Welcome back to the “Meet the Candidates” series for District 11, where we ask each candidate to answer one question per week leading up to the election, with answers in about 100 words.
District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí is termed out and running for mayor and, so far, seven candidates have thrown their hats in the ring to replace him as the representative of the Excelsior, Oceanview and the Outer Mission. Read my latest analysis of the race.
While there are a lot more factors at play in the race than money, funds have an impact on how big of a campaign a candidate can run, including sending out mail, organizing events, and having paid advertisements for name recognition.
At the last reporting period, in late December, Ernest “E.J.” Jones was the only candidate to raise funds — $70,501, according to the San Francisco Ethics Commission’s website. He has spent about half of that. The next round of disclosures will be published in July.
To get a sense of their financial situations before July, we asked the candidates this week to, Tell us about your campaign finance: where did you raise the money and how have you been spending it?
Note: I will return to District 11 coffee chat after May 13, Monday. Stay tuned for more information!
Ernest “E.J.” Jones
- Job: Community advocate
- Age: 38
- Residency: Living in District 11 since November 1985 and has lived here always, except for time away at college
The majority of my donations came from friends, neighbors and family. It’s a humbling experience, because many are making sacrifices to support a candidate they believe in. We did a good job of creating gatherings where people could hear the story of the campaign and also give to the cause. Additionally, we qualified for public financing, which contributed and will contribute matching funds.
The money that has been spent thus far has been used to create and print outreach materials like flyers, signs and the website. We pay for compliance/consultant services to make sure that the finances are properly recorded and vetted for any issues.
Endorsed by: Supervisors Shamann Walton and Myrna Melgar, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Former SF mayor Willie Brown Jr., Transit Workers Union Local 250A… read more here
Michael Lai
- Job: Early education director, elected to the San Francisco Democratic Party
- Age: 31
- Residency: Tenant, living in District 11 since February 2024
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in government at Harvard College with coursework at Harvard Graduate School of Education
- Languages: English, Mandarin
I just launched my campaign April 13, and am raising money from friends, neighbors, and supporters from my recent Democratic County Central Committee race, and organized labor. So far I’ve raised more than $50K, and spent very little, including on some nice window signs.
Endorsed by: Attorney General Rob Bonta, Senator Scott Wiener, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, Supervisors Joel Engardio and Matt Dorsey, NorCal Carpenters Union… read more here
Roger Marenco
- Job: Transit operator
- Age: 42
- Residency: Tenant, living in District 11 since May 2014
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in environmental sustainability and social justice from San Francisco State University. City College San Francisco
- Languages: English, Spanish
Unfortunately, I have not been able to raise any campaign funds.
Jose Morales
- Job: Sales professional, small business owner
- Age: 28
- Residency: Tenant, born in District 11 in 1995 and has lived there since, except for time away in college from 2014 to 2017 and living in Idaho from 2021 to the end of 2022
- Transportation: Car
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in economics from Sonoma State University
- Languages: English, Spanish
My campaign financing is clear-cut and uncomplicated. To date, our spending remains below $200, primarily allocated to website hosting and flyer printing at Office Depot, funded from my personal income.
I firmly stand by the belief that votes cannot be bought, and I am confident in my ability to secure victory without being the top fundraiser. My constituents recognize me as the leader our community needs and deserves.
Chyanne Chen
- Job: Worker organizer, community facilitator & educator
- Age: 39
- Residency: Homeowner, landlord, living in District 11 since August 2000
- Transportation: Walk, public transportation, rideshare, and car
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from University of California, Davis, master’s degree from Cornell University, doctoral degree in education in progress at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese
We are a grassroots campaign and our donations have come from longtime community members, small business owners and everyday workers who share my belief that we need to lift up working families, which are the backbone of District 11.
We have focused our spending to date on creating our campaign infrastructure and on voter contact.
Endorsed by: Assemblymember Phil Ting, former police commissioner Larry Yee, San Francisco Board of Education commissioner Jenny Lam, former supervisors Norman Yee, Sandy Fewer and Mabel Teng.
Adlah Chisti
- Job: Public policy analyst, caregiver
- Age: 40
- Residency: Live with parents and caregive for them, born in District 11 in 1983 and lived there since, moved out in 2013 and back in 2017
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in politics and in environmental science, and master’s degree in education from University of San Francisco, master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy, juris doctorate from University of California Law, San Francisco
- Languages: English, Spanish, Hindi
I am a completely grassroots campaign, and have spent it on flyers in English, Spanish and Chinese. I have window signs as well.
District 11 contribution
Money raised and spent in the District 11 supervisor race
Money raised
Money spent
Ernest “E.J.” Jones
$34,342
$70,501
Chyanne Chen
$0
Adlah Chisti
$0
Roger Marenco
$0
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
Money spent
Money raised
Ernest “E.J.” Jones
$70,501
$34,342
Chyanne Chen
$0
Adlah Chisti
$0
Roger Marenco
$0
$0
$50K
$100K
$150K
$200K
Source: San Francisco Ethics Commission, as of April 3, 2024. Chart by Junyao Yang.
Candidates are ordered alphabetically but rotated weekly. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at xueer@missionlocal.com.
Read the rest of the District 11 questions here, and the entire “Meet the Candidates” series here.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
