Response to the Coalition of Neighborhood Groups in District 5 ( SF5 Together) Questionnaire

1. List three ways you have been involved with the community and neighborhoods of San Francisco and District 5, in particular, in the past 5 years. Please be specific.
1. Running for D5 supervisor has been my main community involvement over the past 5 years. (These lists with arbitrary numbers are, well, arbitrary and don’t mean much. To neighborhood “activists” and insiders who can rattle off a list of the clubs and issues they’ve been involved in, they are fine, but, in the end, how much does it tell you? Mainly that they’ve gotten their tickets punched in various groups and through various issues over the past several years. A lot of the questionnaires candidates get have the tacit assumption that involvement with local groups and issues is a prerequisite for being a supervisor. I don’t necessarily think so, not only because I can’t cite that kind of involvement, but because that assumption promotes a kind of clubby insiderism that has limitations of its own.)
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2. SF5Together’s challenge and goal as a coalition of District 5 neighborhood
organizations has been to build bridges with diverse and disparate groups.
As supervisor, how do you plan to address the diverse and disparate voices and
concerns in District 5? (50 words or less)
The best way to deal with “diverse and disparate groups” is to treat everyone the same. No one gets a free pass for poor political behavior, including dog owners, bike riders, and self-righteous “activists” and “progressives.”

3. Why are you running for Supervisor of District 5? (50 words or less)
Homelessness in SF is my main concern, as it was in my 2000 campaign. Last time I tended to place the political responsibility for the city’s failure on the issue on the city’s ruling Democratic Party. I now realize an even larger obstacle to progress on homelessness is the city’s smug progressives and their delusional, paleo-Marxist ideology.
Please list 3 primary goals for your 4-year term as District 5 Supervisor.
1. I have no specific goals in mind beyond the campaign, though I would be very much interested in monitoring the city’s approach to homelessness, working closely with the mayor on the issue.
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4. What specific protocol will you establish in your office to address neighborhood concerns in a timely manner? Will you open a community office?
I have nothing specific in mind on this, though in a district election system a community office is a good idea, assuming we can find the money. Otherwise, you just have to answer the phone, the email messages, and meet with the community whenever necessary---I mean possible, of course!

5. Since district elections were re-established in 2000, please assess the strengths and weaknesses of the performance of the current Board of Supervisors.
This is the kind of question that’s going to get you a lot of phony, know-it-all responses. As a working person, how the hell should I know? I covered the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors for years while writing for a Northcoast weekly, and even then I would have a hard time evaluating the boards I covered---and I wrote about county government every week. Sometimes they are good, and sometimes they are bad. To make a really intelligent evaluation, you have to go to the board meetings, read a lot of documents, and talk to everyone involved in the issues. Anyone who has to work at a regular job can’t possibly do that. I’ve been to some meetings, read some documents, talked to some people, and I read the papers every day. I have my opinions, but even they are provisional, depending on the quality of my information. The trick is to have something intelligent and honest to say based on what’s bound to be a limited amount of information. Anything else is just hot air.
What have been the three most significant achievements of the Board of
Supervisors since 2000?
1.See answer above.
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Issues of concern to neighborhoods in District 5 are wide and varied – However, concerns over Housing, Aging of Residents, Public Safety, Public Parks and Economic Development are repeatedly expressed.

1.Housing: Do you oppose or support the Housing Bond on this fall’s ballot in its entirety? If not, which components do you take issue with and why?
Yes, I support the Housing Bond, especially the $90 million for supportive housing, which is going to be crucial in dealing with homelessness. We can’t rely on the federal government or the state for funding; we have to be ready to do it ourselves.

2. Aging: Residents in our neighborhoods, with and without housing, are aging.
According to the SF Dept. on Aging and Adult Services, the number of seniors in
San Francisco is expected to grow 45% in the next two decades. Currently, the
number of seniors living alone in San Francisco is at an all time high.
How should these demographics affect planning and funding of services? Please be
specific.
I have no idea. As an increasingly old fart myself, however, I will naturally be sensitive to this issue.

3. Public Safety: Neighborhoods in District 5 are living with increased violence, ongoing drug activity and “quality of life” concerns. What do you prioritize as the top three elements in your plan to address issues of public safety in District 5?
“Increased violence” since when? I lived in this neighborhood in 1962, and it was much scarier then. One wasn’t inclined to go for an evening stroll in Alamo Square, not that one is so inclined today, now that I think of it. I have no plan to deal with these issues, and I’m not sure a “plan” makes any sense. Young black kids are completely at sea. They live in a junk culture---the hip-hop videos and music are appalling---eat nothing but junk food, and are often armed to the teeth in our gun nut society. The wonder is that more people aren’t shot and crime isn’t even higher.

4. Parks and Open Space: Name three parks in District 5 and what do you
perceive to be their problems and positive aspects? What do you propose to remedy their
problems and enhance their positive aspects?
The only park I know in the district is Alamo Square, aka Dogshit Park. Is the Panhandle a separate park? It looks like Buena Vista Park is no longer in D5. I have nothing much to propose on this issue, except that the dogshit problem needs to be addressed more seriously. Maybe cops who misbehave or are on suspension could be put on dogshit patrol. Or maybe rookie cops could start out there, issuing tickets to dog owners who fail to use plastic bags to deal with the problem. Of course the parks are short-handed right now, and just everyday maintenance is a struggle (I’ve talked to a couple of guys that work in the parks). Like every other city department, they will presumably get more money when the city gets more revenue as the economy picks up.

5. Economic Development: District 5 has several neighborhood commercial] districts– including Cole Valley, Divisadero, Fillmore, Haight Street, Hayes Valley, Inner Sunset and Japantown. What do you plan to do to retain and vitalize neighborhood-serving businesses in our district? How do you plan to encourage creation of jobs with good wages and benefits for our residents?
As a blue collar guy who works in several city kitchens, I appreciate the Living Wage ordinance. I’ve also been a small business owner, and I know how tough it is to make a living that way. The city needs to help small businesses whenever it can. Utility bills are crushing for small stores, for example, and the best argument for Public Power is that it could deliver cheaper energy to small businesses.