Mission Local is publishing a daily campaign dispatch for each of the major contenders in the mayor’s race, alternating among candidates weekly until November. This week: Ahsha Safaí. Read earlier dispatches here.
It was lunchtime at the Self-Help for the Elderly’s Excelsior site, and 40 Chinese seniors packed the dining hall at the Geneva Community Center, ready to eat and celebrate the June birthdays.
There was fish with satay sauce, “Happy Birthday” sung in Cantonese and English, and a big cream cake.
And then the special guest arrived: Ahsha Safaí, their district 11 supervisor, and now also a mayoral candidate. Polite applause greeted him, and then the questions began.
It is rare to see a candidate’s real-time back-and-forth with Chinese-speaking seniors. Mostly, like on Tuesday’s merchant walk in the Sunset, Safaí only interacts briefly with anyone he meets. But, with Safaí their captive, the Chinese seniors on Wednesday had a lot to say, and a staff member was there to interpret.
“Can we have more bike lanes?” asked a grandpa in a white windbreaker, brown baseball cap and glasses.
Well, Safaí said he did add a bike line on Alemany Boulevard, and he led the Cayuga slow street project. The grandpa seemed pleased, and he clapped.
And then, more requests.
Can we have more trash bins near bus stops?
“You’re right,” Safaí said. “I think there are some very strategic locations where we could add more trash cans.” He then mentioned his history of working for Public Works and the plan to make the department operate 24/7.
Why aren’t there more restrooms on the 94112 side of McLaren Park?
“That’s a great idea,” Safaí said.
How come there’s digging on the roads all the time?
The digging and trenching on Geneva Avenue won’t take forever, he promised.
A couple of seniors expressed their frustration about tree roots in front of their house, and 311 calls that went unanswered for years.
Safaí turned to his campaign manager, Lauren Chung. Take down their addresses, he asked.
Seniors should be able to get their problems resolved by calling 311, he agreed. They shouldn’t have to wait until a random meet-up with the district supervisor to have a problem taken care of, he said. “They want someone to be able to deal with it head-on.”
He added that the unanswered 311 calls could be blamed on the Mayor’s Office, which shut down the Office of Neighborhood Services in early 2020.
At the end of the lunch, it was time for the photo op. Often, on the campaign trail, it can feel like the candidates are using residents as props. But for this group, which clustered around Safaí and waved at their shy friends in the back to join, it felt like an opportunity they wanted. As if Safaí was their prop, and they were happy to have him there.
