Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” 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. Previously, that included J.R. Eppler, Theo Ellington, and Dion-Jay Brookter. Since then, candidate Shawn Richard has won the endorsement of multiple former elected officials and will be included in our coverage going forward.
District 10 includes neighborhoods in the city’s largest southeast sector, including Bayview-Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, Visitacion Valley, Dogpatch, and Sunnydale.
Each candidate is first ordered alphabetically, then rotated each week.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s upzoning plan, an ambitious eight-year blueprint that will change San Francisco’s zoning rules, may significantly change city neighborhoods in the west and north of the city. The plan will make way for higher-density housing by allowing developers to build taller in neighborhoods presently dominated by single-family homes.
The plan covers approximately 60 percent of the city — with a notable exception for District 10, which is not included in the plan.
District 10 also has a temporary carveout from Senate Bill 79, which will also mandate upzoning much of San Francisco’s residential neighborhoods near transit corridors to allow for more housing. Much of the district is excluded for two years on the basis that vast swaths of Bayview-Hunters Point and Potrero Hill are industrial — and defined by the Planning Commission as a “low-resource area.”
At a recent forum hosted by YIMBY, a pro-housing organization that is supportive of Lurie’s upzoning plan and SB79, candidates J.R. Eppler and Theo Ellington both said they agree that the district’s industrial zones should be protected to secure potential job opportunities for the neighborhood’s residents.
But a lack of housing in the district has been a severe point of contention. When Mission Local asked each of the candidates what is one piece of advice they received that they believe is unfair, each pointed to criticisms that their housing policy could prevent more units from being built.
Multiple development projects along the waterfront that aim to add more housing have been stalled for years. Many residents also fear that the increasing gentrification of the district will drive families from their homes.
Once SB79 is implemented in District 10, Bayview’s Third Street Corridor, a residential and commercial street running along the T-Third light rail that is strewn with empty plots of land and reports a 7% vacancy rate will be rezoned and primed for more development.
This week, we asked each of the candidates whether they would upzone the Third Street Corridor in Bayview.
Some of the candidates have reservations.
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: Bachelor’s degree in speech communication, Utah State University, master’s degree in business administration, University of Phoenix
- Languages: English, some Spanish
No. I would not support upzoning Third Street without a thorough community process. Third Street needs real investment, not simply more development capacity. Zoning can create capacity, but it doesn’t build homes. The corridor has multiple sites, each entitled for 100+ units of housing, yet nothing has been built in more than a decade.
Upzoning can increase land values and accelerate gentrification and displacement. Instead, we should use vacant, underutilized, and publicly owned sites and leverage public investment to build dense, affordable, and mixed-income housing without displacing existing residents and small businesses. Additional density should provide clear benefits to the existing community.
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.
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
I support upzoning portions of Third Street for mixed-use, higher-density housing. As supervisor, I would promptly bring residents, merchants and Planning together to shape rezoning section by section, bridging the gaps that separate our communities.
Growth must help Bayview families stay and displaced families return. I would pair rezoning with COPA purchases, community land trusts, and certificates of preference and zip code preference for eligible families displaced by redevelopment. Homes for different incomes and family sizes must arrive alongside grocery stores, pharmacies, and infrastructure. Together, these investments can connect our neighborhoods, strengthen Bayview’s historic community, and support local merchants.
Endorsed by: Harvey Milk Democratic Club, SF League of Pissed Off Voters, United Educators of San Francisco, California Working Families Party, 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: Bachelor’s degree in political science, Notre Dame de Namur University; master’s degree in urban affairs from the University of San Francisco.
- Languages: English
I support neighborhood-scale infill development on Third Street where appropriate. This is not Manhattan, but we do need more development. We have empty lots and vacant land, and that presents a prime opportunity to build. In my first 30 days, I will jump-start a Community and Economic Development Planning process to align our housing, industry, and transit goals along the corridor, with residents at the table. I will put a clock on it, because zoning only counts when it becomes homes. We can build without displacing the long-standing Black community that built this district.
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.
Shawn Richard
- Job: Nonprofit founder, Brothers Against Guns, former co-owner of Equity Marijuana Dispensary
- Age: 58
- Residency: Homeowner, born and raised in San Francisco, lived for 30 years in District 10
- Transportation: Driving, public transit, walking, biking
- Education: Bachelor’s from San Francisco State University
- Languages: English
No. I would not support blanket upzoning of the Third Street corridor. San Francisco’s redevelopment history shows that unchecked development can displace residents and businesses, erase neighborhood culture, encourage predatory investment, and produce luxury housing while increasing everyday costs. We must first protect the community, upgrade outdated plumbing, sewer, and electrical systems, and ensure future development creates truly affordable housing and local economic opportunities.
Endorsed by: Former Mayor Willie Brown, Former Board of Supervisors President Angela Alioto, Civil Rights Attorney John L. Burris, read more here.
Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, grammar, and to meet the word limit requirement. Do you have questions you’d like to ask the candidates? Email marina@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote here.
