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: Norman Yee
Phone Number: 4156968776
Web site: normanyee.com
Email: norman@normanyee.com
Name of Campaign Manager: Michael Terris
Are you receiving public financing: Yes
Signed voluntary spending limit: Yes
Campaign Manager: Coordinator Caitlin Vejby
2nd, 3rd endorsements in District: None
Major Endorsements:
Jackie Speier US Congress
Betty Yee State Controller
Mark Leno State Senator
Phil Ting Assemblymember
David Chiu Assemblymember
John Burton
Chairman of the California
Democratic Party
London Breed Board of Supervisors, President
Jane Kim Board of Supervisors
Aaron Peskin Board of Supervisors
Eric Mar Board of Supervisors
John Avalos Board of Supervisors
David Campos Board of Supervisors
Katy Tang Board of Supervisors
Carmen Chu City Assessor and Controller
Vicki Hennessy Sheriff
George Gascon District Attorney
Jeff Adachi Public Defender
Nick Josefowitz BART Board
Matt Haney
San Francisco Unified School
District Board, President
Shamann Walton
San Francisco Unified School
Board, Vice President
Emily Murase
San Francisco Unified School
Board
Rachel Norton
San Francisco Unified School
Board
Jill Wynns
San Francisco Unified School
Board
Rafael Mandelman
City College of San Francisco
Board Trustee, President
Steve Ngo
City College of San Francisco
Board Trustee
Alex Randolf
City College of San Francisco
Board Trustee
John Rizzo
City College of San Francisco
Board Trustee
Art Agnos Mayor (former)
Tom Ammiano Assemblymember, Former
Louise Renne City Attorney (former)
Angela Alioto Board of Supervisors (former)
Sophie Maxwell Board of Supervisors (former)
Jake McGoldrick Board of Supervisors (former)
Bevan Dufty Board of Supervisors (former)
SEIU Local 87
SEIU Local 1021
Unite Here! Local 2
San Francisco Labor
Council
Planned Parenthood of
Northern California
San Francisco Tenants
Union
California Nurses
Association
Sierra Club
SF Tomorrow
Harvey Milk LGBTQ
Democratic Club
Favorite Incumbent Supervisor: Myself
Least favorite: Myself
If the election were held today, Who would you support as Board President: Jane Kim
Who would be your second and third choices: Myself
Who did you endorse for Mayor in 2015 (all 3 choices, if applicable): Ed Lee
Who did you endorse for Sheriff in 2015: Vicki Hennessy
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 support instant runoff and district elections, I think they have been very successful in promoting diversity
and accountability. I am interested in hearing from all sides about what would be a system that increases
participation and accountability for the Mayoral election
+ - ?
[x ] [ ] [ ] Subgovernment such as Neighborhood Assemblies, Networks or District Councils
[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 I think it should investigate all violations by all 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
2) Ecological Wisdom: Please outline your view of the major
environmental and ecological issues facing San Francisco and your
proposed policies to address them.
I believe that significantly reducing our green gas emissions is at the core of our environmental issues and it
will require a culture change and we need to better educate and outreach to all our community members
which takes a thoughtful multilingual culturally appropriate effort. I have been a strong supporter of
CleanPowerSF and I really look forward to the infrastructure improvements that will allow us to both
generate more green energy and create green jobs. I think we need to continue to invest in our public transit
infrastructure starting by improving the system for those that have to rely on it. Finally, my legislation that
passed recently requiring all City vehicles to be installed with a telematic device will help track the usage of
our vehicles. Studies have shown that when other municipalities do this, they tremendously reduce the
consumption of fuel.
+ - ?
[ 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
[ ] [ ] [ x ] Natural Areas Program Elected may have to recuse themselves if they take a position before the EIR is certified, I have grave concerns with the program
[ 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?
