Candidate for
Board of Supervisors; San Francisco County; District 6

My candidacy for District 6 Supervisor will bring a common sense and pragmatic approach to the issues facing District 6. As an independent voice, I can bring the voice of each of the diverse District 6 neighborhoods to City Hall.

The positive changes I have made in the Tenderloin, with its many challenges, is proof that I am capable of making a positive difference throughout the rest of District 6 and San Francisco as a whole. I will bring my tenacity and vigor to City Hall as an independent voice to serve the interests of District 6 residents and San Francisco.

Saying I will be an Independent Voice is not just another tired campaign slogan. I say this with great pride because my record shows that I have no ties to the political machines that occupy City Hall. I owe nothing to anyone other than the constituents I will be elected to serve. This is a grassroots campaign focusing on the needs of the people, not the wants of special interests.

As a Supervisor I will look at each issue individually and will make decisions based on what is best for my constituents. I will be a Supervisor who listens to the concerns and needs of the people in the neighborhoods of District 6, working with them to find solutions. I will legislate on pragmatic grounds, not ideological partisanship. I will work in a collaborative and effective way to address the issues and concerns affecting District 6. This is evidenced by my record of getting things done that includes running a successful law office for ten years, five of which were in the Tenderloin, and the formation and management of the North of Market/Tenderloin Community Benefit District, which has brought fundamental change to the neighborhood. This includes consistent, uniform sidewalk cleaning, closing a violence-ridden nightclub, eliminating a poorly-operated liquor store, and working to establish businesses that serve the neighborhood, such as a full-service post office and a grocery store.

San Francisco is at a crossroads. This election will greatly affect San Francisco's cultural and economic future. The greatest challenges are housing, public safety, business, and economic development. Housing must be available and affordable to keep working and middle class families in our City. We must honestly and creatively address the concern for safety, one of the reasons people leave San Francisco, creating abandoned and blighted neighborhoods. We need to encourage and accommodate the attraction, retention and expansion of business, using economic development as a tool to provide jobs, business opportunities and a tax base; to fortify neighborhood vitality.

This must be well thought out and INCLUDE the economic needs of those already in place; the working poor, first generation families, the elderly and the disabled on fixed incomes. "Inclusive economic development" will allow these populations to remain and assure that everyday services that we all need will not cease to exist at any reasonable price or place to the benefit of all.