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 Wild Side West (424 Cortland Avenue) at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 11, to say hello and talk about the district, or you can email me at oscar.palma@missionlocal.com.
This week’s question:Given the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on homelessness last week, would you support San Francisco conducting tent sweeps throughout the city? If not, what do you think the city should do?
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
Theses: I oppose tent sweeps without sufficient relocation and accommodations. The city should begin increasing targeted expenditures for homeless shelters, tax breaks and subsidies for developers who build shelters or other lodgings.
Point: According to current statistics given by the city of San Francisco using PIT counts:
Since 2019, 39 percent of all unhoused residents have gone to shelters [editor’s note: the count states there’s been a 39 percent increase in people living in shelters]. Increasing the population of unhoused people in shelters by 48 percent This represents a 12 percent increase in the number of sheltered unhoused residents from 36 percent in 2019. Despite a minor rise in our unhoused population this year, there was more available space than…read more here.
Endorsed by: No endorsements listed … 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 truth is, the CIty never stopped conducting sweeps; that was rhetoric from City Hall to excuse the continued failure to address the crisis on our streets. The fact is that San Francisco conducted more sweeps over the past two years, yet street homelessness got worse.
I am on the record in opposing sweeps and criminalizing homelessness. Contrary to what it implies, we cannot sweep human beings or this issue away. Sweeping people from one county to another only compounds the problem and does not address our lack of services, treatment beds or truly affordable housing.
Moreover we are talking…read more here.
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
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
Our response to encampments should always balance compassion with accountability. By offering shelter and services prior to requiring an encampment to move, we can ensure that we are providing a hand-up to those most in need and a path to self-sufficiency. If they refuse, they should not expect to be allowed to stay.
Encampments have a real impact on our small businesses and the quality of life of our neighborhoods that cannot be ignored. We can treat those living in tents with humanity while also standing up for every neighborhood’s and small business’ right to safe and clean streets.
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
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
SCOTUS clarified that camping on public property is not protected by the 8th Amendment. The City must provide support for unhoused persons, but residents and businesses must not suffer the hazards of encampments if they choose not to. Voting residents of District 9 have been very clear with me that they do not want encampments near their homes. Thus, the choice of enforcement should be with the residents. Also, the refusal of services should not be an excuse to remain unhoused. This detail of the option for refusal for services is very confusing to the voters I have spoken with.
Endorsed by: Transportation Workers Union Local 200 … 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
SFUSD has room for another 8,000 [editor’s note: Mission Local was not able to confirm this number] students, at least.
That’s toilets and showers and dispensaries and gyms and kitchens and lunchrooms.
That sit empty for 16 hours a day.
Last count I saw of Homeless was 8,000.
That’s one place we can put homeless, and it’s just sitting there, fully charged and ready.
Or, we could convert our municipal golf courses into RV/campgrounds.
Views to kill for.
Last thing SF should ever do is listen to the Trump court.
Go, Niners!!
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
Tent encampments are a problem that must be addressed in order to prioritize the safety of our residents. But sweeping them away without clear alternatives can make things worse, and this one-size-fits-all approach treats the symptom rather than the root cause.
We must develop solutions to meet the unique needs of each of our unhoused residents. Rather than clearing encampments with no humane alternatives, we must create on-demand short-term housing with bespoke resources for families, seniors, veterans and folks struggling with mental illness and addiction. As supervisor, I’ll champion the creation of these programs while continuing to prioritize clean, safe streets.
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
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to serve on the Supreme Court, commented that punishing people for being homeless is ‘cruel and unusual’ under the Eighth Amendment. Homelessness strikes our district disproportionately. We have homeless immigrant families being turned away from shelters that are at capacity, having to sleep in bus shelters and on school playgrounds, a tragedy in a city with a GDP that rivals that of Portugal. The City can continue conducting sweeps as it has been for decades, but nothing has nor will fundamentally change unless we expand our permanent supportive housing, shelter, and emergency rental assistance programs…read more here.
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.
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.