological discourse around the supervisor election, a lot of being a supervisor is dealing with such bread-and-butter issues, and may explain why Melgar was able to win despite differences on bigger issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, even if there are differences on housing and transit. Melgar seems ready to make good on her promises. \u201cI ran the campaign on the promise of a better Westside. My priorities remain the same: Produce more housing on this side of town, and improve all the infrastructure that goes along with that,\u201d said Melgar. \u201cAll the quality-of-life things that people expect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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 DECEMBER 19, 2024 (MissionLocal.org) District 7 incumbent Myrna Melgar faced a particularly bruising re-election campaign. She squared off against significant numbers of her own constituents by supporting hot-button issues, like Proposition K, to close the Great Highway to cars, and upzoning parts of her district that have been previously limited… 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\/38342"}],"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=38342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38343,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38342\/revisions\/38343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}