Welcome back to our โMeet the Candidatesโ series, where we ask the District 9 supervisorial hopefuls in the November 2024 election one question each week. Candidates are asked to answer questions on policy, ideology and more in 100 words or fewer.
Answers are being published individually each week, but we are also archiving the weekly series here.
If you know of other political events, let me know and I will add them to the post.
I will be at Noah’s NY Bagels at 2300 16th St, on Thursday, May 30, at 11 a.m. to say hello and talk about the district, or you can email me at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
This week’s question: The District 9 has 26 public restrooms, and at least one pending at Precita park. Do you think these are adequately maintained, and would you like to see more? If so, where?
Jackie Fielder
- Job: Nonprofit co-director at Stop the Money Pipeline. Former educator at San Francisco State University, co-founder of the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition. Democratic Socialist
- Age: 29
- Residency: Tenant, lived in District 9 September 2017 to June 2018, October 2019 to August 2020 ,and April 2021 to present
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in public policy and master’s degree in sociology from Stanford University
- Languages: English and Spanish
I would like to see more bathrooms, especially at parks like Precita. In general, we need more public restrooms for our residents and the tourists who visit our City. SF has 26 toilets per 100K residents, but Iโd love to see us match other countries like Norway, New Zealand, or Iceland, who have 33, 45, and 56 toilets per 100K, respectively. But, similar to the trash-can problem, we are in a staffing shortage that needs to be fixed to be able to adequately maintain more bathrooms. I deeply appreciate the workers who attend the 16th and 24th street self cleaning bathrooms, and think those are adequately maintained.
Endorsed by: Former State Representative Tom Ammiano, Former District 9 Supervisor David Campos, Former Mayor Art Agnos, City College Trustee Vick Chung, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin … read more here
h brown
- Job: Retired special education teacher
- Age: 80
- Residency: Tenant, at current address for nine years, redistricted into District 9 in April 2022
- Transportation: Walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degree in special education from Clemson University
- Languages: English
My oldest 311 request for action number is #15768985
I believe it is for toilets at each end of Clarion Alley Art Gallery w/one in front of Mission District Police Precinct.
I have one for paving all of Clarion Alley Art Gallery, where I finally filled the potholes myself.
Took a year and 13 broken bags of cement and grout.
I have active 311 requests to move attendant toilet 100 yards from 20th Street side of Armory to bus side on Mission.
My activist work for 6 months with my dog got feces-saturated fencing removed from around Armory.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed.
Julian Bermudez
- Job: Works in and directs his family business, Rancho Grande Appliance
- Age: 27
- Residency: Born San Francisco in 1996, raised on and off in District 9 until he left for college in 2015, then the army in 2019 and now back, living in the Mission
- Transportation: Carpool/catch a ride
- Education: City College of San Francisco, Chico State University
- Languages: English and Spanish
In my opinion, the majority of them are adequately maintained; however, the ones that are not seem to suffer from insufficient funding to ensure proper maintenance. For instance, the pit stop at Garfield Park is not the same as the pit stop when exiting the BART stations on 24th or 16th Street. The pit stop program in San Francisco should be the most important aspect of the city’s efforts to maintain the cleanliness of its streets. Public restrooms will be beneficial to all individuals, including the unhoused, tourists, everyday workers, and millionaires. Going to the bathroom is not an option;” read more here.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed … read more here
Stephen Torres
- Job: Bartender at Twin Peaks Tavern, customer service at Flowercraft Nursery and freelance writer
- Age: 46
- Residency: Tenant, lived in District 9 summer 2001 to fall 2003, and returned in the summer 2010
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Moorpark Community College and San Francisco City College as work has permitted
- Languages: English and Spanish
Public restrooms are essential and do not need to burden our budget if we simply use some common sense and eliminate all barriers to installing affordable sites. We either fund public restrooms and their operational costs up front, or we will continue to deal with the grime and clean-up costs on the back end. I support the progress DPW has achieved as well as expanding the current 26 public restrooms in District 9, particularly in high-traffic locations like BART stations, public parks, and other rights of way.
