California State SenateCandidate for District 11

I support encouraging the City to increase its use of recycled/reclaimed and other non-potable water to water the plants and lawns in our parks, clean our streets, and flush our toilets. I also support incentivizing San Franciscans to increase residential use of recycled/reclaimed and other non-potable water. According to the PUC, about one-third of indoor water use is from toilets. I support the PUC’s rebate program to replace older, high-flow toilets with newer, high-efficiency toilets and/or dual-flushing toilets. I also support expanding the PUC’s rebate program to the use of recycled/reclaimed and other non-potable water for residential use on plants, lawns, and other residential uses.

I have been a leading voice to close the income gap. Last year, I authored the ballot measure to increase San Francisco’s minimum wage to $15/hour. This is the strongest minimum wage ordinance in the country and was passed overwhelmingly by San Francisco voters in November 2014. Furthermore, I authored a tax exclusion legislation to attract technology companies and small businesses in a corridor in my district with the highest commercial vacancy rate in San Francisco in 2011. The commercial vacancy rate has fallen as low as 2.4% in most parts of my district and this corridor is now home to Twitter, Uber, Square, Dolby, and Zendesk. I am committed to creating good paying/family wage jobs, so that diverse residents can continue to live in the Bay Area.

1. Education is a top priority in California and has been a central part of my policy and advocacy work. I was President of the Board of Education, and I currently serve as Chair of the City and School District Committee. If elected, I will work with stakeholders to identify all sources of funding in order to improve public schools statewide--especially schools that disproportionately serve students with great needs. In addition, it is crucial we restore tax equity by amending tax loopholes like proposition 13 and protecting laws that provide school funding proposition 30 and 98.

2. I have been the strongest proponent for acquiring and building affordable housing on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I challenged San Francisco to make the City more affordable by setting the goal that 33% of all new housing that is built should be affordable for low- and middle-income households. In addition, I established the forward thinking standard that 40% of housing that is built on public land should be affordable to these same households. Most recently, I negotiated with the San Francisco Giants to achieve this goal on one of the largest vacant public parcels remaining, getting the Giants to increase the percentage of affordable housing from 33% to an unprecedented 40%. 54% of all of San Francisco’s affordable housing is being built in the district that I represent. Furthermore, I have stood up for tenant’s rights, passing the boldest tenant protections ordinance in the country to counter frivolous and profit-incentivized evictions.

3. Another legislative priority for the upcoming year for me addressing housing homeless children and their families. We have a limited window of opportunity to end the cycle of poverty for the next generation, and it must include stable, safe, and clean housing. If we do not address this now, we guarantee that the homeless child today suffers chronic homelessness and intransigent poverty as an adult. I am actively partnering with the mayor as well as experts in the arena of housing, finance, and family homelessness to fully implement a roadmap to end the family homelessness by 2019.

I have been the strongest proponent for acquiring and building affordable housing on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I challenged San Francisco to make the City more affordable by setting the goal that 33% of all new housing that is built should be affordable for low- and middle-income households. In addition, I established the forward thinking standard that 40% of housing that is built on public land should be affordable to these same households. Most recently, I negotiated with the San Francisco Giants to achieve this goal on one of the largest vacant public parcels remaining, getting the Giants to increase the percentage of affordable housing from 33% to an unprecedented 40%. 54% of all of San Francisco’s affordable housing is being built in the district that I represent. Furthermore, I have stood up for tenant’s rights, passing the boldest tenant protections ordinance in the country to counter frivolous and profit-incentivized evictions.

We cannot close the income gap if residents don’t have access to safe, reliable and affordable transportation. We need to do more to invest in mass transit, improve our roads, and give people the option to walk or bike - safely - on our streets.

I have led a citywide campaign with Supervisors Yee and Avalos to reduce our traffic fatalities to zero by 2024 through increased enforcement, education, and engineering of city streets.  60% of our city’s collisions are happening on 6% of our city streets, and I represent the District with the highest number of traffic collisions and fatalities in the City. Our office has convened a monthly D6 pedestrian and bike safety workgroup for the last four years bringing together our diverse constituents including SRO tenants, condo homeowners, seniors, and  working class Latino and Filipino families in the Tenderloin and SOMA. A citywide coordination effort is critical to change this culture with a mix of immediate interventions and long-term improvements that the City can take to save lives. Furthermore, I have pushed for protected bike lanes to help reduce traffic congestion and our carbon footprint.

I am also a member of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, the body that oversees the design, construction and operation of the new Transbay Transit Center, which is currently under construction and includes the extension of the Caltrain commuter rail from 4th and King Station and the future California High Speed Rail. Transportation is a key issue in District 6 and the city and I am committed to relieving traffic gridlock and improving pedestrian safety.