Zoe Dunning San Francisco, CA 94104 Shwetika Baijalаа [email protected] I've Been a Democrat for 30 Years
South Beach District 6 Democratic Club Election June 7, 2016
Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire
Name: Zoe Dunning Address:
City, State, Zip: San Francisco, CA 94104 Campaign contact: Shwetika Baijal Campaign Cell phone number:
Email: [email protected]
I am a Democrat: Yes/No
I’ve been a Democrat for 30 years and am committed to advancing the values of the Democratic Party in San Francisco.
1. What are the three civic or community accomplishments of which you are most proud? If an incumbent, draw from actions through your current office/position. (Max 300 words)
As a proud Democrat, I am a steadfast advocate for social change. Our party’s core values resonate deeply with me, and I want to continue playing a leadership role in embedding those values throughout our city, our state, and our nation.
Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell: One of our values is equality and standing up and speaking out against injustice. I challenged the military’s policies prohibiting gays from serving, and publicly came out as a lesbian naval officer and took a leadership role in working to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. In 2010, I was recognized for this and given the honor of standing next to President Obama when he signed the repeal of DADT. In 2011, I was awarded Woman of the Year in Senate District 8 for my commitment to the LGBT, women’s, and veterans’ communities.
Actions while CoChair of Alice: As a member of the LGBTQ community and a lifelong activist for social justice, I have worked for breaking down barriers impacting the transgender community. As CoChair of Alice, I worked to demand our newly elected Sheriff develop and implement a process for identifying those transgender inmates who will feel safest housed based on their gender identity and, when appropriate, housing them accordingly. We also have kept pressure on the Fire Chief to address homophobia and racism in the department. I will continue finding new ways to protect the rights of the LGBT community.
And my accomplishments as 1st Vice Chair of the DCCC and Finance Chair. The party has never been in better financial health, I have attended over 90% of the meetings, I register voters frequently and I have worked hard to make our party stronger these past 4 years.
2. If elected to this office, what will be your top three priorities and your approach for successful implementation? (Max 300 words)
My top three policy priorities are affordable housing, transportation and social justice. A lack of affordable housing is a major obstacle to keeping families in San Francisco. As a member of the SF DCCC, I sponsored or supported initiatives over the past four years in favor of the development and availability of affordable housing. Moreover, I support Senator Mark Leno’s SB364 legislation to close a loophole in the Ellis Act that allows speculators to buy rentcontrolled buildings in San Francisco and immediately begin the process of evicting longterm renters. I also supported 2015’s Prop A, which provided funding for a number of housing affordability initiatives. We need to protect tenants and build additional middle and low income housing to keep San Francisco families, artists, teachers, and public safety personnel in our city.
In terms of transportation, we need proper funding for our transit infrastructure so it can support our growing population, and proper oversight to ensure our tax dollars and transit fares are being spent wisely. I support SPUR’s transportation agenda, which includes making our streets safe and inviting for pedestrians, completing our bicycle networks, increasing our capacity and speed on key bus and lightrail lines, and integrating the region’s many transit operators to make a seamless experience for riders.
I am devoted to continually addressing social, political, and economic inequalities in San Francisco. I am the only veteran on the DCCC and want to continue representing our veterans in our party and city’s policies and priorities. I would be honored to receive your club’s endorsement.
3. Do you support or oppose the following local measures on the June 2016 ballot? (Yes/No). If no position, please comment.
● Prop A: Bond: Public Health and Safety Bond Yes ● Prop B: Charter Amendment: Park, Recreation and Open Space Fund Yes ● Prop C: Charter Amendment: Affordable Housing Requirements Yes
● Prop D: Initiative Ordinance: Office of Citizen Complaints Investigations Yes ● Prop E: Initiative Ordinance: Paid Sick Leave Yes ● Prop AA: San Francisco Bay Clean Water, Pollution Prevention and Habitat Restoration Program
Yes
4. Why is our club endorsement important to you? District 6 is the fastest growing district in San Francisco. It represents a wide variety of residents everything from the oldest neighborhoods in the Tenderloin to the newest developments in Mission Bay. Similarly, this club has been one of the fastest growing Democratic Clubs in the city. It is a strong club, and I believe it will do a good job of getting the word out about its slate for DCCC this June. I really would like to be on that slate and would be proud to count the South Beach D6 Democrat Club as an endorser for my campaign.