Welcome to our weekly “Meet the Candidates” series, in which we ask local candidates who have filed to run for office to respond to a question in 100 words or fewer. Answers will be published each week.
District 4 covers the area from 19th Avenue to Ocean Beach, Golden Gate Park to Lakeshore. It includes the Sunset, Parkside and Lakeshore neighborhoods.
Mayor Daniel Lurie and transit advocates are starting to gather signatures for a November parcel-tax ballot measure to increase parcel taxes on San Francisco properties, beginning in July 2027, for 15 years.
The tax would generate about $150 million per year for Muni, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
If passed, single-family property owners would pay $129 a year, multifamily residential property owners would pay $249, and non-residential properties would pay $799 annually. For property owners with bigger square footages, the charges would increase per square foot.
Senior homeowners over 65 would be exempt from the tax, or entitled to a reduction. But rent-controlled property owners could pass down half of the tax to their tenants, including senior tenants, capped at $65 per unit.
District 4, which includes the Outer Sunset, is among the areas with the highest number of single family homes, according to a 2021 report from the Planning Department.
While most single-family homeowners are required to pay just $129 a year, some residents might be reluctant to pay more taxes to support Muni services — in District 4, 38 percent of households own a car, and over 50 percent own more than two vehicles.
This week, we asked the candidates: Do you support the parcel tax on November’s ballot to fund Muni? Why or why not?
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.
Natalie Gee
- Job: District 10 legislative aide
- Age: 40
- Residency: Renter, living in District 4 since 2021
- Transportation: Driving, walking and Muni
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University
- Languages: English, Cantonese
Yes. Families across the Sunset depend on frequent, reliable Muni service to get to work, school and appointments. Strong public transit reduces congestion, improving safety and quality of life.
Without this measure, we risk service cuts and eliminated lines that would hurt working families and isolate seniors who rely on transit to stay independent.
Revenue solutions should include carve-outs for fixed-income seniors. But our elected/appointed officials cannot keep asking everyday San Franciscans to fund public services while lobbying to repeal taxes on the wealthiest corporations. I’ve been clear that everyone needs to pay their fair share, especially the ultra-rich.
Endorsed by: Former Mayor Art Agnos, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Supervisor Connie Chan, Myrna Melgar, Jackie Fielder, Shamann Walton, Chyanne Chen, Former Supervisor Gordon Mar, IFPTE 21, SEIU 1021, AFT 2121, San Francisco Tenants Union … read more here.
Jeremy Greco
- Job: Campus coordinator at Presidio Hill School
- Age: 54
- Residency: Renter, living in District 4 since 2001
- Transportation: Driving
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University
- Languages: English
Yes, but I have concerns. I support fully funding Muni. But we have to be honest; this constant cycle hurts working people.
Groceries are up. Healthcare costs are up. Families feel squeezed at every turn. Working families should not be repeatedly asked to pay more while services are threatened. That’s not stability; that’s corporate greed shaping our priorities.
While this parcel tax asks more of larger properties, we still need a long-term revenue strategy that truly shifts the burden to billionaires and large corporate landlords. Homeowners and renters in District 4 deserve a system that puts working people first.
Endorsed by: N/A
David Lee
- Job: Educator at Laney College and San Francisco State University
- Age: 57
- Residency: Homeowner, living in D4 since September 2025
- Transportation: Driving, biking, public transit and walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College, master’s and doctorate degree from San Francisco State University
- Languages: English. Can understand Cantonese, Mandarin and Toishanese, but limited fluency.
I oppose the Muni Parcel Tax. We have to hold SFMTA accountable for its budget. SFMTA has neglected the Westside for many years. We have one of the worst public-transit services in the city. And now you want us to bail you out? This is a hard no!
I’m all for public transit, and I’m occasionally a Muni user. This parcel tax is not the solution. I believe we can find better solutions to save Muni. We should be taxing the companies who are trying to kill off public transit, like Waymo and Zoox — not San Francisco’s residents.
This … read more here.
