november 2022 VOTER GUIDE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
What is the Board of Supervisors?
An 11-member body that governs the affairs of the City
Each supervisor represents the roughly 80,000 residents who live in their district
Supervisors hold a significant amount of power to create or block policies and programs that impact the City
Supervisors can serve two consecutive terms of four years, and serve staggered terms so that every two years, either the even or odd districts are up for elections (this year, the even districts are up for election and are all incumbents)
The salary and benefits of this full-time position total $140,000 per year
Why You Should Care
Your supervisor represents you at the local level, and has the power to fix many of your day-to-day quality of life issues in your neighborhood. They are also powerful enough to solve citywide problems, particularly through their control of the budget which they pass annually after a series of deliberations. While the budget can be effectively used as a tool to implement policy, it can also be spent wastefully on items that are either performative or unaccountable to the voters. Examples: $61,000-per-tent encampments for the homeless, or $250,000-per-unit public restrooms often repurposed as drug injection sites.
Our Vision for the Board of Supervisors
They work with the Mayor and City Departments on the nuts and bolts of making our city better, with measurable outcomes, instead of performative and overly bureaucratic policies.
A Note About Our Candidate Choices
San Francisco uses ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. This election, we've only endorsed one candidate per office (or seat, in this case), since we believe in them so wholeheartedly that we do not recommend you rank any additional candidates.
Why we're voting for her: In her current role as District 2 Supervisor, Stefani has taken action to support credible solutions to our City’s toughest problems: homelessness and mental health. She maintains an excellent working relationship with the Mayor while being an effective check on power and is adept at meeting the needs of her district while demonstrating political courage on citywide issues. In short, she is everything we would hope to see in an elected official.
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Conservatorship isn’t a popular way to address mental health issues in the City’s homeless population, but it’s a medically necessary step to solving homelessness and making residents safer. Stefani has consistently supported it and has worked on laws to take severely mentally ill people off the street and give them a chance to recover in safe spaces.
Stefani is the only Supervisor who passed legislation to close loopholes that were exploited in the city hall corruption scandal, demonstrating her ability to effectively check Executive power. Stefani has actually done the work her residents want done to increase their safety by requesting increased police foot patrols in the neighborhood to address car break-ins. She has also consistently supported maintaining a robust police department, pushing the board to meet the department’s financial needs.
She fought for a 101-unit housing project to replace a derelict diner, which has sat empty since 2015, in her district, though the squabbles over affordability requirements have delayed it year after year. She also shepherded one of the largest developments on the city’s West Side: a 744-unit project in Laurel Heights, waging an uphill battle against her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to get these projects approved.
District 2 includes the Marina, Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, and Laurel Heights.
Why we're voting for him: The Board of Supervisors is in dire need of members who are willing to demonstrate courageous leadership and speak truth to power. A journalist first, Engardio has over 20 years of experience doing just this—investigating government inefficiencies and giving residents a voice. You can see exactly where he stands on every issue on his award-winning blog. Engardio’s experience advocating for civil rights at the ACLU, his unique personal story (including his education from Harvard Kennedy School of Government), and his passion for public service make him the level-headed leader we need on the Board of Supervisors. It’s time he had a seat on the Board of Supervisors.
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When given the option between standing by and taking action, Engardio tends to take action. Joel created a public safety and court watchdog group to hold our former District Attorney accountable. And he’s already responsive to West Side residents, having been a leader in the Board of Education recall and Chesa Boudin recall.
While some are critical of Engardio’s repeated runs for office, we think it demonstrates a commitment to public service and a strong character. It’s incredibly difficult to lose an election and get right back up and continue building relationships in your community and speaking up on issues you care about. Engardio has demonstrated an ability to evolve and respectfully disagree.
In comparison to Engardio, the incumbent Supervisor Gordon Mar has been out of touch with residents and failed to lead on important citywide issues. Mar has opposed housing by voting against the 495-unit project that replaced a parking lot in SoMa and has consistently voted for housing policies that sound good but make it impossible to build , while voting against housing legislation that would actually increase housing.
District 4 includes the Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods.
