Instructions:
1. There are 10 sections to this questionnaire. Each section
corresponds with the 10 Key Values of the Green Party.
2. Each section begins with a written question and ends with several
multiple choice
questions. Please don't skip the written question.
3. The multiple choice questions are answered by checking the box in the appropriate column to indicate which is closest to your position:
+ = Support / Agree / Yes
- = Oppose / Disagree / No
? = Undecided / Don't know / No opinion
4. The world is too complex to always break down neatly into
yes/no/maybe choices, so feel free to clarify any answers to multiple
choice questions with a few words.
Candidate Name: Dean Preston
Phone Number: 415.326.8237
Web site: www.votedean.com
Email: info@votedean.com
Name of Campaign Manager: Kyle Smeallie
Are you receiving public financing: Yes
Signed voluntary spending limit: Yes
Campaign Manager: Kyle Smeallie
2nd, 3rd endorsements in District: N/A
Major Endorsements: SF Tenants Union, Community Tenants Association, Sierra Club, California Nurses Assn, Latino Democratic Club, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, Affordable Divis, Tom Ammiano, Matt Gonzalez, David Campos, John Avalos, Eric Mar, Petra DeJesus, Christina Olague, Kathrin Moore, David Talbot, and many more. Complete list at www.votedean.com/endorsements
Favorite Incumbent Supervisor: David Campos, Eric Mar, John Avalos
Least favorite: London Breed
If the election were held today, Who would you support as Board President: David Campos
Who would be your second and third choices: Eric Mar & John Avalos
Who did you endorse for Mayor in 2015 (all 3 choices, if applicable): Schuffman, Herrera, Weiss
Who did you endorse for Sheriff in 2015: No endorsement
1) Grassroots Democracy: What are your thoughts on Instant Runoff
Voting, and District Elections? How have they worked to date? What
would you change in the future?
I believe strongly in District elections. They are essential to allowing grassroots candidates like myself
to mount bottom-up
campaigns against corporate funded campaigns like my opponent's.
I also believe strongly in Instant Runoff Voting, but I believe the current system needs to be modified.
Specifically, I would add a threshold requirement for first place votes. If no candidate crosses that
threshold, I believe a separate runoff should be held.
+ ?
[ ] [ ] [X] Subgovernment such as Neighborhood Assemblies, Networks or District Councils. GENERALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS, BUT WOULD NEED TO KNOW DETAILS OF PROPOSAL AS FAR AS POWERS, ELIGIBILITY, ETC GO.
[X] [ ] [ ] Some commissions should be democratically elected
[ ] [X] [ ] The Mayor should appoint all commissioners
[X] [ ] [ ] Voters' right to recall elected officials
[X] [ ] [ ] Residency requirements for elected officials should be strictly enforced
[ ] [X] [ ] Ethics Commission should be disbanded
[X] [ ] [ ] Ethics Commission meetings should be televised
[X] [ ] [ ] Ethics Commission should prioritize investigating violations from well-funded campaigns
[ ] [X] [ ] My campaign accepts corporate contributions
[ ] [ ] [X] My campaign accepts contributions from paid lobbyists or related entities having any interest in City and County of San Francisco ENTITIES WITH "ANY INTEREST IN CITY AND COUNTY AND SAN FRANCISCO" IS SO BROAD I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET IT.
2) Ecological Wisdom: Please outline your view of the major
environmental and ecological issues facing San Francisco and your
proposed policies to address them.
San Francisco faces a range of pressing environmental issues, including greenhouse gas emissions,
global warming, threats to the ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay, sea level rise, drought, pollution,
and threats to parks and open space. Many of these environmental threats are, of course, interrelated,
as are the solutions.
With our population rising, we must make sure that our housing development, transit infrastructure,
and water, power, garbage and sewage systems are forward thinking reduce, rather than exacerbate,
environmental impact.
I intend to bring to the board the following legislation:
-- Prohibit privatization of our parks
-- Antidemolition
ordinance to severely restrict demolition of sound housing, preventing
displacement (and resulting commutes), air pollution and noise.
-- Increase Transit Impact Development Fee to fund transit improvements, and Pass MUNI
Riders' bill of rights to incentivize MUNI usage and decrease carbon emissions.
