2020 SF DCCC Endorsement Questionnaire

NAME: Myrna Melgar

OFFICE RUNNING FOR: Supervisor District 7

CAMPAIGN ADDRESS: 312 Clay Street, Ste 300, Oakland CA 94607

CONTACT AND CELL PHONE: Adlah Chisti 415-359-4472 or 415-347-1404

EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] or [email protected]

Instructions

Please complete this questionnaire and send an electronic copy to [email protected] and [email protected] by close of business on Monday, July 6th, 2020.

The 2020 endorsement interviews for Supervisor candidates will take place during a special meeting on Saturday, July 18th, 2020 from 10:00am to 2:00pm. The exact time will be communicated to you as soon as you return your completed questionnaire. Due to COVID-19, the interview will be held via the ZOOM Video Call. We advise those that have not familiarized themselves with this application to do so and, if assistance is needed, to contact the DCCC endorsement committee prior to July 11th, 2020 via email at [email protected] . The SF DCCC’s endorsement vote will occur during the meeting of the SF Democratic Party on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2020 at 6:30pm. Only candidates who return a completed questionnaire electronically by 5pm on Monday, July 6th, 2020 will be interviewed by the committee. While it may seem that some of these questions do not apply to the office you are seeking, they represent important Democratic Party principles. As you may run for higher office where these questions will be relevant, we would like them addressed. We will distribute the questionnaires to the DCCC members and post them on the S.F. Democratic Party’s website (at http://www.sfdemocrats.org) for the public to view.

PART 1 - General Questions

1. Are you a registered Democrat?

Yes: X No:

2. When did you first register as a Democrat? 1995, when I became a citizen and registered to vote for the first time. I also ran for the DCCC on the progressive slate in 2016.

3. Have you ever voted for or endorsed a non-Democrat in an election? No Yes: No: If “Yes,” who? When?

4. Please list the organizations and elected officials who have endorsed you.

• Board of Supervisors President • Supervisor • Supervisor • Supervisor • Supervisor • Supervisor • Supervisor • Supervisor • City College Board of Trustees President Shanell Williams • City College Board of Trustees Brigette Davila • City College Board of Trustees Thea Selby • Board of Education President Mark Sanchez • Board of Education Vice President Gabriela Lopez • Board of Education Commissioner Alison Collins • Board of Education Commissioner Jenny Lam • Board of Education Commissioner Faauuga Moliga • DCCC Member • DCCC Member Suzy Loftus • BART President Lateefah Simon • BART Director Bevan Dufty • Board of Equalization Member Malia Cohen • State Assemblymember David Chiu

Latino Democratic Club (Sole endorsement)

AFT 2121 (#2 Endorsement)

SFTU (#2 Endorsement)

SF Tenants Union (#2 Endorsement)

Short Answer Questions (No more than 200 words per response)

1. Please provide a brief summary of your qualifications for this office.

I am an urban planner and dedicated public servant with expertise in affordable housing and community development. I have lived in District 7 for a decade and my daughters have all attended school in the district. I have worked to expand access to affordable housing and homeownership opportunities for low- and middle-income San Franciscans, improve rent control protections for tenants, provide technical assistance and access to capital for small businesses, support the rights of workers and expand education opportunities for disadvantaged youth and families. I was an aide to Supervisors Eric Mar and Jose Medina, and Director of Homeownership Programs during Mayor ’s administration. I was President of the Planning Commission, Vice President of the Building Inspection Commission and have served on the Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations.

My family immigrated to San Francisco when I was a child from El Salvador during the civil war. This City gave my family opportunity and the ability to set roots and create community. As income inequality changes our City, I want to put my skills and experience to work to ensure this City will continue to provide the opportunities I was given to the next generation.

2. Please describe your contributions to the Democratic Party at the local, state and or/national level in the last 4 years.

I was on the executive Board of the Latino Democratic Club, and assisted with our work of registering voters and visibility. Additionally, I have been active in Emerge CA, mentoring and supporting Democratic women run for office and win.