Homelessness is a very complex issue and I think that for too long cities across the US have searched for a
silver bullet to end homelessness and it simply doesn't exist. I support the City's multifaceted approach and
during my time on the Budget Committee I have championed increases for our Homeless services. I have
been incredibly impressed by the great thinking and innovative leadership provided by the office of HOPE
and I am really excited to support efforts by the newly created Department of Homelessness. I think that to
address homelessness we need to invest in affordable housing, our housing first and transitional housing
programs have an incredibly high success rate and our affordable housing providers are among the best in
the US, but we need to continue to give them the resources to succeed. We also need to continue to invest
in outreach to better help us understand how we are failing and what barriers exist in homeless individuals
accessing existing services.
+ - ?
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Project Homeless Connect
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Care Not Cash
[ 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 supported policies and laws that build more affordable housing such as the June Charter Amendment,
Prop C, that will provide 25% affordable housing for low and middle income residents.
My plans are to continue to push for additional funding for affordable housing. I believe what the City can
access in terms of state and federal funding is insufficient, and therefore we must continue to invest local
money to supplement funds already available. As Supervisor, I supported increased investments through
our November 2015 housing bond, and through our annual budget process.
I also believe that we need to ensure that the affordable housing we do build meets the needs of all the
people who are struggling to remain in San Francisco. I am working with the City Planning Department to
define the elements of good family units to apply to new housing, and pushed to include more familyfriendly
housing units in new developments such as Mission Rock and the 5M development in the old Chronicle
building. I am also supporting an effort to build housing at the Balboa Reservoir that balances the
neighborhood character with the need to create affordable housing. I have pushed to make this project at
least 50% affordable.
+ - ?
[ 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 We recently passed a complete overhaul of condo conversion which I worked on and I believe that we should let the process show if we were successful in limiting evictions due to speculation.
4) Nonviolence: What are your solutions for SFPD accountability while
making the streets safer?
I believe that the central principle of law enforcement is a bond of trust between the community at large and
the law enforcement community and I believe that trust is currently broken. We need to restore that bond of
trust but that process takes time and will need people to come together and I believe it cannot be done by
simply letting time pass. For instance, I hosted a neighborhood walk with Captain Flaherty of Taraval
Station two weeks ago to build these relationships. We need to be proactive and decisive, we need better
training for our police officers around issues of bias and deescalation.
We also need better opportunities for
our young African American residents and we need to close the achievement gap. I believe we need to
come together as a San Francisco community to have any hope of addressing these fundamental issues of
justice and equality for all. I strongly support the SFPD Cadet program that provide young adult residents a
pathway to strengthen our bond between the SFPD and residents.
+ - ?
[ 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
[ ] [ 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?
The charter is constantly being amended by the voters and I see it as a living document, so it does need
revisiting and we are revisiting it often
+ - ?
[ 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 open source 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 think it is important that people be able to see their tax dollars at work, it is sad when I go out in the
community and I am asked by people why certain things haven't been addressed, I think we need our
budget process more accessible and transparent. So for example I have implemented the District 7
Participatory Budgeting program. I have allocated over $1,000,000 to this program in which District residents
are involved in every step of the way. They are the ones who propose projects for what they see are the
neighborhood priorities, they help selected which ones should be submitted to the District 7 community and
finally they vote on which projects will receive funding. The projects selected by District 7 residents range
from improvements to our parks to initiatives to support our small businesses, from murals and public art
projects to significant investments in Pedestrian Safety. I am very proud of this effort as I have always
believed that our District can leverage the knowledge and creativity of so many incredible people. So by
putting the decisions about spending directly in the hands of the people we are keeping the capital there for
residents.
+ - ?
