Instructions:
1. There are 10 sections to this questionnaire. Each section corresponds to the 10 Key Values of the Green Party.
2. Each section contains one or more written questions and ends with several multiple-choice questions. Please don't skip the written questions.
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: Connie Chan
Phone Number: 415-855-1810
Website: conniechansf.com
E-mail: connie@conniechansf.com
Name of Campaign Manager: Kelly Groth
Are you receiving public financing: Yes
Signed voluntary spending limit: Yes
2nd, 3rd endorsements in District: None to date
Major Endorsements:
Congressman Adam Schiff
Congresswoman Judy Chu
Congressman Ted Lieu
Congressman Kevin Mullin
Assemblymember Phil Ting
Assemblymember Evan Low
Board of Supervisor President Aaron Peskin
Supervisor Dean Preston
Supervisor Myrna Melgar
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
Supervisor Hillary Ronen
Supervisor Ahsha Safai
BART Board Director Bevan Dufty
Former State Senator Mark Leno
Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
Richmond District Democratic Club
San Francisco Tenants Union
For a full list of endorsements visit conniechansf.com/endorsements
Incumbent Supervisor whose votes are most similar to the way you would vote: As the incumbent, I would say my votes would be most similar to myself!
Incumbent who votes least similarly to the way you would vote:
Matt Dorsey
If the election were held today, who would you support as Board President:
I supported current Board President Aaron Peskin, and would again today.
Who would be your second and third choices:
I believe that requires more discussion with colleagues about not only who is qualified but who is interested.
Who did you endorse for Mayor in 2019 (all 3 choices, if applicable):
No endorsement.
1) Grassroots Democracy:
A) What are your thoughts on Instant Runoff Voting, and District Elections? How have they worked to date? What would you change in the future? What about Proportional Representation?
District Elections have drastically increased diverse representation on the Board of Supervisors, especially among marginalized communities that historically have experienced voter suppression. Instant Runoff Voting, also known as Ranked Choice Voting, has allowed voting results without further delays or additional costs, which also prevent election errors and close campaign loopholes. I believe the next step in lowering barriers to the ballot box and increasing voter participation and enfranchisement is having more transparency behind campaign finance, increasing voter education and outreach especially in Limited English Proficient communities and for disabled residents. That's why I authored an ordinance to make permanent a pilot program championed by my predecessors in the District 1 office to allow immigrant parents and caretakers of students in San Francisco Unified School Districts to be able to vote in Board of Education elections.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Sub-government such as Neighborhood Assemblies, Networks or District Councils
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Voters' right to recall elected officials
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Residency requirements for elected officials should be strictly enforced
B) What strategies would you employ to reduce corruption in San Francisco government?
I have and will continue to push city departments to be more accountable and transparent. We have serious challenges and voters have repeatedly supported revenue measures to help us address those challenges, yet it feels like a lack of leadership and accountability has stymied our ability to make real progress. I have pushed the City government to perform better, be transparent with public dollars spent, and deliver efficient city services - particularly those agencies like the Department of Public Works, Department of Building and Inspection, and SF Public Utility Commission, that were previously under FBI investigation, and have been part of the Controller's Public Integrity Audit. We need to continue to audit the remainder of city government, including but not limited to SFMTA, Department of Public Health, Police Department, and more. The use of public funds must not only serve the public good but they must also deliver services efficiently.
+ - ?
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Ethics Commission should be disbanded
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Ethics Commission meetings should be televised
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Ethics Commission should prioritize investigating violations from well-funded campaigns
[ ] [ - ] [ ] My campaign is supported or promoted by a Super PAC
[ ] [ - ] [ ] My campaign has attended events sponsored by "Neighbors for a Better SF", "TogetherSF", "GrowSF" and/or "YIMBY"
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Remote public comment at board and committee meetings - I support increasing accessibility for our constituents to provide comment, but we must find a way that does not allow for anonymous callers to spread hate speech and we must improve language access for limited English proficient constituents on these platforms
2) Ecological Wisdom: Please outline your view of the major environmental and ecological issues facing San Francisco and your proposed policies to address them.