Endorsed by: Mark Leno, Former State Senator, Aaron Peskin, President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Hillary Ronen, Supervisor, District 9 … read more here
Jaime Gutierrez
- Job: Transit supervisor for SFMTA/Muni
- Age: 57
- Residency: Tenant, born in District 9 in 1967 and, except for three years spent in the Army, has resided here ever since
- Transportation: Bike
- Education: U.S. Army, City College of San Francisco, University of California, Berkeley
- Languages: English and Spanish
Bathrooms and optimal access are extremely important to have in District 9. It is imperative that they are maintained and kept clean. The public should be educated with proper signage and with an appeal to decency. All of the bathrooms are unisex, and they should be labeled as such. Since all people are using the same bathroom, cleanliness is a big issue. It also is important that there be bathrooms at all Muni bus line terminals. The city can have them set up to open for public use at certain hours with city personnel to have access at all hours.
Endorsed by: Transportation Workers Union Local 200 … read more here
Trevor Chandler
- Job: Public school teacher since 2023. Former director of government and public policy at Citizen, a public safety app.
- Age: 37
- Residency: Tenant, living in District 9 since July 2021
- Transportation: Public
- Education: Plymouth State University
- Languages: English
We absolutely need more public bathrooms throughout District 9, especially in our commercial corridors. We can do this without spending $2 million [editor’s note: SF’s Rec and Park told this publication the final cost to the city was $200,000 because the prefab structure and installation were donated.] like the Noe Valley toilet was projected to cost.
It shouldn’t have taken a scandal to get DPW to come clean about its inflated costs. They also did this with the tiny home village on Mission, which was exorbitantly more expensive than the one done privately on Gough.
Corruption and waste at City Hall has prevented District 9 from receiving the basic services we deserve. As a reformer and outsider, I am committed to bringing transparency and delivering for D9.
Endorsed by: Latino LGBTQ political organization HONOR PAC, State Senator Scott Wiener, Assembly Member Rick Chavez Zbur, Brownie Mary Democratic Club, Supreme Court Marriage Equality Lead Plaintiff Jim Obergefell … read more here
Roberto Hernandez
- Job: CEO, Cultura y Arte Nativa de Las Americas (CANA).
- Age: 67
- Residency: Homeowner, born in the Mission in June 1956 and has not left
- Transportation: Car and bicycle
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology from University of San Francisco
- Languages: English and Spanish
We absolutely need more public bathrooms in District 9. Assemblymember Matt Haney recently identified the bureaucratic hurdles that inhibit their construction, and was able to successfully deliver a new public restroom in Noe Valley at a reasonable cost.
I plan to be the same type of hands-on problem solver in order to bring critical resources to District 9. As Supervisor, I’ll facilitate community discussions to determine which areas most need restrooms โ such as Franklin Square, an issue I experienced firsthand coaching soccer โ and then work with the appropriate agencies to ensure these facilities are built in a timely and cost-effective manner.โ
Endorsed by: State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Supervisor Shamann Walton, State Senator Scott Wiener, BART Director Bevan Dufty … read more here
Michael Petrelis
- Job: AIDS and LGBTQ activist
- Age: No response given
- Residency: Has lived on Clinton Park since May 1996, which became part of District 9 in April 2022
- Transportation: Petrelis asked not to participate in the series
- Education: Petrelis asked not to participate in the series
- Languages: English
Petrelis said he wishes not to participate.
Endorsed by: Not seeking endorsements, and I see much of the endorsement industrial complex as corrupt, rife with payola and favor-trading, and for gotcha responses.
District 9 contributions
Money raised and spent in the District 9 supervisor race
Money raised
Money spent
Jackie Fielder
$31,954
$112,742
Roberto Hernandez
$11,443
$100,577
Trevor Chandler
$72,682
$90,840
Stephen Torres
$13,848
$5,949
Julian Bermudez
$740
Michael Petrelis
$0
Jamie Gutierrez
$0
h Brown
$0
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
Money raised
Money spent
Jackie Fielder
$31,954
$112,742
Roberto Hernandez
$11,443
$100,577
Trevor Chandler
$72,682
$90,840
Stephen Torres
$13,848
$5,949
Julian Bermudez
$740
Michael Petrelis
$0
Jamie Gutierrez
$0
h Brown
$0
$0
$50K
$100K
$150K
$200K
Source: San Francisco Ethics Commission, as of April 3, 2024. Chart by Junyao Yang.
Candidates are rotated alphabetically. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com
Read the rest of the District 9 questions here, and the entire โMeet the Candidatesโ series here.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.