Why we're voting for him: Matt Dorsey has only been in office for five months and has demonstrated leadership in addressing San Francisco’s drug crisis issue head-on. He names the crisis, he connects his personal struggles with addiction to the bigger problem, and offers bold solutions. He has relationships across the political and recovery community spectrum , making him well positioned to deliver results.
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San Francisco’s drug crisis is out of control and District 6 is at the forefront: overdose deaths are concentrated in this district and it is not unusual to see people using and dealing drugs in plain sight on the streets. Our City’s leadership has been unable to address this crisis with bold action and has instead taken an approach of enabling, gaslighting residents into thinking they have it under control. It is not under control.
Dorsey’s “Right to Recovery” legislation makes it easier for people to seek drug treatment without having to see drugs being used or sold. His legislation would direct police officers to confiscate illegal drugs and arrest anyone selling them in areas that are close to treatment facilities. It’s unfortunate that in San Francisco we have to pass a law to require that existing laws are enforced, but we appreciate this creative effort to create safe places for addicts to recover without ongoing exposure to drugs.
Dorsey has the professional and political background to make him a proven and effective leader. He spent 14 years working for former City Attorney Dennis Herrera. As his Communications Director, Dorsey led efforts to make San Francisco the first city to allow gay marriage. He also went up against Big Tobacco working on 2019’s campaign to ban flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes. We know that being an effective and strategic communicator is a key part of any political or legislative victory. Dorsey has demonstrated his ability to move public opinion on big issues.
Though his opponent, Honey Mahogany, touts 25 years of work in the Tenderloin, including years leading the San Francisco Democratic Party, her policies have not worked to bring about needed change in District 6. She was empowered to offer bold solutions and improve residents' lives. Instead, conditions have deteriorated and we have yet to see her offer bold solutions. As leader of the local Democratic Party, she opposed both the recall of the ineffective Board of Education members, as well as former District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Dorsey supported both.
San Francisco has had years of leaders who say the right things and deliver no results. We can only turn our city around with the help of courageous leaders who are willing to disrupt the status quo. We believe Matt Dorsey is one of them.
District 6 includes Mid-Market, SoMa, Yerba Buena, Rincon Hill, South Beach, Mission Bay, and Treasure Island.
Why we're voting for him: Rafael Mandelman has demonstrated a commitment to deliver on his promises to address San Francisco’s mental health and homeless crisis—an urgent issue that few elected officials are willing to seriously address. Mandelman has the lived experience to lead on this issue, having been open about his mother's severe mental health challenges and homelessness. Mandelman has consistently been the loudest voice in support of expanding conservatorship across the city. He maintains a list of individuals in his district in mental health crisis and stays on top of City departments trying to help them.
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Mandelman attempted to pass historic fourplex legislation that would allow more housing construction throughout San Francisco, but his efforts were watered down by his opponents on the Board of Supervisors. He also understands his district's unique small business challenges and should attempt to loosen some of the restrictions surrounding zoning in his district to revitalize that area’s commercial corridors and take another pass at strengthening conservatorship in the City. It’s obvious that he knows where the gaps are. He must be aggressive in pushing for solutions to our City’s mental health crisis.
District 8 includes Noe Valley, the Castro, and Glen Park.
Why we’re not endorsing anyone: The incumbent, Shamann Walton, wields incredible political power as the representative of the entire southeast sector of the city and the President of the Board of Supervisors, but has failed to deliver results for his constituents in his first four-year term. Instead, he’s focused on political grandstanding and blocking progress in his district as well as throughout the City.
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Walton opposes new housing, he opposes car-free JFK and called it recreational redlining and was the lone vote opposing expanded conservatorship in the city. This is not working toward progress. Walton has been out of step with voters on the recalls of the three school board members as well as District Attorney Boudin.
He also recently admitted to repeatedly using a racial slur against a City Hall employee and threatening him with physical violence. Walton threatened to take "legal action" over it. He has not apologized.
While Walton is not running entirely unopposed, the other candidate isn’t seasoned enough for us to judge his policy record and therefore, we aren’t endorsing anyone for this seat.
District 10 includes the Bayview, Hunter’s Point, Visitacion Valley, and the Dogpatch.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action. Not authorized by any candidate or a committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.
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