3. If elected, what are the three top issues you will work to affect?

Affordable housing development, financing and production capacity building

Small business retention

Public transportation

4. What have you done to mentor women and people that are not White in your field?

I have spent decades hiring, mentoring, and providing professional development opportunities to people who are not White, women and young people. As a manager with the City from 2004 to 2011 I hired women and people of color almost exclusively, while also including professional development and advancement opportunities for staff. During my work with nonprofits: at the Mission Economic Development Agency, I led the creation of the agency’s workforce program, that provided entry into the workforce for Latinos, women and youth. At Jamestown Community Center, I led the expansion of our youth workforce programs, quadrupling the capacity of the agency to provide mentorship and work opportunities for high risk Latino and African American youth. As an 2015 alum of Emerge, CA, I have stayed active in the network recruiting women to run for office, mentoring and supporting young women to get the support and training they need to run for office and win.

I am running because I think it is important for young women of color, particularly Latinas to see women run and succeed in politics. Only one Latina has ever been elected to the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco – that was Susan Leal in 1994. No Latinas have been elected at all since SF implemented district elections. It is important to me to show Latinas that we can do this, and that we should do this. We need a seat at the table.

5. Define affordable housing. A housing situation that costs a household no more that 30% of their income.

6. As Supervisor, how do you plan to push for and ensure racial equity in San Francisco's neighborhood planning and individual project development process and ensure that we are building more deeply affordable housing and other community assets (ie. childcare, parks and open space, grocery stores and small businesses) are distributed more equitably throughout San Francisco?

1. Affordable housing is an obligation market rate developers have to mitigate the impact of development as calculated by a city wide nexus study. This should be more targeted, because racial patterns of segregation and exclusion have affected communities differently. An impact score could be a component of the approval process for projects in communities that have suffered underinvestment and exclusion. 2. Insure adequate funding for long term planning processes, particularly in low income neighborhoods and communities of color. 3. Support the work of the Office of Racial Equity with the Planning Department, with the goal of having a staff that reflects the diversity of our city, and has knowledge of our communities.

7. Did you support Rich Hillis for Planning Department Director and if so why? If you did not support, please explain who you would have supported otherwise and why?

As President of the SF Planning Commission, my role was to lead the recruitment process in the search for a new Director, which I did with integrity. The commission held public hearings, and voted on a process of recruitment in open session. The process, which included a job description and interviews in closed session was passed with a unanimous vote at the commission. By a unanimous vote, the commission also voted to not disclose any information about this personnel matter, and as per the memorandum prepared by Deputy City Attorney and made available to the public on this matter dated September 12, no individual commissioner is at liberty to disclose information about the closed session held by the commission. My public comments about Mr. Hillis expressed that the commission had found his qualifications met the qualities we had put forward and voted on in a public meeting. In the end we forwarded a list of 5 candidates who the commission put forward as meeting those qualifications.

As far as my publicly stated desired qualifications for this position, my priorities were to attract a pool of candidates who reflected the diversity of San Francisco, who loved our city, had deep understanding of community planning, and were women and people of color.

8. Do you support the split roll amendment to Proposition 13 that would tax commercial property but not residential property?

Yes

9. What are your top district priorities and what would be your process in addressing these issues with the community?

1. Affordable housing: District 7 is 2/3 homeowner occupied. I will work on creating financing options and process improvements to support residents in adapting their homes to age in place while creating new rent controlled units. I will also work with community stakeholders, our state representatives and city departments to support the production of co-op housing, a model that is a more affordable homeownership option that we have not adequately invested in. Additionally, I will work to support tenants in rent controlled housing, making supports available to prevent evictions.

2. Transportation: Work on system reliability and safety through insuring proper staffing. Support long term investment and capital planning of MUNI. Ensure that the CTA includes the Westside in the long term planning, particularly along transit corridors and where development is expected like the Balboa station, the M stop in front of SFSU and Stonestown.