-- I will also support & strengthen Clean Power SF as needed to incentivize clean, public power.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] Phasing out diesel tour buses
[X] [ ] [ ] Public Power
[X] [ ] [ ] Community Choice Aggregation
[X] [ [ ] Tidal power that might be harnessed in San Francisco Bay should be publicly controlled
[X] [ ] [ ] Reducing or eliminating parking minimums in new housing and commercial developments
[ ] [ ] [X] Congestion tolls on Doyle Drive I WOULD NEED MORE INFO ON THIS PROPOSAL
[X] [ ] [ ] Natural Areas Program HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY OPPONENT OF PLAN AND AGREED TO MEET. I'M GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE OF PLAN, BUT OPEN TO HEARING CRITIC'S CONCERNS
[ ] [X] [ ] Artificial turf on City-owned athletic fields
3) Social Justice:
A) What is your assessment of homelessness in San Francisco, and what
solutions do you propose?
We must end homelessness, not by criminalizing and further victimizing those who are homeless, but by
doing what works - compassionate, focused, and funded efforts to find and maintain the homes needed to
end chronic homelessness. Most immediately, I'd make sure a Navigation Center was sited in the Haight to
provide a safe place off the streets for homeless people while connected them with crucial services and
permanent housing.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] Project Homeless Connect
[ ] [X] [ ] Care Not Cash I SUPPORT THE CARE PART, BUT NOT DENYING MEAGER CASH TO THE POOREST RESIDENTS OF OUR CITY
[X] [ ] [ ] Community courts
[X] [ ] [ ] Healthy SF
[X] [ ] [ ] SF's sick leave requirements
[ ] [X] [ ] Law against sitting down on SF sidewalks.
B) What are your views on housing affordability, what public sector strategies have worked, which have failed, and what are your proposals?
I have been fighting full time for the past 15 years to stop displacement, protect the health and well-being of
renters, and make affordable housing a reality. Creative, innovative, and bold solutions to these problems
will be my focus as Supervisor.
-- First, we must stop displacement of those who are affordably housed, many of whom live in
rentcontrolled
units that are under siege due to speculator greed.
-- Second, we must focus on expanding housing opportunities through affordable housing
development, not by simply continuing to focus on luxury housing development as if that will trickle
down to low, moderate, or middleincome
San Franciscans.
-- Third, we must ban predatory rent gouging, and I've proposed a solution modeled after the state
price gouging law. if necessary, I would go the ballot with a Runaway Rents Tax.
What's worked is government intervention: Rent Control, Inclusionary Housing, Section 8 Voucher Program,
Low Income Tax Credit Program, Public Housing, Community Land Trusts. What does not work is allowing
the private market to operate unfettered, or allowing special interest loopholes around our protections, or
allowing public and subsidized housing to be defunded, etc. City Hall is not addressing this as the crisis that
it is. We need a supervisor free of Big Real Estate's stranglehold on our city.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] Impacts of all new development should be paid for in advance by fees on developers
[X] [ ] [ ] Community Land Trusts
[ ] [X] [ ] Rent Control is too strong
[X] [ ] [ ] Elected Rent Board
[ ] [X] [ ] Condo conversion is currently too difficult
4) Nonviolence: What are your solutions for SFPD accountability while
making the streets safer?
Police reform is a key part of making our streets safer. I started my legal career as a civil rights
attorney representing victims of police misconduct. I rallied with the Mario Woods/Alex Nieto Coalitions
for months and called for Chief Suhr's ouster, while my opponent did nothing. Our city needs to get
serious about police reform with deescalation
policies and body cameras, and create an independent
oversight body to ensure accountability for police misconduct.
I will make sure officers are engaged with the neighborhoods they serve through community policing
and foot patrols. This is the single best way to improve policecommunity
relations and deter crime.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] Prioritize SFPD enforcement of moving violations
[X] [ ] [ ] Support expansion of foot patrols
[X] [ ] [ ] Demand stricter accountability in future MOUs with the SFPD
[ ] [ ] [X] The Board of Supervisors should be able to set policies and priorities for the SFPD through legislation NO SIMPLE ANSWER HERE. POLICE COMMISSION OBVIOUSLY MUST PLAY ROLE
[ ] [X] [ ] Support a public safety program modeled after NYC's "Stop and Frisk."
5) Decentralization: What are your thoughts on the Kaufman Charter
of 1996? Does it need revisiting?
I'm concerned about excessive concentration of power in the Mayor, and that's why I support all 4
ballot measures in November Housing
Commission, Public Advocate, MTA Split Appointments,
Vacancy Elections that
seek to reduce Mayoral power.
