A San Francisco supervisors panel is set to vote Monday on the mayoral nomination of a gay Democratic Party official to the oversight body for the city's transportation agency. The high-profile transit advisory board has been without an LGBTQ member since last fall.
At its July 22 meeting the Rules Committee will take up the appointment of Mike Chen, 33, to a seat on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors. Mayor London Breed in late May had nominated Chen to fill a vacancy on the seven-person transit board.
"I hope we can find a lot of common ground in finding a transportation future that is good for San Franciscans," Chen told the Bay Area Reporter Thursday when asked how he was feeling ahead of the hearing next week.
If confirmed by the Board of Supervisors, Chen would succeed Lydia So, whom Breed this spring named to fill a vacancy on the city's planning commission. Her term on the SFMTA board was to end March 1, so Chen would need to be reappointed next year to a full four-year term should he join the transit board.
So had endorsed Breed's selection of Chen to succeed her on the board, noting she was "delighted" in seeing him continue "representation from the Chinese and AANHPI community," using the acronym for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community.
In announcing Chen's nomination, Breed's office noted the Lower Pacific Heights resident is a frequent rider of Muni bus lines 1, 38, and 49. It also pointed to his using his own e-bike and bikeshare to travel around the city, as well as enjoying the Clay Slow Street where vehicle access is limited to allow pedestrians and cyclists use of the roadway.
"Mike brings a deep understanding of San Francisco's transit challenges and opportunities," stated Breed. "With his commitment to safe, efficient, and sustainable transit, I have confidence that he will work with the SFMTA to continue to build a transit system that works for all San Franciscans."
The powerful oversight body's most recent LGBTQ community member had been gay business owner Manny Yekutiel. He resigned last year then briefly contemplated running for mayor against Breed this November before deciding against doing so.
Chen formerly worked as a data engineer for Facebook for eight years. Since 2022, he has worked for Coda Project Inc. in a similar capacity.
He joined the SFMTA Citizens' Advisory Council in January 2020 and served as its chair from July 2021 through July 2023. He highlighted his role as a transit advocate during his successful campaign for a seat on the Democratic County Central Committee on the March 5 primary ballot.
He then was elevated to the role of director of internal operations for the governing body of the San Francisco Democratic Party. The DCCC members are set to vote on supporting Chen's SFMTA board nomination at their July 24 meeting.
"Mike Chen would provide much needed representation on the SFMTA Board of Directors as the sole member of the Chinese-American community, and the sole member of the LGBTQ+ community," notes the resolution authored by gay DCCC member Joe Sangirardi, who is running in November for a seat on the board overseeing regional transit service BART.
Co-sponsoring the resolution are party chair Nancy Tung and DCCC member Parag Gupta.
"Mike Chen is also an avid cyclist and transit rider in a city with one of the lowest car-ownership rates of any American city in which less than 1/3rd of residents commute via their own private vehicle, and as the sole technology worker on the board of a transit agency that is in serious need of maintenance and technological upgrades," it notes.
His nomination will first be taken up by the supervisors' rules committee when it meets Monday at 10 a.m. at City Hall in Room 250, the legislative chambers. It is the last item on its agenda.
The committee is down to two members — Supervisors Ahsha Safaí and Shamann Walton — following the resignation this week of its former chair, Supervisor Hillary Ronen. She stepped down Tuesday due to a fight with Board President Aaron Peskin over his pushing forward several local ballot measures regarding compensation for police officers and firefighters that she had raised fiscal concerns about in committee hearings she held.
As of July 18, Peskin had yet to name a third member to rules based on the agenda released that day. (He and Safaí are both running against Breed in this year's mayoral race.)
Safaí and Walton can choose to support seating Chen on the SFMTA board, vote to reject his nomination, or move it forward to the full Board of Supervisors without a recommendation.
"I look forward to speaking about my qualifications and sharing my experience with Supervisors Safaí and Walton," said Chen.
According to the agenda, Safaí will be leading the hearing, with Walton as vice chair, the position he has held since being named to the panel. Safaí told the B.A.R. Thursday evening that he hadn't been informed, as of then, that a third member would be named by Monday. As for Chen's nomination, he said he usually refrains from making an announcement on how we will vote ahead of time.
"I am looking at all the stuff right now and reviewing the agenda," said Safaí.
The 11 supervisors are set to vote on Chen's nomination at their July 30 meeting ahead of their summer recess. He needs at least six votes to be confirmed, and Chen told the B.A.R. he has been reaching out to seek the support of the supervisors.
"I am hopeful that the supervisors will be able to see that I am a well-qualified candidate with my experience on the SFMTA citizens advisory council," said Chen, "and that I am deeply committed to improving transportation for all San Franciscans."
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