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.
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.
As the race to replace sitting Supervisor Shamann Walton heats up, things have gotten personal.
In the first few weeks of their campaigns, the candidates took a congenial tone and largely agreed on most major policy issues, including holding the Navy accountable for the cleanup of the Hunters Point Shipyard and a moratorium on data centers. But in recent weeks, the tone has shifted.
After it was revealed that tech executive Chris Larsen donated a historic $500,000 to candidate Theo Ellingtonโs campaign, the other two frontrunning candidates took to Instagram. In a vertical video, candidate J.R. Eppler said the billionaire donor would “expect a return” on his investment.
Other tensions arose during a debate moderated by Mission Local and hosted by the Poterro Hill Democratic Club in early September, as candidates sparred over their relationships with major developers.
Ellington questioned candidate D.J. Brookterโs relationship with the Lennar Corporation when he was the CEO of Young Community Developers, an affordable housing development nonprofit. Lennar, the developer behind new homes near the shipyard, was sued in 2018 by Ellington and other homeowners for allegedly failing to disclose the potential risks of the landโs contaminated soil. Brookter, for his part, suggested that Ellingtonโs lawsuit was for his own financial gain.
But when the candidates were each asked this week what criticism they have received in recent weeks that they believe is unfair, their answers pointed to another contentious area: Housing.
Here is how the candidates responded.
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A green background means the candidate answered yes, a red background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate dodged the question.
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
GrowSF portrays my work on housing as opposition. Thatโs unfair and untrue. When developers proposed to build predominately studios or 1 bedroom units, I pushed for homes that more families could live in. At Pier 70, I fought to increase the number of affordable homes.
District 10 needs a broad range of homes that meet our residentsโ needs, including family-sized units, middle-income housing, and deeply affordable homes that help longtime neighbors stay. Counting units matters. So does asking who can live in them. As supervisor, Iโll fight for more housing,and housing that gives District 10 families a future here.
Endorsed by: Harvey Milk Democratic Club, SF League of Pissed Off Voters, United Educators of San Francisco, California Working Families Party, read more here.
Dion-Jay “DJ” Brookter
- Job: No current job, formerly chief executive officer at Young Community Developers
- Age: 43
- Residency: Homeowner in Candlestick Point/Little Hollywood area since 2021, moved to San Francisco in 2014
- Transportation: Driving, public transit, walking
- Education: Bachelorโs degree in speech communication, Utah State University, masterโs degree in business administration, University of Phoenix
- Languages: English, some Spanish
One criticism is that I would make it more difficult to build housing. My record tells a different story: I am the only candidate who has directly helped deliver housing in District 10 as part of a development team. There is a big difference between overseeing development as a public commissioner and doing the nuts-and-bolts work of getting housing financed, developed, built, and occupied. As CEO of Young Community Developers, I helped deliver 208 homes and secured development rights for six additional projects representing more than 1,100 units. That hands-on experience prepares me to turn housing plans into actual homes.
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. Policy director, Brownstein, public affairs director for the Golden State Warriors and the first director of homelessness initiatives and community development for The Salvation Army San Francisco.
- Age: 37
- Residency: Renter and former homeowner, lifelong San Franciscan and third-generation resident, born and raised in Bayview near Third and Palou streets, has lived in the Hunters Point Shipyard in District 10 since 2016
- Transportation: Driving, public transit, walking
- Education: Bachelorโs degree in political science, Notre Dame de Namur University; masterโs degree in urban affairs from the University of San Francisco.
- Languages: English
Iโve received pushback for not supporting rezoning of industrial space in District 10 for housing. District 10 has roughly 20,000 homes in the pipeline, and 3rd Street remains underdeveloped. My job is to get them built and to put housing along our transit corridors. Our industrial land is different and should be the new economic and jobs center. We should welcome innovation that brings jobs in life science, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and other research and development opportunities that will employ the people who live here.ย
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, State Controller Malia Cohen, 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.
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 this criteria.
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.
