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.
In terms of political happenings this week in the district, the Latinx Democratic Club will host a town hall meeting on Tuesday June 4 at 6 p.m. at 362 Capp St with all of the candidates except Trevor Chandler. Chandler has opted out because ” unresolved issues with some of the hosts” and instead will participate in a forum with D9 Neighbors for Housing on June 4 at 5:30 p.m. Jackie Fielder will participate in a forum with the same group on June 5 at 5:30 p.m.
If you know of other political events, let me know and I will add them to the post.
I will be at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park on Thursday, June 6, at 11 a.m. to say hello and talk about the district,ย or you can email me at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
This week’s question: What is your plan to support small businesses in the district?
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
Supporting small businesses means bringing them more customers. Bureaucracy and red tape have ruined small business. Nearly everybody outside of the district I talk to share that comingย to District 9 is too difficult, so they do not bother. The difficulties stem from traffic controls that did not include adequate merchant and community input. Also, the removal and cost of parking discourages visitors.ย Furthermore, a consideration should be given to including input from all parties involved (merchants, neighborhood groups, and consumers). Night markets or special pop-up events may be another way for businesses to present themselves and create new business.
Endorsed by: Transportation Workers Union Local 200 … 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
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our district and an essential ingredient of a thriving local economy. My plan includes reducing bureaucratic red tape that often inhibits them from reaching their full potential, increasing grant funding to local proprietors, addressing pressing needs like clean and safe streets, and filling vacant storefronts.
Iโll explore innovative solutions for revitalizing large, vacant facilities to support new and existing businesses. We’ll open mercados for vendors to rent affordable spaces to sell their wares. Incubators for local startups and resources for a wide range of entrepreneurs will all help foster an inclusive, vibrant District 9.
Endorsed by: State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Supervisor Shamann Walton, State Senator Scott Wiener, BART Director Bevan Dufty … 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
I believe in by-right small business permitting where, if your space is up to code, you should not be beholden to a broken and opaque City Hall permitting process. My full plan is at Trevor4SF.com.
But small business owners have made clear to me that regulation changes wonโt matter if visitors donโt feel safe shopping in our merchant corridors. Thatโs why over 77 percent [survey says 77 percent of business owners from eight neighborhoods including Mission and Bernal] of D9โs small-business owners want increased SFPD foot and bike patrols, and I am calling for a fully staffed SFPD. Without foot traffic, D9 small businesses will continue to struggle.
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
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
Iโve worked in the small-business sector for most of my life here. We must protect it to ensure community survival and cultural sustainability. We should:
- Advocate for protections for commercial tenants at the state and local level.
- Strengthen enforcement of the storefront vacancy tax; ensure that corporations and app-based delivery pay their fair share and truly support our local economy.
- Stay true to our longtime resistance to big-box chain-store encroachment by creating subsidies for small businesses and prevent food and medicine scarcity by shifting our reliance on corporations who are abandoning brick and mortar and instead invest in public markets and locally-owned pharmacies. read more here.
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
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
I grew up in San Francisco’s small-business culture (Rancho Grande Appliances) , and I believe they are an important part of the city’s economy. Many small businesses are still feeling the effects of the pandemic, particularly in the food-service industry. We are paying more for leasing our units than the actual earnings required to keep the business running. That explains why there are so many closures. My initiatives include more funding or grants for small businesses, commercial rent control, fair taxation, and a right to unionize. To ensure the success of our small businesses, we must raise the bar of expectations.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed … read more here
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
Iโm proud to have the support of Small Business Forward. We share the belief that our cityโs band-aid approaches to big issues that affect small businesses have failed, and that we need long-term, proven solutions. I founded the San Francisco Public Bank Coalition to increase access to low-to-no-cost capital for small businesses and would work towards realizing a public bank as Supervisor. Iโve championed and supported more enforcement of the commercial vacancy tax, so that corporate landlords cannot continue to let storefronts sit empty. I will also fight for real solutions to our cityโs drug & homelessness crises, so that people … read more here.
Endorsed by:ย 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
The district needs unique flagship industries to feed tourists to our smaller businesses.
I propose we legalize two large businesses that already exist in District 9.
Sex work and gambling.
I see a walk down Mission Street as being like a walk through similar business districts in Amsterdam and Las Vegas, combined with the best Latino food joints and an increase in the number of Pentecostal churches drawn there to save our wicked souls.
I suggest the city partner with the Ohlone and create casinos in the Armory and the Mint and the Cow Palace and on Alcatraz.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed.
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.