+ ?
[ ] [ ] [X] Bring the Housing Authority under the Board of Supervisors
[ ] [ ] [X] Will you create formal district councils to advise you?
[ ] [ ] [X] Charter amendment allowing voters to choose the replacement of an elected official being recalled on the same ballot as the recall vote
[ ] [ ] [X] Immediately implement opensource voting system on the local level
6) Community Based Economics: What economic policies, including
taxation and land use, would you propose that would drive capital into
our communities and keep that capital here for residents?
I support improving public services through creating new revenues, including taxing those who have
benefited most from our economy, and helping to pass bond measures. I believe we need to increase
transit impact fees for developers, and that the City should create a special tax for pied-a-terres,
and
discourage the practice of using our limited housing supply as an investment opportunity for the rich. I
also believe, and have fought for, increasing the inclusionary requirements for developers.
In addition, I served on the steering committee for the campaign to pass Proposition G, the
anti-speculator
tax, in San Francisco.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] Legislation limiting formula retail outlets/chainstores
[X] [ ] [ ] Conditional Use permit required for big box stores
[X] [ ] [ ] Municipal broadband
[X] [ ] [ ] Local hiring requirements should be enforced
[ ] [ ] [X] Conversion of some golf courses into soccer fields. NEED INFO ON THE PROPOSAL
[X] [ ] [ ] Prop 13 limits on tax increases should apply only to residential properties
7) Feminism: Do you believe women are underrepresented in city
government? If so, why do you believe this is the case? Is this a
bad thing, and if so, what would you do to remedy the situation?
I'm a feminist. I believe women are underrepresented in positions of power city government. This is a
systemic problem. Leaders must priorities nurturing new leaders, particularly women and women of
color. As Supervisor I will prioritize creating leadership opportunities for leaders in unrepresented
communities and work to create better gender balance in City Hall. The organization that I founded
and have led for 8 years provides an example of my priorities. Our Acting Director and 2/3 of our
leadership team are women.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] The City should help SFUSD provide child care for children of working parents
[X] [ ] [ ] The DPH should provide reproductive health services
[ ] [X] [ ] Require parental consent for minors seeking an abortion
[ ] [X] [ ] Require parental notification for minors seeking an abortion
8) Respect for Diversity: Tell us what you believe are the best and the
worst aspects of San Francisco's diversity. How would you try to
protect the best while trying to change the worst?
I'm deeply concerned about the displacement from San Francisco, an epidemic that has hit African
American and Latino communities particularly hard. Much of my work over the past 16 years as a
tenant rights advocate has been trying to stop that displacement in individual cases and systemically.
We are always up against the real estate industry, and leaders like Supervisor Breed who are backed
by that industry and carry out its agenda.
San Francisco must be a place where lowincome
and working class people can live and prosper. As
the least affordable city in the country, we are in danger of becoming a virtual gated city for only the
rich, with communities of color pushed out. Nothing less than the future of this city is at stake. We
must make San Francisco a truly diverse city for generations to come.
+ ?
[X] [ ] [ ] Multilingual government and education
[X] [ ] [ ] Undocumented immigrants should have equal access to education and health care
[X] [ ] [ ] Noncitizen
residents should be able to vote in all local elections
[X] [ ] [ ] Full rights for transgender persons
[ ] [X] [ ] Boards and commissions now reflect the ethnic diversity of San Francisco
[ ] [X] [ ] Boards and commissions now reflect the political diversity of San Francisco
[X] [ ] [ ] My campaign reflects the diversity of San Francisco
9) Global and Personal Responsibility:
A) What are your thoughts on the Board of Supervisors taking positions on state, national and
international issues?
Local officials can and should take stands on issues of conscience at the state, national, and
international level. I believe the world must be viewed through a lens of intersectionality, and that
includes the lens of issues of international importance playing out on a local level.
+ ?
[ ] [ ] [X] City government cooperating with the PATRIOT Act. WHAT ASPECT OF PATRIOT ACT?
[ ] [X] [ ] City government cooperating with ICE/Secure Communities. I SUPPORT SANCTUARY CITY
[ ] [ ] [X] City government should boycott Israel until it complies with UN resolutions. CERTAINLY SUPPORT BOYCOTTS AS MANNER OF PROTEST, BUT WOULD NEED MORE INFO ON WHAT CITY BUSINESS WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
[ ] [ ] [X] SF supervisors should take a position on offshore oil drilling outside CA. WHERE?