The climate crisis has hurt our communities for decades and disproportionately affects low-income and marginalized communities, especially our communities of color on the southeast corner of our city. I knew this as an aide to Supervisor Maxwell and worked on the effort to shut down the Mirant Power Plant that hurt the communities of color living in its proximity.
Today's joint health and economic crisis are compounding this reality. Environmental justice requires economic justice - we can't have one without the other. Investing in a greener future will support, not hinder, economic recovery.
To maintain environmental gains in spite of the current crisis, I support greater outreach to build CleanPowerSF's customer base and infrastructure while also supporting programs to include more low-income residents to expand access to the program's clean energy.
San Francisco must be responsive and resilient to a variety of climate change's impacts including drought and sea level rise. I support urgent work to increase accessibility to open space, protect from earthquakes and future sea level rise, and ensure plans reflect community involvement throughout the process.
San Franciscans also pride themselves in values of tolerance and equity. We must unpack and examine how these values have been applied to our waterfront and do the real work of fighting for environmental justice and equitable access to waterfront open space and amenities.
We must act now to address these future challenges.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Phasing out all diesel and biodiesel transit (e.g., Muni, tour, shuttles)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Public Power with 100% local/regional clean energy mandate and elected utility board
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Install local/regional clean energy, efficiency, and battery storage and microgrids to supply 100% of our electricity by 2035
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Reducing or eliminating parking minimums in new housing and commercial developments
[ + ] [ ] [ ] In the Bayview and on Treasure Island, halt all US Navy land transfers to the city or developers, and halt all development, until all sites are retested and cleaned to Residential Standards
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Non-native Tree Removals - I don't want to clear-cut non-native trees, but I support the removal of hazardous trees and replacing them with native trees
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Use of herbicides in public parks
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Artificial turf on City-owned athletic fields
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Managed retreat, Coastal Zone protection, and restoring wetlands in response to Global Warming
3) Social Justice:
A) What is your assessment of homelessness in San Francisco, and what solutions do you propose?
The key to ending homelessness is preventing it from occurring in the first place. We must prevent further tragedy on our streets and pave a pathway to bringing our homeless population off the streets into Single Room-Occupancy (SRO) units and long-term supportive housing. But we must also invest in improving the conditions of shelters and SROs, and transition the current housing insecure population to workforce and permanent affordable housing. The City should invest more deeply in our small site acquisition program to preserve rent-controlled apartment buildings and prevent tenant evictions. For the long term, the City has to expand funding for first-time home buyer programs for working class families, and develop a supportive system for homeowners and renters on fixed incomes.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Project Homeless Connect
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Care Not Cash
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Healthy SF
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Housing As A Right
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Housing First for Homeless, Addiction, Mental Health
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Law against sitting or camping on SF sidewalks
[ + ] [ ] [ ] I support more homeless navigation centers in my district
B) What are your views on housing affordability, what public sector strategies have worked, which have failed, and what are your proposals?
San Francisco's Housing Element requires over 82,000 new units of housing be built in the next 8 years, 57% of which must be affordable units. Our City fell behind its affordable housing goal in the last Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) cycle, meeting less than 50% of our affordable housing goal, even as we exceeded our market rate goals. I will continue to insist we prioritize building affordable housing first to meet our goals.
I support several strategies to increase the city's affordable housing stock, including land banking, small sites acquisition, and increased funding for affordable housing including the most recent Proposition A, a $360 million affordable housing bond. We also need to preserve as much affordable housing and rent-controlled housing in the city as possible.
As Supervisor, I approved funding for a 98-unit 100% affordable senior housing project in my district. We need 100% affordable developments across the city, in each district. As we continue to grow, we do need to build housing and the only way to support middle income housing is to build housing which the middle income population can afford.
+ - ?
