Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” 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 Bare Bottle (1525 Cortland Ave.) at 5. p.m. on Thursday August 8, to say hello and talk about the district, or you can email me at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
This week’s question: Who are you supporting in the race for the school board? Why?
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
The school board has been off track for far too long, and I supported the recall of members who did not prioritize student outcomes.
We should continue that progress by replacing the remaining incumbents with serious, competent people. That is why I am supporting Parag Gupta, Supriya Ray, Jamie Huling and John Jersin for the School Board.
I’m confident they will focus on fiscal stability, student outcomes, and teacher recruitment and retention. They have the skills and experience to do the job and guide SFUSD during this difficult time for the District.
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
I am currently supporting three candidates: Matt Alexander, Virginia Cheung and Deldelp Medina. Alexander has experience as an incumbent and educator, and Cheung and Medina bring the perspective of parents, organizers, and advocates of supportive children’s services in immigrant communities that are under-resourced in our city. Moreover, all three are focused on serving the families of San Francisco, and that’s what we need on the Board.
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
There are many good candidates running for school board. The recent successful recall appears to have realigned the focus for the school board to not be used as a political springboard, but rather to fulfill its purpose to educate our children. This is good. Our children shall be guiding us in our golden years, and we need to prepare them effectively to do so. Therefore, nearly all the candidates exhibit platforms that recognize the SFUSD has lost its way and appear to understand that administrators, teachers, students and above all parents need to be part of the decision making process.
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
As the parent of a Mission High School student, I am very concerned about the future of SFUSD. Choosing the right mix of leaders for our school board is essential to ensuring that our schools improve and continue to stay open.
I will be spending the coming weeks learning about each of the school board candidates, specifically their positions on funding, management, investment in our teachers, safety in and around schools, and how they plan to address education disparities among students. I will determine who to support after hosting a meeting among the candidates and other District 9 residents.
Endorsed by: Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Supervisor Shamann Walton, State Senator Scott Wiener… 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
I am supporting Matt Alexander, who is a current school board member and is backed by United Educators of San Francisco. I am also proud to have the No. 1 endorsement of United Educators of San Francisco. Matt has two decades of experience as a SFUSD teacher and principal, with deep educational expertise and a track record of success as an educator. He’s a team player who works well with others and finds common ground across differences, and a collaborator who has built relationships with City officials to bring in resources for SFUSD.
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.
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 am voting for Deldelp Medina, Matt Alexander, Laurance Lee and Virgina Cheung. This is based on their endorsements, who has donated to their campaigns, and what I know about them. I believe that dark-money organizations are rigging the San Francisco school board election in order to seize control of public education. It is critical to conduct research on who is giving money to the candidates, as this is who makes the decisions.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed … 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
I eliminated Ray and Gupta and Hulin and Jersin because they proudly listed ‘GrowSF’ as sponsors.
I dropped Chang, because her references seem to be mostly republicans.
Dropped Hsu because she supported recalls.
Couldn’t figure out why Eleftheriou is in race.
Passed on Krantz as they already have non-voting student representation, I believe.
Leaves me with Alexander, Cheung, Medina and Lee.
Alexander and Lee (spreasheets for fun?) write with clarity.
Cheung comes highly recommended by Mark Sanchez.
I watched Medina organize a full Latinx forum.
The rest I’ll submit.
I was tempted.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed.
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 “Meet the Candidates” series here.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
Trevor Chandler is misleading to state he is “a public school teacher.” Since 2023, he’s held a (barely used until now) 30-day emergency credential which requires NO basic skills in education, and authorizes no more than 30-days with any group of children for this very reason. Professional educator? The California Commission on Teaching Credential begs to differ (look up the details on http://www.ctc.ca.gov). More like an untrained stop-gap — absolutely not a professional educator!