Of the seven candidates vying for five seats on the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District advisory board October 15, only four secured enough votes to win.
Candidates Alfredo Bracamontes-Ochoa, Diego Gomez, Andrew Gutierrez III, and Braeden Mansouri each won seats. Candidates JConr B. Ortega, Adam-Michael Royston, and William Walker, who is also running for a seat on the City College of San Francisco board in the November election, came up short.
Successful candidates had to garner 30% of the total votes cast but, as only four did so, a fifth open board seat remains unoccupied. How to fill that seat is "currently under review by the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District Governance Committee in conjunction with its election oversight partners and will be determined at the soonest possible opportunity," stated Tina Aguirre, cultural district manager, in an email to the Bay Area Reporter.
Voters cast 128 ballots, said Elizabeth Lanyon, governance committee chair and, outside the cultural district, the associate director of philanthropy for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. Her term ends this week when the newly elected members take their seats. Lanyon added that the district had help in organizing the vote.
"We worked with the Harvey Milk and Alice B. Toklas Democratic clubs for election oversight and tabulation, and we are grateful for the partnership and experience of these two community organizations," Lanyon said, referring to the two LGBTQ political clubs.
The winners will begin work immediately, as they take their new seats Thursday, October 20. The incoming board members said that the district faces a number of challenges and that they recognized the significance of their service to the Castro community.
"As a resident of the Castro, I will continue to support local businesses and identify opportunities for engagement to help foster a greater sense of community," Bracamontes-Ochoa wrote in a statement to the B.A.R., "both within the immediate neighborhoods that make up this district and in our broader Castro community residing in other parts of the world."
Mansouri, an attorney working in land use and environmental law, noted that many of the issues facing the Castro fall squarely in his area of expertise.
"Many of the current challenges the Castro faces — for example, renovations at the Castro Theatre, an abundance of vacant storefronts, and the availability of affordable housing — all involve questions of land use," he stated in an email to the B.A.R. "I think my experience has taught me to analyze many of these questions using the tools available to us under federal, state, and local laws. But it has also prepared me to develop creative solutions to novel planning problems. I hope to share these skills with the Board in addressing the District's major concerns, within the scope of CQCD's duties."
The B.A.R. reached out to the other two incoming board members, Gomez and Gutierrez, but did not hear back by press time.
Along with that empty seat are three additional seats that district leaders hope to fill with members representing a broader swath of the community. Prior to the election, the district noted on its website that women "have been seriously underrepresented" among the candidates in all three previous advisory board elections — one in 2019 and two in 2020.
"I hoped our advisory board would consider prioritizing women, trans, and nonbinary individuals for any remaining open seats," said Lanyon.
Those seats will be filled by the board on an individual basis to balance the group's diversity and skill sets, according to information from the district.
"Women, trans, nonbinary, and other queer+ identities will be prioritized as will communities of color, elders, youth and other underrepresented voices in our community," said board co-executive chair Stephen Torres. "Additionally, as we have in the past, we will put out a public call for nominations for appointment to do our best to ensure the most extensive outreach possible."
Bracamontes-Ochoa and Mansouri both agreed widening representation on the board is important.
"Focusing on inclusive and equitable representation within our board, it's important that future opportunities for involvement are widely publicized," wrote Bracamontes-Ochoa. "As a new member, I look forward to learning more about what this process entails, and how I can support efforts to ensure the board is representative of all members of our community."
Added Mansouri, "It was disheartening to learn that no women ran for a seat in this recent board election. I understand that CQCD plans to fill the fifth open seat after conducting review by a couple of its committees and also that the board also retains the discretion to make appointments to ensure board diversity. I fully support the board using its authority to appoint women and other underrepresented groups to the advisory board."
One important aspect of having a diverse board is the wide range of contacts members have, and how that can improve the efficacy of the organization, said Torres.
"Although a board of 15 can sometimes have its challenges, one of its positives is a wealth of community connections that can reach important voices that may not have been inclined or even aware of our community election process," Torres said. "Women, trans, nonbinary, and other queer+ identities will be prioritized as will communities of color, elders, youth, and other underrepresented voices in our community. Additionally, as we have in the past, we will put out a public call for nominations for appointment to do our best to ensure the most extensive outreach possible."
Filling those vacancies is a priority, he said, but other concerns are demanding attention, as well. Getting the new board members situated, and finalizing the Cultural History, Housing, and Economic Sustainability Strategies Report, will probably push the search until after the new year, said Torres. The CHHESS report gets presented to the Board of Supervisors, as the B.A.R. previously reported.
"In a way," he added, "that does provide us with more time to perform adequate outreach and ensure as balanced a board as possible."
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