Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” series, where we ask the District 9 supervisorial hopefuls in the November 2024 election one question each week. Candidates are asked to answer questions on policy, ideology and more in 100 words or fewer.
Answers are being published individually each week, but we are also archiving the weekly series here.
In terms of political events this week, the Latinx Democratic Club will hold a second round of endorsement interviews at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts on Wednesday Aug. 21st at 6 p.m.
If you know of other political events, let me know and I will add them to the post.
I will be at Zeitgeist (199 Valencia St.) at 5. p.m. on Thursday August 22, to say hello and talk about the district, or you can email me at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
This week’s question: Multiple residents have requested we ask about the poor road conditions in the district, many of those requests are about Mission street. If you were elected, can you explain to our readers how much you would do — within your powers — to assure the district gets the road infrastructure it needs.
Jaime Gutierrez
- Job: Transit supervisor for SFMTA/Muni
- Age: 57
- Residency: Tenant, born in District 9 in 1967 and, except for three years spent in the Army, has resided here ever since
- Transportation: Bike
- Education: U.S. Army, City College of San Francisco, University of California, Berkeley
- Languages: English and Spanish
The roads are effectively neglected by permitting improper repair when the street surface is opened. How can Daly City have better roads with less budget than San Francisco? The solution is rather simple. When a road is opened, it is closed properly. A patch of asphalt without foundation or concrete is not acceptable. The main offenders are the Water Department and PG&E. Streets are opened and not properly closed. As a Supervisor it really is incumbent on me to be sure that the contractors are charged or held accountable for jobs not delivered timely, or in the manner promised.
Endorsed by: Transportation Workers Union Local 200 … read more here
Roberto Hernandez
- Job: CEO, Cultura y Arte Nativa de Las Americas (CANA).
- Age: 67
- Residency: Homeowner, born in the Mission in June 1956 and has not left
- Transportation: Car and bicycle
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology from University of San Francisco
- Languages: English and Spanish
D9 desperately needs better road infrastructure. Potholes and ragged conditions are hazardous to bike riders, buses, lowriders, cars, and even pedestrians — during this year’s Cesar Chavez parade, an attendee tripped and injured herself.
My efforts leading a recent campaign to lobby City Hall to fix the potholes on Mission Street led to safer roads in time for Carnaval. As Supervisor, I’ll leverage my decades of experience successfully collaborating with the Department of Public Works to improve our road conditions beyond simply filling potholes, which is a band-aid solution. Together, we’ll build better roads, creating union construction jobs, across the district.
Endorsed by: Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ+ Democratic Club, Firefighters Union, United Educators of SF (#2), San Francisco DCCC (#2), Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta… read more here.
Trevor Chandler
- Job: Public school teacher since 2023. Former director of government and public policy at Citizen, a public safety app.
- Age: 37
- Residency: Tenant, living in District 9 since July 2021
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Plymouth State University
- Languages: English
Any Muni driver will tell you Mission, especially beyond 30th, is a nightmare for buses and riders. I’ll be a hands-on supervisor listening to D9 residents and, more importantly, taking action for them.
I’ve done it before. When I learned Pac Heights had 20% more crosswalks than the Mission I took action. I identified key intersections, brought together city departments, secured funding, and we got them painted.
This is the basic work that D9 residents expect of their Supervisor, not ideological theatrics. I’ll be laser focused on getting the basics done right to improve our quality of life.
Endorsed by: San Francisco DCCC (#1), Latino LGBTQ political organization HONOR PAC, Chinese American Democratic Club, SF League of Conservation Voters, LIUNA Local 261… read more here
Jackie Fielder
- Job: Nonprofit co-director at Stop the Money Pipeline. Former educator at San Francisco State University, co-founder of the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition. Democratic Socialist
- Age: 29
- Residency: Tenant, lived in District 9 September 2017 to June 2018, October 2019 to August 2020 ,and April 2021 to present
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in public policy and master’s degree in sociology from Stanford University
- Languages: English and Spanish
I regularly ride the 14 & 49 and know exactly which potholes our residents are talking about on Mission Street. These potholes and road conditions are a public safety issue for our drivers and cyclists, as they cause injuries and damage to our MUNI fleet. According to a recent analysis, San Francisco ranks the 5th worst of any city in the nation when it comes to potholes. Right now, our public works department has a policy of fixing any pothole within 72 hours of being reported. In practice, we know it takes longer. This is also an equity issue for District…read more here.
Endorsed by United Educators of SF (#1), Small Business Forward, SF Women’s Political Committee (#1), Bernal Heights Democratic Club, California Nurses Association… read more here.
Stephen Torres
- Job: Bartender at Twin Peaks Tavern, customer service at Flowercraft Nursery and freelance writer
- Age: 46
- Residency: Tenant, lived in District 9 summer 2001 to fall 2003, and returned in the summer 2010
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Moorpark Community College and San Francisco City College as work has permitted
- Languages: English and Spanish
Like many D9 residents, I experience the deplorable conditions on Mission Street every day, and it is not alone among the District’s major corridors. Road improvement projects require funding and an administration that recognizes the value of neighborhoods like ours for how much they enrich our city. I am committed to advocating for improvements to street infrastructure like that on Mission and working collaboratively with other supervisors to ensure the Mayor’s office understands the importance of this work. With political will and funding, these corridors can be smoothly navigable for transit, accessible to residents and merchants, and framed in greening…read more here.
Endorsed by: Former state Senator Mark Leno, District 9 supervisor Hillary Ronen, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Harvey Milk Democratic Club (#2), National Union of Healthcare Workers… read more here
h brown
- Job: Retired special education teacher
- Age: 80
- Residency: Tenant, at current address for nine years, redistricted into District 9 in April 2022
- Transportation: Walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degree in special education from Clemson University
- Languages: English
An individual supervisor cannot order up a road crew for anything.
DPW is completely under control of the Mayor and if your district didn’t vote for her or him or they then y’all be screwed technically speaking.
Y’all be ‘up the creek’ would be another idiom at work and does happen at certain spans of Mission Street when it crosses buried but live creek beds.
It comes down to Bond Measures sponsored by a collaboration of supes and the Mayor.
I’d put 30 brothels and a Casino there with a cable car down the middle.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed.
Julian Bermudez
- Job: Works in and directs his family business, Rancho Grande Appliance
- Age: 27
- Residency: Born San Francisco in 1996, raised on and off in District 9 until he left for college in 2015, then the army in 2019 and now back, living in the Mission
- Transportation: Carpool/catch a ride
- Education: City College of San Francisco, Chico State University
- Languages: English and Spanish
As supervisor, I intend to update our streets and roads to improve traffic flow, keep pedestrians safe, and provide a designated area for cyclists and scooters to ride. I intend to accomplish this by advocating for funds from the city budget to be allocated for city beautification projects such as road repairs, park improvements, and other public spaces. Also, to help fund more community events to fill these new spaces.
Endorsed by: SFGOP… read more here
District 9 contributions
Candidates are rotated alphabetically. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com
Read the rest of the District 9 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.