Endorsed by: Retired judge Quentin Kopp, Lillian Sing, Julie Tang, Supervisor Chyanne Chen, Former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, Sandra Lee Fewer, Sophie Maxwell, Former SFPD Commander Richard Corriea
Alan Wong
- Job: Current District 4 Supervisor / Commander in California’s National Guard
- Age: 38
- Residency: Renter. Born and raised in District 4, and moved back to District 4 from Inner Sunset in October 2025
- Transportation: Driving, walking and public transit
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego; master’s degree from University of San Francisco
- Languages: English, Cantonese
I support the Muni parcel tax because reliable public transit is essential to San Francisco’s future. Growing up in the Outer Sunset, my family did not always have a car, and depended on Muni metro or buses to get to work and grocery shopping in Chinatown, and for me to attend Hoover Middle and Lincoln High schools.
Stable funding is critical, but accountability matters too. Riders deserve service that is safe, clean, frequent and on time. This measure helps prevent devastating cuts while we continue improving reliability and rebuilding public confidence in our transit system.
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, GrowSF, San Francisco Police Officers Association, San Francisco Democratic Party, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, State Controller Malia Cohen, Congressmember Kevin Mullin, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, Former Mayor Willie Brown, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto … read more here.
Albert Chow
- Job: Owner of Great Wall Hardware, president of People of Parkside Sunset
- Age: 59
- Residency: Homeowner, living in District 4 since 1978
- Transportation: Driving and walking
- Education: Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley
- Languages: English, semi-fluent in Cantonese
Many residents are already struggling with the high cost of living and cannot afford another tax.
SFMTA has not prioritized improving transit for District 4 residents. Instead, they have pushed projects that have hurt businesses and made it harder to get around.
As I go door to door everyday, I hear growing concerns about the cost of this tax without hope that it will truly improve transit. I will stand with my district and oppose this tax until we get meaningful improvements to our transit system that actually help seniors, families, and those who rely on Muni daily.
Endorsed by: Retired SFPD Commander Richard Corriea, Retired SFPD Commander Peter Walsh, President of United Irish Cultural Center Liam Reidy
Candidates are rotated alphabetically. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. Do you have questions you’d like to ask the candidates? Email junyao@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote here.
I’m getting really tired of local politicians griping about tax ballot measures without acknowledging the reality of Prop 13 California. Our hands are tied! Yeah sure we should tax the billionaires but “we” is not going to be the City alone and that’s not an answer to the present question.
I love MUNI, please keep it funded one way or another!
David Lee”s response is perplexing. He claims “…downtown transit lines aren’t at risk of being cut.” Yet he complains about how the SFMTA neglects the west side and says he opposes the tax – which he thinks is needed for any service outside of downtown since downtown lines won’t be cut, right? Anyway, half of what I hear from D4 residents these days seems to be some unfounded conspiracy theory. It’s laughable.
$375 million dollars is how much SFMTA went over budget on the Central Subway tunnel project for a total of $1.578 billion dollars!!! The San Francisco Mafia Transit Agency has mismanaged funds for quite some time now and now wants to impose a property tax on homeowners who already pay one of the highest in the state. I think it’s a shame there is no accountability for their misuse of funds and misuse of policy that constantly changes. We pay one of the highest parking meter rates, sales tax, bus fares, property tax, etc etc. Born and raised in San Francisco and it a HARD NO for us city folks!!
Fund Muni so it serves the whole city, and then use it!
$129 is less than two parking tickets or a couple of tanks of gas.
Everyone benefits from better public transit – even the few for whom it is not a viable option (and the better the system is, the smaller number that will be)!
What do drivers hate most? Traffic.
How do you reduce traffic? Get people out of cars and traveling by other means.
I’m tired of Muni tbh. They make disabled riders apply for their discount & let virtually any rider fare dodge & monopolize disabled seating, for free. I avoid Muni w/e possible since I often don’t have the spoons to stand, let alone be crammed in like a sardines. Muni is just another example of SF ableism. I won’t support more taxes for that.
The noise level that SFTMA has dialed up with the Siemens LRV cars is up there. Probably illegal, who knows. I got friends living steps away from the L Taraval, they’d be delighted to see fewer trains whining and ringing their way up and down the corridor and they vote accordingly.
Interesting that all homeowners oppose this tax and all renters are for it.
Probably because the tax measure does not allow a full passthru of the property tax increase from landlords to tenants.
It is only a fair vote if everyone has to pay the tax. Because many people will vote for any tax as long as they do not personally have to pay it.
Thanks, Tom. 100%. We all benefit from a healthy Muni. All should chip in some amount.