3. Small business development: Extend our efforts to provide more flexible permitting, support Supervisor Gordon Mar’s legislation to cancel permitting fees during the pandemic, provide additional funding for technical assistance to small businesses, and work with OEWD and nonprofit CDFIs to extend more financing options for small businesses.

10. What specific policy changes would you propose to address the issue of chronic homelessness in San Francisco? 1. Build more deeply affordable supportive housing 2. Invest in Mental Health SF 3. Expand shelter beds, lower the entry barriers and provide wrap around navigation center services at congregate shelters.

11. We recognize that the affordability crisis and evictions has caused gentrification and widespread displacement. How do you plan to address preserving long-standing communities? What have you done to address the displacement of low-income communities in San Francisco?

I have worked for decades to strengthen rent control protections, increase affordable housing, support policies that preserve low income and vulnerable communities, such as Proposition I. I have also worked to preserve community assets that stabilize and provide supports: I was the cochair of the capital campaign committee that raised the funds to buy Plaza Adelante, which now houses MEDA, Causa Justa/Just Cause and other nonprofits and small/micro businesses in the Mission, as well as a founding member of the 701 Alabama Consortium which purchased the MLVS building as it was threatened with a loss to an investor. That building also houses several nonprofits and is currently serving as the food hub to the Mission during the pandemic. During my time at the planning commission I worked with labor and anti-displacement activists to consistently vote to preserve communities and maximize stabilization and community benefits in individual projects and long term planning.

12. As Supervisor, what plans would you have to protect existing co-ops in your district? Do you believe this model should be expanded?

Sadly, there are no co-ops in District 7, but I support the expansion of this model. I will work to create development, operational and production capacity to finance and produce co-op housing, and will also work to see it built in my district. This is crucial to build housing with this powerful tool, but also to preserve the existing 2,000 units of affordable co-op housing we already have in Districts 5 and 10.

13. What do you believe are the biggest issues facing public housing tenants in San Francisco? What concrete plans would you implement to better serve these households? For decades, public housing tenants have faced a culture of neglect and corruption by the SF Housing Authority, and disinvestment from the federal government. This led to social isolation, unsafe housing, lack of access to opportunities, transportation and services, has violence in the community and impunity on the part of the SFHA. San Francisco addressed this challenge by shifting ownership of the properties to nonprofit developers through programs like the RAD and HOPE SF and investing in the rehabilitation of these properties while maintaining affordability through the section 8 program. These programs have produced good results, and are still demonstration programs. The issue facing tenants in these properties is the destabilization caused by the changes. Organizing of tenants to ensure their rights will remain key as SF continues to redevelop these properties, and to provide a seat at the table for residents.

14. In a recent hearing conducted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, it was found that African- Americans disproportionately experience lower hiring rates for Civil Service jobs, are the lowest paid of all ethnicities in SF’s Civil Service classifications, have the highest terminations rates, and their claims of hostile environments such as harassment, threats, and bully-tactics persist. What steps have you taken (or will you take) to address these disparities? How would you recommend legislation be drafted so that the Office of Racial Equity is able to take action on department heads who perpetuate systemic racism?

I worked for the City of SF between 2004 and 2011 and my experience was as described in this question. Despite women and people of color being well represented in lower classifications, the leadership team did not reflect this diversity in the department I worked in nor in other departments. The folks who were making hiring decisions, and decisions about professional development and promotions did not reflect the diversity of our city. Departments should be required to report on demographic information of all applicants, folks selected to a list, and interviews. I will support ORE to analyze and report on hiring practices that yield diversity results, (ie. Job description key words, examinations), and to publish a score card for departments. This should include hiring but also promotions and make up of the leadership team of the department. I was the first Latina to hold a leadership position in that Department (MOH) and after I left, there have been no others since.

Additionally, I believe this also applies to the Board of Supervisors, as women hold only 3 of the 11 seats, and there are no Latinos and only one African American member of the Board. I am running to do my part to rectify this imbalance.

15. San Francisco faces a $1.7 billion dollar deficit over the next two years. Which ballot measures proposed by BOS members and by the Mayor that are designed to generate revenue do you support? What kinds of taxes or revenue generating measures do you think are the most equitable?