B) Please describe how you make your political decisions. What is the
main basis for your decision making (e.g., consultation with your
constituents, political consultants, colleagues, unions, businesses,
donors, or your gut feelings)?
Grassroots, bottom-up
decision making has been the hallmark of my organizing work and my
campaign.
+ ?
[ ] [X] [ ] Fleet Week and the Blue Angels flyover.
[ ] [X] [ ] In a severe recession, environmental regulations should be suspended to create jobs
[ ] [X] [ ] Business taxes are too high
10) Sustainability: What does the Transit First City Charter provision
mean to you? How has Transit First fared in recent years, and how would
you enforce that Charter Provision if elected?
For over 20 years, I have commuted daily by public transportation in San Francisco. Despite calling
ourselves a "transit first" city, the reality is far from it. That's why I will prioritize making San Francisco a city
with a worldclass
transportation system, and I will champion a MUNI Riders Bill of Rights: An increased
fleet to prevent overcrowding; new rail and rapid bus lines; guaranteed 30minute
trip to any destination in
San Francisco; and a forward-thinking
plan to break ground on an East-West
subway in the next 10 years.
It's the vision San Francisco needs to truly be a transit-first
city.
We also need to increase the Transit Impact Development Fee, something John Avalos introduced and my
opponent voted against.
+ ?
[ ] [ ] [X] MUNI should be funded greater levels and be free to the rider. INCREASE FUNDING YES, EITHER FREE OR REDUCED FARES.
[ ] [ ] [X] Downtown Transit Assessment Tax to support MUNI
[ ] [ ] [X] Citywide Transit Assessment Tax to support MUNI
[ ] [ ] [X] Higher residential construction along neighborhood transit corridors, which may include raising height limits by two to three stories. DEPENDS ON AFFORDABILITY LEVELS AND TRANSIT INFRASTRUCTURE
[ ] [ ] [X] State law change that lets bicycles treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs. YES AS TO STOP SIGNS, WOULD NEED MORE INFO AS TO RED LIGHTS AS FAR AS SAFETY STUDIES ON THIS.
[X] [ ] [ ] I ride MUNI, bicycle and/or walk instead of driving on a regular basis
[X] [ ] [ ] Bus Rapid Transit on Geary. EITHER BRT OR RAIL.
[ ] [X] [ ] Allow residents to park on the sidewalk without getting a ticket, unless their neighbors complain. THIS POSES PROBLEMS FOR DISABLED PERSONS. I OPPOSE.
[ ] [ ] [X] Congestion pricing for parking. NEED MORE INFO ON THE PROPOSAL
[ ] [ ] [X] Power more City vehicles using corn-based ethanol. NEED MORE INFO
[ ] [ ] [X] Residents should be allowed to park in the street in front of their own driveway for free. NEED MORE INFO ON PROPOSAL
[ ] [ ] [X] Support expanding parking meter hours to include later evening hours and weekends. NEED MORE INFO.
[X] [ ] [ ] Remove parking spots and car lanes to create dedicated bike and bus lanes or wider sidewalks. NEED DETAILS BUT GENERALLY SUPPORT.
Your positions on selected current and past Propositions:
[ ] [X] [ ] Nov 2016 Prohibiting tents on public sidewalks
[ ] [X] [ ] Nov 2016 Neighborhood crime unit
[X] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Vacancy appointments
[X] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 16-17 y.o. voting, local elections
[X] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Noncitizen voting, school board
[X] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop 62 (Ending Death Penalty)
[ ] [X] [ ] June 2016 Prop B (Rec and Park legislation)
[X] [ ] [ ] 2015 Prop F (Short Term Rental Regulation)
[X] [ ] [ ] 2015 Prop I (Mission Luxury Housing Moratorium)
[X] [ ] [ ] Nov 2014 Prop H (Natural Grass in Parks)
[X] [ ] [ ] June 2014 Prop B (Waterfront Height Limits)
[ ] [ ] [ X ] 2011 Prop C (Mayor's Pension measure) Don't recall
[ ] [ ] [ X ] 2011 Prop D (Adachi's Pension measure) Don't recall
[ ] [X] [ ] 2010 Prop L (Ban on Sitting on Sidewalks)
[ ] [ ] [ ] 2010 Prop M (Foot Patrols) I don't recall the measure but I support foot patrols 100%