Welcome back to our weekly “Meet the Candidates” series, in which District 1 supervisorial candidates who have filed to run respond to a question in 100 words or fewer.
Answers are published each week, but we are also archiving each answer on this page for District 1, to make it easier for voters to browse.
Next week, I will be at Cinderella Bakery at 436 Balboa St. at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Drop by and share your thoughts, or reach me at junyao@missionlocal.com.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that enabled San Francisco and other cities to roust, fine, or incarcerate homeless people from the streets without offering shelter or housing, Mayor London Breed started “very aggressive” encampment sweeps earlier this month.
Public Works employees and police officers have confiscated tents and belongings, as Mission Local and other outlets reported. Only days after the sweeps, tents returned to the Mission, Bayview, and other neighborhoods across the city.
We asked the candidates this week: Do you support Mayor London Breed’s “very aggressive” homeless sweeps in recent weeks? Why or why not?
Jeremiah Boehner
- Job: Marketing specialist and U.S. Army veteran
- Age: 39
- Residency: Tenant, living in District 1 since 2006
- Transportation: Driving
- Education: University of San Francisco
- Languages: English
Yes, I support the sweeps but I wouldn’t call them aggressive. I still see encampments all over the city including encampments in District 1. It feels like more political theater from London Breed. We need a new mayor and supervisors who will actually enforce public camping bans.
To quote Adam Plantinga: Encampment sweeps aren’t just about what’s best for the homeless. It’s about your right to live without an ongoing public nuisance on your block. Like needles. Trash. Feces. Open drug use. Screaming and fighting at 2 a.m. If you disagree, you probably don’t have tents outside your door.
Endorsed by: San Francisco Republican Party
Connie Chan
- Job: Incumbent District 1 Supervisor
- Age: 45
- Residency: Homeowner, living in District 1 since 2011
- Transportation: Driving and walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of California, Davis
- Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin
San Francisco has conducted aggressive and routine homeless sweeps since 2011, but they have not yielded sustainable results for our city. The drop in our homeless count during the pandemic was the direct result of providing additional shelter by converting hotels and single room occupancy units into shelters and permanent supportive housing, and measures preventing tenants from being evicted due to lost income.
Instead of building on a strategy that works, we are returning to this failed approach to aggressively push out, cite and even arrest homeless individuals. And we have already seen its shortfalls as tents return the next … read more here
Endorsed by: Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Fire Fighters Local 798, San Francisco Labor Council, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Local 21, Service Employees International Union 1021 … read more here
Sherman D’Silva
- Job: Owner of a laundromat on Geary Boulevard
- Age: 51
- Residency: Homeowner, living in District 1 since 1973
- Transportation: Driving
- Education: Bachelor’s degrees from San Francisco State University
- Languages: English
Not only do I support it, I would say she is late in taking action. Prior to recent court rulings the mayor had the ability to remove encampments provided there were shelter spaces available. This was an emergency, so rent, purchase or eminent-domain the space needed to meet court requirements and remove the encampments.
The cost of cleaning up encampments on an ongoing basis, associated cost of having law enforcement present during cleaning and the detrimental image created to tourism far exceeded any costs of complying with the courts — not to mention the cost to our neighborhoods and city.
Jen Nossokoff
- Job: Vice president of a healthcare company and physician assistant
- Age: 38
- Residency: Homeowner, living in District 1 since 2020
- Transportation: Walking, biking, public transportation, driving
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and master’s degree from Samuel Merritt University
- Languages: English
San Francisco has begun aggressively clearing encampments with very little notice. This is in stark contrast to the city’s approach to other public safety measures, such as the daylighting law, which provided residents a full year to adapt before enforcement began. While it’s essential to maintain a safe and orderly society, these abrupt encampment clearings often amount to political theater and fail to address the root causes of homelessness.
The issue of homelessness is complex, and our responses must reflect that complexity. Ideally, the goal of any encampment sweep should be to encourage individuals to engage with services that can … read more here
Endorsed by: Everytown For Gun Safety, San Francisco League of Conservation Voters, San Francisco Women’s Political Committee (#2), Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate
Marjan Philhour
- Job: Business owner, former advisor and fundraiser to London Breed
- Age: 50
- Residency: Homeowner, born in District 1 and moved back in 2006
- Transportation: Biking, walking, driving and public transportation
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley
- Languages: English
Enforcing the law is not an aggressive act, it is what residents expect of their local government. Addressing the homelessness crisis in our city is urgent. Ensuring that public safety is for all residents is imperative. The current state of our streets, with dangerous encampments and the rampant spread of fentanyl, is unacceptable. Ensuring we are in compliance with the law is necessary to restore order and safety, remove tents and encampments from public spaces, support individuals who are in crisis, and compel individuals in need to accept treatment and services.
It is crucial to treat individuals experiencing homelessness … read more here
Endorsed by: San Francisco Democratic Party, TogetherSF, San Francisco Police Officers Association … read more here
Money raised by District 1 candidates
Candidates are ordered alphabetically and rotated each week. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at junyao@missionlocal.com.
Read the rest of the series here. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.
