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
Community advocate
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. More here.
Languages: Mandarin
Education: Harvard College, AB cum in Government, with coursework at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Michael Lai
Early education director, elected to the San Francisco Democratic Party
Age: 31
Housing: Tenant
Primary transport: Public
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. More here.
Languages: Spanish
Education: BA in Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice from San Francisco State University. City College San Francisco.
Roger Marenco
Transit operator
Age: 42 Housing: Tenant Primary Transport: Public
Unfortunately, I have not been able to raise any campaign funds.
Languages: Spanish
Education: BA in Economics from Sonoma State University.
Jose Morales
Sales professional, small business owner
Age:28 Housing: Tenant Primary Transport: Car
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.
Languages: Mandarin, Cantonese
Education: Bachelor degree from University of California Davis, Master’s degree from Cornell University, Doctoral in Education in progress at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Chyanne Chen
Worker organizer, community facilitator & educator
Age: 39 Housing: Homeowner, landlord Primary Transport: Walk, public transportation, rideshare, and car
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.
Languages: Spanish, Hindi
Education: BA in Politics and in Environmental Science from University of San Francisco, Masters of Education from University of San Francisco, Masters in Public Policy from Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy, Juris Doctorate from UC LAW SF (Formerly Hastings.)
Adlah Chisti
Public policy analyst, caregiver
Age: 40 Housing: Live with parents and caregive for them Primary Transport: Public
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.