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Building more market rate housing will lower housing costs for current SF residents
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Impacts of all new development should be paid for in advance by fees on developers
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Community Land Trusts, Housing Co-ops
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Rent Control is too strong
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Waive Environmental Review to build Moderate and Low Income Housing
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Social Housing (similar to https://www.sfcommunityhousingact.com/)
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Ban on Airbnb and other short term rentals - I support further regulation on Airbnb and other short term rentals
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Vacancy tax on residential property and "pied-a-terre" homes
[ ] [ ] [ ] Flipping taxes on housing speculation
[ + ] [ ] [ ] 10-year waiting period before corporate and nonresident owners can sell purchased housing properties
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Condo conversion is currently too difficult
4) Nonviolence: What are your solutions for SFPD accountability while making the streets safer?
Our law enforcement agencies play a key role to public safety but we must have a comprehensive plan for longterm and meaningful public safety results. As Supervisor, I have pushed for comprehensive public safety resources including expansion of the Retired Police Ambassador program, expansion of street outreach and street crisis response teams, and increase of police officer foot- and bike-patrols in our neighborhoods.
The San Francisco Police Department must focus on deterring, investigating and solving serious and violent crime. Our Police Department also needs to continue its training in understanding implicit bias, de-escalation, and open its recruitment to more people of color, and those with cultural and language competency. But police are not the only tool we have for advancing public safety. We need to continue to invest in and expand our community policing strategies through Street Crisis and outreach teams for responding to mental health and wellness calls. We also must continue to fund our violence prevention and diversion programs, these have been proven to work as an investment in our collective public safety.
+ - ?
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Prioritize SFPD enforcement of moving violations - I support increasing traffic officers to cite our most dangerous drivers, but also support banning pretextual stops
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Support expansion of foot patrols
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Demand stricter accountability in future MOUs with the SFPD
[ + ] [ ] [ ] The Board of Supervisors should be able to set policies and priorities for the SFPD through legislation
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Support a public safety program modeled after NYC's "Stop and Frisk"
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Prosecution of SFPD officers involved in violent attacks on, and fatal shooting deaths of, SF residents and visitors
[ + ] [ ] [ ] End cash bail for nonviolent crimes
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Cut police funding and increase social program spending, and establish community control of neighborhood policing - I do not support a cut in law enforcement funding but I do agree we should increase investments in social programs.
5) Decentralization:
A) What are your thoughts on the Kaufman Charter of 1996? Does it need revisiting? Would you support replacing the Strong Mayor system with commissions where the majority of members are appointed by the Board of Supervisors, or directly elected?
The Kaufman Charter consolidated and boosted mayoral power, and allowed the festering of pay-to-play culture in City Hall. To date, we are still seeing inefficiencies among city departments even with the City's growing budget, now has ballooned to nearly $16 billion, and tackling a $1 billion deficit. When I first took office in 2021, I drafted a charter amendment that restructured the City Administrator's jurisdiction and the office's structure and split the appointments to our chartered commissions between the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor. I still feel we need to implement a more balanced distribution of power between the two branches of city government.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Elected Rent Board
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Elected Public Utility Board
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Bring the Housing Authority under the Board of Supervisors
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Will you create formal district councils to advise you?
B) The city currently uses non-profits to provide social services. Do you think this is an appropriate model? Why or why not?
Voters approved Prop J which allows the cities to contract out City services when it is cost effective and cannot be provided by existing City workers. But it is problematic when these contracts do not yield results or worse - corrupt and wasteful spending. That is why we have to scrutinize these contracts and make sure we use city dollars to deliver results, but more importantly, we should utilize our existing city workers to provide service when we can. In a time of a budget deficit, we should make sure City workers can do the work before we contract out.
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Expand Participatory Budgeting to at least 5% of the District Budget
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Charter amendment allowing voters to choose the replacement of an elected official being recalled on the same ballot as the recall vote
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Immediately implement open-source voting system for SF elections
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 the creation of special tax districts so we can develop in areas and collect tax incrementally to support those developments and the surrounding community.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Legislation limiting formula retail outlets/chain stores
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Conditional Use permit required for big box stores
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Municipal broadband as a public utility
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Neighborhood cooperatives prioritized as a local supply chain for legalized marijuana
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] I support recreational marijuana stores opening in my district - Any residential and commercial developments should go through a community driven decision process in coordination with city departments.
