How I’m Voting and You Can Too - April 2022 San Francisco
These views are mine, and mine alone. They do not represent the views of any organization I work for or am a member of. If you assume my spouse shares all these views, you are wrong and possibly very sexist.
I began writing voter guides for every election when I realized some people I know weren’t voting because the ballot was too complicated. Now, I study the issues with dorky zeal and offer this guide to the public. Many of my friends trust my judgment and values and will just print or download my voter guide and use it as they vote.
There is an election in the east side of San Francisco. I normally use this preamble to argue very strongly for why an election is very consequential, but not this time. We’re going to vote on this seat again in a couple of months. Of course, every election matters. This one will have a very low turnout, so our votes have extra weight. You probably already got a ballot in the mail. You can drop that off in a box in front of your neighborhood library.
Meanwhile, the city is also going through a redistricting process for our board of supervisors, and it’s a mess.
My picks:
San Francisco Redistricting Process: Cultural districts must be respected. The proposed maps are a sham. Make your voice heard.
State Assembly District 17: David Campos
My reasoning:
San Francisco Redistricting Process
Every ten years, the city uses new census data to redraw the lines for our supervisorial districts. You can read all about the current process on the League of Women Voters of San Francisco website. There are several ways to let the redistricting task force know what you think. You can make comments at their public meetings, which I did when I drew these sketchnotes of the February 18 meeting. You can also submit your “community of interest” online. Let the task force know who you have mutual interests with and where in the city they are. Tell them specifically what the borders should be. The task force should listen to this input and draw district lines accordingly, but it’s clear that they are not doing so.
The League of Women Voters of San Francisco has published a letter, “SF Redistricting Task Force must change course to draw a fair map,” which outlines the ways in which the current proposed maps would “diminish the voting power of low-income, immigrant, renter, LGBTQ+, and people of color neighborhoods” as they override ample public comments seeking to keep official city-designated cultural districts from being split between supervisorial districts.
It seems clear that mayoral appointees to the Redistricting Task Force are working to create the most conservative possible board of supervisors.
The political coalition of SF Rising has been organizing to create the San Francisco Unity Map which is a much better representation of the city’s populace. Now they are ringing all of the alarm bells about the map and are holding a rally on Saturday. They are also maintaining a tool kit with specific up-to-date instructions about how you can have your say.
State Assembly District 17
David Campos
Heart of the Mission
acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2021
Click here to read about the long process to create this painting.
This special election is happening because the mayor appointed David Chiu as City Attorney to replace Dennis Herrerra who the mayor appointed as the new director of the SF Public Utilities Commission to replace Harlan Kelly who was arrested by the FBI for fraud.
David Campos and Matt Haney both have a record of contributing to some smart and progressive policy. The League of Pissed Off Voters summarized some of their achievements:
David Campos is the former District 9 Supervisor and former head of the SF Democratic Party. This is his second go at the State Assembly (he ran against David Chiu in 2014 for the seat, after Tom Ammiano termed out). Campos was a reliable progressive vote on the Board of Supervisors, authored legislation to create a Latino Cultural District, and has led the charge on immigrant rights and health care. He’s come to play an important role in SF progressive politics, and his leadership would be great to have in Sacramento.
Matt Haney is the District 6 Supervisor and Chair of the Budget Committee - and before that he was the President of the School Board. He’s an ambitious guy, rooted in Labor and Criminal Justice Reform. On the Board, he worked with colleagues to write and pass Mental Health SF and the Overpaid Executive Tax. He’s gone to bat to expand mental health services, expand funding for affordable housing, and support families and workers during the pandemic. We know Matt could build a people-powered coalition in Sacramento to make big and meaningful changes.
I expect that either of them will make good decisions with their votes in Sacramento, but both of them have only made themselves look worse over the course of this campaign.
When Matt Haney began his term as supervisor, he would regularly call out the Mayor’s office for lying about sweeps of homeless encampments. He stopped doing that about a year ago and now is running as an ally to developers.
Meanwhile, the Campos campaign has been overly negative and at times borrowed the anti-Tenderloin rhetoric from the worst reactionaries (Campos did apologize for those ads, and even called me personally to disavow them). Campos claims that he will be a better advocate for the Green New Deal, but has he ever done anything to hold Nancy Pelosi accountable for her mockery of that plan?
I’ve never heard Haney criticize Pelosi either, but as Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party and now the Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party, I believe this would be Campos’ responsibility. When was the last time she even participated in a debate? I think our failure to pressure Nancy Pelosi to take climate change seriously, to stop trading stocks, to ever really try to hold the Trump administration accountable has contributed to the mess our country is in now… but, I digress.
David Campos is the more seasoned and experienced candidate. He completed two terms as a supervisor while Haney hasn’t finished his first term.
Campos has been getting more of the endorsements that I trust. The strong endorsement from the San Francisco Tenants Union is particularly compelling and convinces me that he will be the strongest voice to protect housing and other essential human rights for everyone in California.
I also think it is fitting to that San Francisco be represented by a gay ‘dreamer’ immigrant with a long track record of great policy work. I’m voting for David Campos on the current ballot, and will probably do so again in June and maybe in November also.