San Francisco Green Party District Attorney Candidate Questionnaire 2019

Due Date: Thurs, Sep 12


Candidate Name: Nancy Tung
Phone Number: 415-794-4228
Web site: www.nancytung2019.com
E-mail: nancy@nancytung2019.com
Name of Campaign Manager: Derek Jansen
Signed voluntary spending limit:
Major Endorsements:
Who did you endorse for Mayor in 2018 (all 3 choices, if applicable): I did not endorse a candidate.
Who did you endorse for Mayor in 2015 (all 3 choices, if applicable): I did not endorse a candidate.
Who did you endorse for Sheriff in 2015: I did not endorse a candidate.

1) Would you have charged the police officers who shot:

Based on the information provided by the memorandum of the District AttorneyÕs Office, my response is no. I have not reviewed the original case files, so I am unable to say whether I would have had a different outcome based on undisclosed information.

a) Alex Nieto
b) Alice Brown
c) Amilcar Perez-Lopez
d) Giovany Contreras Sandoval
e) Herbert Benitez
f) Javier Lopez Garcia
g) Jessica Williams
h) Luis GÌ?ngora Pat
i) Mario Woods
j) Matthew Hoffman
k) Nicholas McWherter
l) Oï¾›ªShaine Evans

2) Who else have you endorsed in other contests (this year or next)?

I have endorsed no other candidates.

3) What do you think of the Death Penalty?

Governor Newsom recently suspended the Death Penalty in California, and I believe he made the right call. As a career prosecutor, I'm struck by how unworkable and costly the death penalty is for our state. In San Francisco, over 70% of voters wanted to abolish the death penalty in 2016. It would be nearly impossible for any prosecutor in San Francisco to empanel a death penalty jury.

4) What do you think of SF closing our Juvenile Hall?

I do not agree with this decision. Closing juvenile hall in San Francisco will hurt kids by refusing them the help they need and deserve at the most critical time in their lives. It would force judges to ship kids out of San Francisco to other counties for public safety Ñ it sounds nice to say if we close juvenile hall we won't need it anymore, but that's simply not reality. I put kids, rehabilitation, and public safety over political sound bites.

5) What do you think of current police staffing levels?

We need to hire more police officers in San Francisco to adequately serve and protect our neighborhoods. For example, Joe Fitzpatrick Rodriguez reported on the lack of officers in the Traffic Division, charged with ensuring that drivers follow traffic laws and issuing citations. The division is fully staffed at 80, and was at 37 before the Board of Supervisors intervened. It will be 2-3 years before the division is fully staffed. Meanwhile, Heather Knight reported about the significant decrease of citations being issued and correlated that to an increase in traffic injuries and deaths since Vision Zero began in 2014.

6) What do you think of closing 850 Bryant?

The entire building at 850 Bryant Street is a safety hazard, not just for the jail, but for the courts and remaining agencies as well. It is critically important that if people are being held by the county that they live in safe, clean environments and are treated in a humane and dignified manner.

7) What do you think of the concept of restorative justice? What specific plans do you have to implement your ideas?

Restorative justice is an important part of intervention. It connects the offender back to the community in a way that traditional punishment models do not. The current neighborhood courts program is a good example of how restorative justice can be effective for communities.

8) What standards do you support for police use of force? Are there any "less-lethal" weapons that you support arming the police with?

As District Attorney I will work with the SFPD and Police Commission to emphasize de-escalation methods of engagement and non-lethal alternatives to firearms, including tasers, to reduce police violence in our City. It is the District AttorneyÕs job to hold the police accountable for their actions and reduce officer-involved shootings Ñ to restore the publicÕs trust in the system Ñ and I will do just that.

9) DA Gascon had a policy of only charging cases that he thought he'deasily win. What standard will you apply?

As a prosecutor, our ethical cannon mandates that we only charge cases that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. The test of that standard comes at trial, but when we look at the evidence to charge a case we must keep in mind the physical evidence, the statements and reliability of witnesses, and community standards of proof, which may shift over time.


Your positions (at the time) on selected current and past Propositions(skip any for which you didn't live or vote in SF, or didn't takea position at the time):

I do not remember many of the positions I took from 2016 and earlier.


+ - : [ ] [ x ] [ ] Nov 2019 Prop C (Vaping regulations)
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2019 Prop D (Uber/Lyft tax)

[ x ] [ ] [ ] June 2018 Prop F (Eviction Defense)
[ x ] [ ] [ ] June 2018 Prop H (Tasers for SFPD)

[ ] [ ] [ x ] Nov 2016 Prop D (Vacancy appointments)
[ ] [ ] [ x ] Nov 2016 Prop F (16-17 y.o. voting, local elections)
[ x ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop N (Non-citizen voting, school board)
[ x] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop Q (Prohibiting tents on public sidewalks)
[ ] [ ] [ x ] Nov 2016 Prop R (Neighborhood crime units)
[ ] [ ] [ 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)


Due Date: Thurs, Sep 12, 11:59 pm.

Please submit by email to cc@sfgreens.org. For more information, call
Erika McDonald at 415-337-1499. Please return your answers in plain
text (not HTML, PDF, or Word format), so that we can post all
candidates' answers in the same format.

The SF Green Party will invite all candidates who return completed
questionnaires on time to speak and answer questions at our candidate
forum and endorsement meeting (scheduled for Wed, Sep 18 from 7-9 pm).
If you need to schedule a particular time slot, or if you are unable
to make the meeting, please be in touch with us at cc@sfgreens.org.
Otherwise, we'll interview candidates as you arrive. Our forum and
endorsement meeting will take place at the Redstone Building (room
TBA). The Redstone is located at 2940 16th Street (between Mission
and South Van Ness, 1 block from 16th St BART).

Completed questionnaires will be posted on our website,
http://sfgreenparty.org.