Welcome back to our โMeet the Candidatesโ series, where District 10 supervisor candidates respond to questions each week in 100 words or fewer. Answers will be published every Thursday.
This electoral season, Mission Local made the decision to only include the answers of candidates who have won a major endorsement or have publicly reported campaign contributions. That narrows down the candidates from 10 to three: Theo Ellington, Dion-Jay Brookter, and J.R. Eppler. Candidates may be added to this series if they later meet these criteria.
District 10 includes neighborhoods in the cityโs largest southeast sector, including Bayview-Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, Visitacion Valley, Dogpatch, Sunnydale, Portola, and others.
Each candidate is first ordered alphabetically, then rotated each week.
Supervisor Shamann Walton will relinquish his seat after eight years presiding over District 10 on the Board of Supervisors, and a long line has quickly queued up to fill his role.
Ten candidates are currently slated to appear on the November 2026 ballot, but Mission Local has decided to pose weekly questions to just the three candidates who have either won an endorsement from a democratic club or former or current elected official, or have publicly reported campaign contributions.
The job of representing the largest and one of the most diverse districts in San Francisco, which has been historically underserved compared to neighboring areas of the city, is a difficult one, and Mission Local will ask each of the candidates how they plan to do so each week.
To start off, this week, Mission Local asked each of the three front-running candidates: What is your No. 1 priority?
Here’s how they responded.
Dion-Jay “DJ” Brookter
- Job: Former chief executive officer at Young Community Developers
- Age: 43
- Residency: Homeowner since 2021, lived in Candlestick Point since 2014
- Transportation: Driving, public transit, walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, MBA from University of Phoenix
- Languages: English, some Spanish
My top priority is addressing San Francisco’s affordability crisis so the people who built our communities can afford to remain, succeed, and thrive here.
I’ve watched working families, seniors, small businesses and longtime residents struggle to keep up with rising costs in one of the wealthiest cities in the world. Housing, groceries, childcare, transportation, utilities, and healthcare keep getting more expensive while too many people fall further behind.
I will fight to expand affordable housing, prevent displacement, create family-sustaining careers, and lower the overall cost of living for working people, so San Francisco remains a city where we can stay.
Endorsed by: Supervisor Shamann Walton, Former Mayor Willie Brown, Supervisor Connie Chan, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Former Mayor Art Agnos, Former Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Former Supervisor Dean Preston, Former Supervisor John Avalos, read more here.
Theo Ellington
- Job: Executive director, Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House
- Age: 37
- Residency: Renter, third-generation Bayview-Hunters Point resident
- Transportation: Driving, public transit, walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame de Namur University, master’s degree from University of San Francisco
- Languages: English
Housing, at every income level, without displacement.
District 10 has 20,000 homes in the pipeline at Pier 70, Power Station, India Basin, the Shipyard, Candlestick, and Schlage Lock. We also have Third Street, a transit corridor in desperate need of more housing.
My grandfather bought a home in Bayview on a laborer’s salary. My mother raised us on $18,000 a year. That San Francisco disappears if we donโt build more housing that working-class families can afford.
Endorsed by: San Francisco Democratic Party, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Congressman Kevin Mullin, Former Mayor London Breed, State Senator Scott Wiener, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Former Mayor Willie Brown, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, read more here.
J.R. Eppler
- Job: Small business attorney
- Age: 46
- Residency: Homeowner, lived in San Francisco since 2007 and Potrero Hill since 2010
- Transportation: Driving, public transit, walking, biking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, law degree from University of California, Los Angeles, MBA from University of California, Los Angeles
- Languages: English
My top priority is changing how District 10 experiences City Hall.
Our neighborhoods have been promised much and forced to fight for nearly every improvement. I know, because I have spent more than a decade in those fights. District 10 has carried an unfair environmental burden, endured unreliable transit, and gone without investments other neighborhoods take for granted.
I am running so every resident can say with confidence that they live in a complete neighborhood, belong to a vibrant community, and are connected to opportunity across the district and the city.
Endorsed by: Sierra Club, read more here.
Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, grammar, and to meet the word limit requirement. Do you have questions youโd like to ask the candidates? Email marina@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote here.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
1. Theo Ellington is the sensible “all-of-the-above” and “let’s-actually-get-stuff-done” YIMBY candidate. Head and shoulders above the rest of the field.
2. “DJ” Brookten is the “Shamann-Walton-sinecure” status quo NIMBY candidate that runs the Young Community Developers racket that Walton used to head up — and probably will again, once he’s out of office and his comedy “career” goes nowhere. A revolving door of extortion, hand-outs and dysfunction.
3. J.R. Eppler is the classic left-NIMBY-older-white-homeowner candidate that would prefer to dispense any new housing — whether “affordable” or “market-rate” — with a thimble.
Thatโs an interesting characterization of J.R. given that he spent 12 years leading the Potrero Boosters and has supported thousands of new homes at Pier 70, the Potrero Power Station and elsewhere in District 10. You can disagree with him on individual projects or policies, but โleft-NIMBYโ is a pretty difficult label to reconcile with his actual record. And unlike one candidate in this race, he actually has a record.
Yes i want to see Candlestick point get built out , Executive Park , and Baylands ( Bayshore Caltrain Station get built out to the maximum possible , I can in vision the Caltrain Station with the tallest building in San Francisco, this will be the first and last stop for the high speed rail, a. 125 stories , the top floor gift shop , view floor, 2 floors of restaurantโs , 1 for a club , 10 for hotel, 10 for offices, 2 for maintenance , 1 for security, 1 for retail, and the rest for luxury condos , luxury apartments , and then condos , and apartments. And then affordable housing. A mixed housing NOT section 8 . With all the transportation at this spot , we will only get one chance to do this right. The building should also have a helicopter Pad. For future air taxi . And by adding more high rise buildings to the area we can bring the count up for the city so it doesnโt lose funding. San Francisco is an international city that is far behind the rest of international cities around the world, we need to step up. Like. Japan, Hong Kong, Paris.
Majora Carter, the New York housing advocate, sums up the situation with historically low-status communities best: “Homeownership is validly seen as a source of family stability. We’re conditioned to think, ‘Oh, let’s just build affordable housing for more poor people because that’s basically all we’re ever going to be.” But only home ownership by the people who live in the community can guarantee the ability to build generational wealth and a thriving community.
I know there will always be those who can’t break free of their cycle, and they will need to be housed. But we must build programming that supports home ownership for as many as can make it work. That’s how we build a strong community.
When electing someone to represent us in district 10 look to see if they have the same values and vision of bringing this district into the 22 century , because we have been neglected for decades , every where in this city , and county of San Francisco gets what they want, we are always promised things by developers , or by the city itโs self, and then we donโt get anything , or what they think we should have . They come in and ask to make it look good and they listen and then thatโs as far as it goes. So we need a representative that will do something , instead of just collecting a check. We need someone with Vision and Balls . To look into the future of this district 10. Once and For All .