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Local hiring requirements should be enforced and expanded to include private projects
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Strong preference for union jobs
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Conversion of some golf courses into soccer fields
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Conversion of some golf courses into wild open space
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Prop 13 limits on tax increases should apply only to residential properties
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Commercial Rent Control
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Transition all residential and small business rental properties into not-for-profit trusts and co-ops
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Vacancy and flipping taxes on local small business property
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Transaction/Flipping taxes on all asset speculation to increase city budget
[ + ] [ ] [ ] San Francisco Public Bank by 2027
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?
Right now there are only four women on the Board of Supervisors, and I am the only Asian American on the Board. We need a Board of Supervisors, Commissioners, and department heads that reflect the diversity of our city and I don't believe we are meeting that goal currently.
Most of my life I have been mentored and employed by amazing women who lifted me and my career path up, and I pledge to do the same. Having women mentors is incredibly important to the growth and development of young girls especially in city government. That's why I have appointed mostly non-male and women of color to my District appointments including the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Bicycle Citizens Advisory Committee, and SFMTA Citizens Advisory Committee.
Increased diversity in elected offices, commissions, and Citizens Advisory Committees allows for often marginalized voices to have a seat at the table and creates better outcomes. As a city we need to do better, and as candidates we need to help build a diverse pipeline for young women, particularly young women of color. I am also to be one of two Supervisor office that have all-female staff, because you should practice what you preach.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] The City should help SFUSD provide child care for children of working parents
[ + ] [ ] [ ] The DPH should provide reproductive health services to both residents and visitors
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Require parental consent for minors seeking an abortion
[ ] [ - ] [ ] 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?
San Francisco is a better city when it is affordable and open to everyone, not just the wealthy. It is also what makes this city such a desirable place to live and visit. But the challenge with that is that we need to resource our city properly and ensure we have equitable city services in neighborhoods across the city in order to maintain our diversity. We need to continue building and maintaining affordable housing to provide a range of housing options that serve to protect and expand the city's true diversity. This is to allow for seniors living on a fixed income, childcare workers that support us all, artists that make our communities vibrant, and so on. In addition to housing, we have to ensure accessibility and cultural competency in our City services. If we cannot communicate and provide services and meet our residents in the diverse ways they need then we only contribute to San Francisco being a City of the well resourced.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Multilingual government and public education
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Undocumented immigrants should have equal access to education and health care
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Non-citizen residents should be able to vote in all local elections
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Full rights for transgender and non-gender-binary persons
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Boards and commissions now reflect the ethnic diversity of San Francisco
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Boards and commissions now reflect the political diversity of San Francisco
[ + ] [ ] [ ] My campaign reflects the diversity of San Francisco
[ ] [ - ] [ ] End Drag Queen Story Hour and K-12 School Education on Gender Spectrum Differences
9) Global and Personal Responsibility:
A) What are your thoughts on the Board of Supervisors taking positions on state, national and international issues?
San Francisco has consistently led on progressive issues including gay marriage, being a sanctuary city, and non-citizen voting. I believe we can continue to take bold stances and actions to protect and uplift the most vulnerable and lead our state and nation to being more rich and compassionate society.
+ - ?
[ ] [ - ] [ ] City government cooperating with the PATRIOT Act
[ ] [ - ] [ ] City government cooperating with ICE/Secure Communities
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] City government should boycott Israel until it complies with UN resolutions and international law - I would like to have a conversation with Green Party members and community members to learn more. I supported the resolution at the Board of Supervisors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
[ + ] [ ] [ ] SF supervisors should take a position on offshore oil drilling outside CA
[ + ] [ ] [ ] SF should refuse to purchase PG&E's nuclear power
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)?
In my 20 years of experience in city government, I know that in order to make anything happen, it takes comprehensive planning. As supervisor, I make sure we include people who will be most impacted by decisions to be at the table - labor, local merchants, working class families, seniors, people with disabilities, immigrants and communities of color. I work to ensure the City's departments have an inclusive approach working with the city and stakeholders, and to ensure that projects or improvements are done on budget and on time, and have a plan to mitigate community impact.
