[Editor's note: The Bay Area Reporter offered the four candidates for District 8 supervisor 200-250 words to address voters. The candidates were given the option of submitting something themselves or having it written by supporters. Their responses are below.]
It's all about the budget
Throughout this race, I have been the only candidate with a clear, consistent message: City government must make the budget its highest priority, particularly in times of financial crisis. It is not sexy. It is not glamorous. It is not emotionally charged. But everything that we depend on from our city government �" potholes to police, health care to programs for the homeless �" relies on our financial solvency.
San Francisco should not find itself in this position. For all that this city has to offer �" its talented and diverse population and its abundance of natural resources �" we should be bustling with innovation and entrepreneurship and overflowing with opportunities for our residents and those who want to make this their home. This would mean abundant tax revenue to pay for the services that we as San Franciscans consider necessary.
But our elected officials have mismanaged and misgoverned our city. Burdens placed on businesses large and small make operating in San Francisco more trouble than it is worth. It will be my goal as supervisor to change that. No city can survive without a thriving commercial sector. Commerce means jobs for residents, money in their pockets to support local businesses, and less reliance on strained city services.
Unlike my competition, I am a political outsider. But I am not a stranger to life here as a resident and a property and business owner. My independence and my real world, private sector experience is unmatched among my competitors. I ask for your vote and your support. Visit http://billfordistrict8.com/. - Bill Hemenger
A common sense independent
We are supporting Rebecca Prozan, the common sense independent, first and foremost because she has the most extensive experience and the best record of producing results for San Franciscans. We have both known Rebecca for over 15 years and have seen her work first hand, initially as the LGBT and District 8 liaison to Mayor Willie Brown, then as Park and Rec commissioner followed by a stint as legislative aide to Supervisor Bevan Dufty and now as an assistant district attorney.
With her hands-on experience solving problems for district residents under Mayor Brown and Supervisor Dufty, Prozan is ready to fill his shoes as the next "Supervisor Pothole," the accolade bestowed upon Dufty for his unparalleled attention to constituent problem-solving. In addition, working every day as a prosecutor, she is doing one of the toughest and most important jobs in the city. Taking on cases that range from simple misdemeanors to attempted murder, Prozan is working alongside SFPD to make San Francisco's streets the safest of any big city in the country.
A longtime community leader, Prozan has been on the boards of the Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic clubs, the Northern California chair of the LGBT caucus of the California Democratic Party along with being a founder of the LGBT Community Center and co-chair of Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. From the grassroots to Obama's LGBT Leadership Committee in 2008 to the DNC's Change Commission, Prozan's visionary leadership complements her knowledge and experience in city government.
Taking pragmatic, evidence based, non-ideological positions on housing, health care and Muni, and supported by Dufty, Kamala Harris, and numerous District 8 residents, Prozan is the best choice to fill Harvey Milk's seat as the next District 8 supervisor. Visit http://www.rebeccaprozan.com/. - Jeff Sheehy and Steve Adams
A connection to progressive politics
Nearly four decades ago, in Harvey Milk's camera shop on Castro Street, LGBT politics as we know it was born. Milk was of course a relentless champion of LGBT rights, but he also understood the connection between our rights and the broader movement for social and economic justice.
Since Milk's time, LGBT politics in San Francisco has been intimately intertwined with progressive efforts to protect our neighborhoods from excessive development and commercialization, expand access to health care, guarantee decent wages and benefits for workers, protect our environment, and secure decent housing for San Franciscans of all incomes.
This year District 8 voters will select a new supervisor to represent the neighborhoods most closely associated with Milk's legacy. Rafael Mandelman has the right experience, temperament and values for the job.
As a lawyer for cities and affordable housing developers around the Bay Area, Mandelman has helped build thousands of units of affordable housing and revitalize declining commercial areas. As a commissioner on the Board of Appeals, he stood up for neighbors, historic preservation and tenants. And as president of the Noe Valley and Harvey Milk Democratic clubs and elected member of the Democratic County Central Committee, he has provided leadership on issues that matter to San Franciscans: public financing and ethics reforms, health care, and public transportation, to name a few.
Please join the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters, Bicycle Coalition, California Nurses Association, SF Labor Council, Tenants Union, Bay Guardian, Green Party and Democratic Party in supporting Mandelman for supervisor. Visit www.rafael2010.com/. �" Tom Ammiano and Cleve Jones
Understands how government works
I'm running for supervisor to focus on the basics of running our city government: making Muni more reliable, prioritizing funding for our roads and other infrastructure, ensuring access to health care, making our police department as effective as possible, and bringing more jobs into San Francisco. I will not focus on international affairs or banning toys from Happy Meals.
For the past 13 years, I have worked to make our community a better place. I was part of the core group of people who built the LGBT Community Center and served as the center's board co-chair. As chairman of the San Francisco Democratic Party, I oversaw the registration of 15,000 voters. I co-founded Castro Community on Patrol to make our neighborhoods safer. I served as co-chair of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and on the national board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign, to advance our civil rights. I am a deputy city attorney and understand how our government works.
My work and vision have earned me the support of many community leaders and organizations, including state Senator Mark Leno, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Carmen Chu, the Reverend Cecil Williams and Janice Mirikitani of Glide Church, Ambassador Jim Hormel, Rescue Muni, the police, firefighters, janitors, and health care workers, the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, the Bay Area Reporter, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
I would be honored to earn your support. For more information, please go to www.scott2010.com. �" Scott Wiener