[ 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
[ ] [ ] [ x ] Prop 13 limits on tax increases should apply only to residential properties Prop 13 needs a complete overhaul
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 believe that it is of fundamental importance to increase the number of women in elected office and who
serve on Boards and commissions, it is hard as a man to lay out a concrete plan that doesn't sound self
serving and insincere but I will try. I have supported, worked, fundraised and endorsed many women for
political office my first foray into political life was as a campaign manager to a woman and ever since I have
had the privilege of working and supporting many extraordinary women. I believe that the two main
strategies that could result in seeing more women become active in political office and on Boards and
Commissions are to first of all support the many strong women who currently serve in those role, ensuring
that the community leaders and members see political office as a realistic avenue for their involvement in the
community. We also have a responsibility to turn down the political vitriol and rhetoric to ensure that all feel
welcome in the political discourse and stand up to ensure that every point of view will be respected. The
second strategy that mainly concerns Board and Commission appointments has been a pet peeve of mine
which is that I believe that our city whether it is our Board of Supervisors, our Board of Education or our
Boards and Commissions should reflect the diversity of our community. I have long advocated for a better
unified database for Board and Commission vacancies, having served on the Rules Committee of the Board
of Supervisor I know well that often times people are completely unaware of the opportunities available to
them. It is our responsibility to be more transparent about these opportunities. It is a lifelong goal for me to
ensure that we all have the same opportunities, of course it is also a little selfish of me as I am the proud
father of two wonderful daughters.
+ - ?
[ 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?
Displacement is the worst aspect of our diminishing diversity and it is my top priority. On the best side, I
think we still need to continue to work but have gotten a long way with access to the public process for
non-English
speaking individuals.
+ - ?
[ 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?
I support the Board of Supervisor taking position on legislative issues both at the state and federal level as
long as it does not become the dominant topic of our work. I have concerns about the Board of Supervisors
taking positions on international politics.
+ - ?
[ ] [ x ] [ ] City government cooperating with the PATRIOT Act
[ ] [ x ] [ ] City government cooperating with ICE/Secure Communities
[ ] [ ] [ x ] City government should boycott Israel until it complies with UN resolutions
[ x ] [ ] [ ] SF supervisors should take a position on offshore oil drilling outside CA
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)?
I continue to believe in working collaboratively and even though my election to the Board of Supervisors was
by a narrow margin against an impressive field of candidates I stepped into office wanting to leverage the
expertise of all district residents and for me that isn't just talk. I took that approach and applied to one of the
most important policy decisions Supervisors make: the City Budget. I involve residents of District 7 tough
my participatory budgeting process. I proceeded allocate over $1,000,000 to this program in which District
residents are involved in every step of the way. I am very proud of this effort. So when I have to make
decisions I always think of the ways I can leverage the knowledge and creativity of others to help me.
+ - ?
[ ] [ ] [ 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 Our small businesses are burdened by an arcane system of permit and fees that needs to be streamlined
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?
I believe in aspirational politics, because we need to aim high and I believe the Transit First provision is one
of these moments. I also believe there have been real lack of leadership in its implementation. I am
committed to continuing working on its implementation and equally importantly on its funding.
+ - ?
[ ] [ ] [x ] MUNI should be funded greater levels and be free to the rider
Yes it should be funded at greater levels but people that can afford to pay should do so.
[ ] [ 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. I don't support one size fits all approaches
[ ] [x ] [ ] State law change that lets bicycles treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs
[ x] [ ] [ ] I ride MUNI, bicycle and/or walk instead of driving on a regular basis
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Bus Rapid Transit on Geary
[ ] [ x ] [ ] Allow residents to park on the sidewalk without getting a ticket, unless their neighbors complain
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Congestion pricing for parking
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Power more City vehicles using corn-based ethanol
[ ] [ x ] [ ] Residents should be allowed to park in the street in front of their own driveway for free
[ ] [ ] [ x ] Support expanding parking meter hours to include later evening hours and weekends I don't support one size fits all approaches, it may work and be useful in certain areas but not in others
[ ] [ ] [ x ] Remove parking spots and car lanes to create dedicated bike and bus lanes or wider sidewalks I don't support one size fits all approaches, it may work and be useful in certain areas but not in others
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)
[ ] [ ] [ x ] 2011 Prop D (Adachi's Pension measure)
[ ] [ ] [x ] 2010 Prop L (Ban on Sitting on Sidewalks)
[ ] [ ] [ x ] 2010 Prop M (Foot Patrols)