We also have to redesign not only the way the City conducts community outreach, but also reframe the surveys and conversations with community planning to make sure that we are inclusive and with considerations of the needs of our community, including language and cultural competency. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I have utilized tools such as public hearings, community town halls, bilingual email newsletters, and called on our city departments to collect community feedback in an equitable manner before implementing changes.
+ - ?
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Fleet Week and the Blue Angels flyover - While I know generations of San Franciscans have enjoyed Blue Angels performance during Fleet Week, I am concerned with the safety of the general public having the performance in our City that is densely populated.
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] JROTC in the public schools
[ ] [ - ] [ ] In a severe recession, environmental regulations should be suspended to create jobs
[ ] [ - ] [ ] 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?
Public transit in San Francisco is a critical part of the City's infrastructure, depended on by residents and workers in the Richmond District and citywide. But many of our systems are not user friendly or welcoming. We need a better experience for all riders and to attract new ones. I also support free Muni to make public transit more accessible and increase ridership.
+ - ?
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Muni should be funded sufficiently to replace most car use, and be free to the rider
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Downtown Transit Assessment Tax to support Muni
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Citywide Transit Assessment Tax to support Muni
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] More weekend closures of streets in/near my district to cars (e.g., Car-Free GGP) - The request would need to come from the community
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] State law change that lets bicycles treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] I ride Muni, bicycle and/or walk instead of driving on a regular basis - Public transit and walking were my only options most of my life and it wasn't until I became a mother and moved to the Richmond District that I started driving on a regular basis. This reality is a call to action for making the improvements needed to make transit a viable option for all.
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Bus Rapid Transit expanded to all major transit corridors in SF - BRT is one tool and I believe in data and good policy. When it meets the needs of residents and riders, I support using all of the available tools to improve transit. That said, the city must see that projects are delivered efficiently, on time, include community input, and don't hurt small businesses. Contractors that fail to serve the city well must also be held accountable.
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Car hailing services like Uber and Lyft should be regulated as taxis, or banned
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Scooter/similar vehicle rentals should be required to store vehicles on private property - I look forward to seeing what the new regulations have achieved
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Allow residents to park on the sidewalk without getting a ticket, unless their neighbors complain
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Congestion pricing for parking
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Power more City vehicles using biofuels (e.g., corn-based ethanol)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Residents should be allowed to park in the street in front of their own driveway for free
[ ] [ ] [ ? ] Support expanding parking meter hours to include later evening hours and weekends
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Remove parking spots and car lanes to create dedicated bike and bus lanes or wider sidewalks - This should be done in a community driven process
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 take a position at the time):
+ - ?
[ ] [ - ] [ ] March 2024 Prop E (More Police Chases)
[ ] [ - ] [ ] March 2024 Prop F (Drug Test Poor People)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] June 2022 Prop C (Recall Reform)
[ ] [ - ] [ ] June 2022 Prop H (Boudin Recall)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2020 Prop G (16-17 y.o. voting, local elections)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2020 Prop I (Real Estate Transfer Tax)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] June 2018 Prop F (Eviction Defense)
[ ] [ - ] [ ] June 2018 Prop H (Tasers for SFPD)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop D (Vacancy appointments)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop N (Non-citizen voting, school board)
[ ] [ - ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop Q (Prohibiting tents on public sidewalks)
[ + ] [ ] [ ] Nov 2016 Prop 62 (Ending Death Penalty)
Due Date: Friday, June 21, 11:59 pm
Please submit by email to cc@sfgreens.org. For more information, call Barry Hermanson at 415-255-9494. 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 selected candidates who return completed questionnaires on time to speak and answer questions at our candidate forum and endorsement meeting. To be given time on our agenda, each candidate needs at least three active Green Party members
to request their invitation. This will be a hybrid meeting, so invited candidates may also speak with us via Zoom.
Our endorsement meeting is scheduled for Wed, June 26 from 6:30-9:30 pm at our office, 2973 16th St, #300, SF - note that this is across the street from our old office in the Redstone Building. The first two hours will be for interviews of selected candidates, and the last hour will be for decision making.
Completed questionnaires will be posted on our website, https://sfgreenparty.org.