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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.
We will not post a question next week, but we will be back the week after.
I will be at Venga Empanadas (443 Valencia St.) at 5. p.m. on Wednesday September 18, to say hello and talk about the district, or you can email me at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
This week’s question: How do you make the information coming from your office, or yourself, available to the multiple languages spoken by your constituents in District 9? What are the languages that you might consider? Will you consider less spoken languages like Mayan?
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
Iโm proud that my website and campaign materials are intentionally trilingual in English, Spanish and Cantonese. However, this still doesnโt capture the full linguistic diversity of District 9. I am committed to having fluent Spanish and Cantonese speakers on my City Hall staff who are deeply connected with our communities, ensuring that all District 9 residents have full, unencumbered access to City Hall resources.
Additionally, we have an exciting opportunity to leverage emerging AI language services to include every language spoken in D9, from Mayan to Tagalog and more. Language differences should never be a barrier to getting city services.
Endorsed by: San Francisco DCCC (#1), Latino LGBTQ political organization HONOR PAC, Chinese American Democratic Club, SF League of Conservation Voters, LIUNA Local 261… 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
l’ll make information from my office available in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese. I’d want to consider lesser-known languages, such as Mayan. I’ve worked with a lot of Mayan speakers, but I don’t think it’s a good use of resources when the majority of Mayan speakers can speak Spanish.
My office will largely share information via semi-daily social media videos broadcast on Meta platforms, YouTube, and TikTok, with a monthly video where I discuss my monthly newsletter. I’m not sure if I should just subtitle my videos or use a proxy speaker to convey my message. I want to … read more here.
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
There are apps available for twenty dollars a month that speak every language.
I’d purchase as many as needed for staff and go from there.
In the district, you’ll need English for Bernal and Spanish for the Mission and Portola is 40 percent Chinese, I believe, and there’s Tagalog and you’ll need Arabic and Turk and Persian and Kurdish, and there are separate dialects for many tongues.
One poorly interpreted word or a misunderstood idiom can cause death in the world I’ve grown up and worked in and, last I looked, the word ‘run’ had 28 meanings.
Language is my specialty.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed.
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
Making information from our campaign available to voters of all languages is vital. We have volunteers who are fluent in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mayan making phone calls, going door to door, and working on translating ads and mailers.
Once elected, continuing to reach constituents in their native language will be a key piece of how I govern. My staff will help me make information coming out of our office available in those same languages via a multi-lingual website and newsletter with easy-to-use translation options.
Endorsed by: Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ+ Democratic Club, Firefighters Union, United Educators of SF (#2), San Francisco DCCC (#2), Civil Rights Leader Dolores Huerta… 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
The languages under the city’s language access ordinance are not enough. I commit to ensuring information from my office is available in every language spoken in the district and work with city departments to have more robust and culturally competent resources in major languages, including languages such as Mayan and Toisanese.
Endorsed by: Former state Senator Mark Leno, District 9 supervisor Hillary Ronen, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Harvey Milk Democratic Club (#2), National Union of Healthcare Workers… 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
I would always consider using languages that help people better understand democracy. Accessibility to information is very important to all parties involved in the process. My mission is to help the disenfranchised thrive better in this society. Currently, the Department of Elections offers literature and assistance in Chinese, Spanish, Filipino, Burmese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese. Mayan and other languages are not included. I would like to make as many languages available to increase knowledge. Knowledge is power. I want everyone of voting age to have access to the knowledge needed to get involved. I want Democracy here to prevail.ย
Endorsed by: Transportation Workers Union Local 200 … 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 speak Spanish, and it is crucial that the Supervisor’s office make city resources and updates available in multiple languages spoken by District 9 constituents. We have a beautiful array of languages spoken here: Spanish, Cantonese, Tagalog and Mayan. Currently, I have campaign materials and a website available for the most spoken languages: English, Spanish and Cantonese. It is also important to me that staff in my office are bilingual or multilingual as well.
Endorsed by United Educators of SF (#1), Small Business Forward, SF Women’s Political Committee (#1), Bernal Heights Democratic Club, California Nurses Association… read more here.
District 9 contributions
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.