I support all the current proposed revenue measures. This is an unprecedented financial crisis and we need to do everything we can in the short-term to protect small businesses, stop layoffs, invest in protection and schools. I support school parcel taxes, gross receipts taxes and as well as current Supervisor ’s property transfer tax.

16. Have you accepted donations from any police officers, police officer associations, police unions, sheriff’s associations, correctional officers unions or the Prison Industrial complex? Yes: No:X If No, will you accept any such donations in the future? Yes: No: X If you answered “Yes” to any of the above, please explain why.

Part 2 - Issues Questions Please only mark whether you SUPPORT or OPPOSE each position. QUESTIONS SUPPORT OPPOSE

1. Do you support or oppose affirmative action? Support

2. Do you support or oppose privatization of essential government services? Oppose

3. Do you support or oppose expanding rent control to post-1979 buildings? Support

4. Do you support or oppose San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy. Support

5. Do you support or oppose the Mayor’s statement of intent to divert police funding to support Black communities? Support

6. Do you support a Moratorium on Rent, Mortgage payments and evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic? Support

7. Do you support the emergency action of securing hotel rooms and shelter homeless San Franciscans from COVID-19? Support

8. Do you support calling for economic relief to support undocumented workers during the COVID-19 pandemic? Support

9. Do you support calling on the Senate and Congress to enact legislation to extend immediate financial relief and support including hazard pay, for all unemployed workers, and increased family benefits for essential workers and health care workers? Support

QUESTIONS SUPPORT OPPOSE

10. Do you support acknowledging systemic racial inequities and calling for a coordinated response to support the Black community during the COVID-19 pandemic? Support

11. Do you support the call directing the small business administration (SBA) to eliminate discriminatory eligibility requirements to access needed support? Support

12. Do you condemn anti-Asian racism and xenophobia and urge stronger Governmental response to prevent and address attacks of the Asian American Community? Yes

13. Did you support or oppose the proposal to close juvenile hall permanently? Support

14. Do you believe that public transit should be free? Yes

15. Do you support the creation of a local municipal bank in San Francisco? Yes

16. Do you support expanding affordable child care to low- and middle-income families? Yes

17. Do you support “ban the box” legislation statewide to ensure that the formerly incarcerated are given an equal opportunity for housing? Yes

18. Do you support the Black Lives Matter movement? Yes

19. Would you support overturning Costa Hawkins to support the right for localities to pass rent control laws? Yes

20. Would you support overturning the Ellis Act? Yes

QUESTIONS SUPPORT OPPOSE

21. Should there be a moratorium on market rate housing in communities that have experienced elevated rates of displacement? Yes

22. Do you believe that surplus public lands should be prioritized for 100% affordable housing? Yes

23. Do you support civil or criminal penalties for people sleeping, sitting, or lying on the streets? No

24. Do you support the practice of forced removal and relocation of homeless encampments or homeless “sweeps”? No

25. Do you support expanding Navigation Centers throughout the city? I support expanding wrap around services and lowered entry barriers everywhere in the City, whether in new navigation centers, safe parking sites, tent villages, or existing shelters.

26. Do you support expansion of the rental subsidy program? Yes

27. Do you support teachers and professional staff earning commensurate wages? Yes

28. Do you support banning natural gas in all new residential and commercial construction projects, including single family homes? Yes

29. Do you support the City's recently passed conservatorship policy which expands the City’s legal authority to seek court supervision of those it deems unable to help themselves? Yes

30. Do you support expansion of new charter schools? No

31. Do you support employee rights to organize and collectively bargain and support enforceable organizing agreements? YES

QUESTIONS SUPPORT OPPOSE

32. Will you support Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) for non-profit organizations that hold contracts with the City? Yes

33. Do you support or oppose the App-Based Drivers Regulation Initiative to repeal AB 5? Oppose

If you need to add further explanation or qualification to any of your support-or-oppose answers above, you may do so here: