David Canepa
- Office: Congress, District 15
- Election Date: June 7, 2022
- Candidate: David Canepa
- Due Date: Monday, April 11, 2022
- Printable Version
Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the June 7, 2022 primary election! GrowSF believes in a growing, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous San Francisco via common sense solutions and effective government.
The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco and have the expertise to enact meaningful policy changes.
We ask that you please complete this questionnaire by Monday, April 11, 2022 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.
Table of Contents
Vision
GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous San Francisco. We work to propose and pass laws that align incentives of private businesses and individuals to promote shared prosperity for every San Franciscan.
As a candidate for federal office, your day-to-day responsibilities in office will affect not just San Francisco, but California and the United States as a whole. As a representative of the people of California and of San Francisco, the policies you bring to Washington should reflect the best of what we have to offer.
This section of our questionnaire seeks to help us gain an understanding of your alignment with our vision for San Francisco. Note that some of the questions may be outside the scope of the office you're running for.
Short-form questions
Please mark the box that best aligns with your position. You may explain any position if you so desire, but this section is designed to be a quick overview of your governing philosophy and view of the problems of the city, state, and/or country.
If you are not familiar with San Francisco in particular, feel free to skip the questions about it. But please do answer the questions about state and federal policy.
Small Business
| In San Francisco, in general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open a new businesses | |||
| Run a business | |||
| Hire staff at a living wage | |||
| Obtain various licenses (liquor, entertainment, etc) |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I support raising the federal minimum wage to at least $15 an hour that the Democrats have been trying to pass since 2013/2014. In San Mateo County, I pushed for prevailing wages at all county infrastructure projects. In 2017, I supported a Living Wage Ordinance that sets a minimum wage contractors are required to pay employees providing services under county contracts. The wage is now at $17.79 an hour.
During the pandemic, I committed with the Board more than $218 million in federal, state and county funds for small business relief, individuals facing eviction from being unable to pay rent and utility bills and nonprofits providing direct assistance to residents impacted by COVID.
| Should the state or federal government have more say, the same say, less say, or the same amount but of a different variety on… | More say | Same amount | Less say | Same, but different |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small business creation | ||||
| Rules & permitting fees enacted by cities and states | ||||
| Corporate tax policy | ||||
| Tax incentives for high tech, green tech, or other desirable industries |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
In December 2019, I sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to implement a "data dividend" pilot program in San Mateo County as companies such as Facebook profit off of its users' personal information. "During the holidays, one of the biggest data sharing weeks of the year, companies such as Facebook, YouTube, Google and Amazon make huge profits off of its user's personal information. It's time to share the wealth because our data clearly has value. Newsom had brought up the idea in his first State of the State Address in 2018.
In May 2020, I urged Gov. Newsom went a step further with the Data Dividend idea by proposing the state initiate a Pandemic Tech Tax as companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Tesla and Apple were reaching record profits during the pandemic. I implored Gov. Newsom to take a fresh look at his data dividend proposal and implement a Pandemic Tech Tax to offset state and nation's unprecedented losses.
Housing
| In San Francisco, in general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expand your home (adding new stories, rooms, decks, etc) | |||
| Demolish your home and redevelop it into multifamily housing | |||
| Redevelop things like parking lots and single-story commercial into multifamily housing | |||
| Build subsidized Affordable housing | |||
| Build market-rate housing | |||
| Build homeless shelters (including navigation centers and "tiny homes") |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
| Should the state or federal government have more say, the same say, less say, or the same amount but of a different variety on… | More say | Same amount | Less say | Same, but different |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning | ||||
| Taxes and fees on homebuilders | ||||
| Oversight of cities' housing policies | ||||
| Building subsidized Affordable housing | ||||
| Building market-rate housing | ||||
| Building homeless shelters |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
One of my top priorities is affordable housing. Prior to the pandemic, San Mateo County was already facing a housing crisis. In recent years the county has contributed more than $130 million to dozens of projects around the county enabling the construction or preservation of nearly 2,000 affordable housing units, including Midway Village in Daly City, when completed will be the county's largest affordable housing in history. The project transforms about 120 units of housing into 500 units of housing with a childcare center, open space and community serving park. It will house veterans, foster youth, seniors and families with ownership possibilities for its future tenants.
Public Safety
| In San Francisco, in general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| File a police report | |||
| Recover a stolen item like a bike or laptop computer | |||
| Arrest & prosecute criminals | |||
| File a domestic violence or rape report | |||
| Charge & prosecute domestic violence or rape |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I whole-heartedly support the expansion of women rights, women safety, and protections surrounding rape and domestic violence. In November 2020, I sponsored a resolution declaring domestic violence as a human rights violation to protect the security and safety of individuals in San Mateo County, especially during a pandemic or public health emergency.
| Should the state or federal government have more say, the same say, less say, or the same amount but of a different variety on… | More say | Same amount | Less say | Same, but different |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal justice administration at the state or city level | ||||
| Police funding | ||||
| Rehabilitation of prisoners |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I am a strong supporter of law enforcement. I am also a proponent of closing the county's juvenile hall as it is proven putting children in jail leads to recidivism throughout individuals' lives. I have cosponsored strict gun laws such as requiring firearms in the home must be in a locked box so children can not access the weapons.
In June 2018, The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution that I sponsored that will end the collections of fees accrued by juveniles while they were incarcerated. Approximately 6,000 families will have $12.6 million in debt wiped away. The resolution implements the requirements of Senate Bill 190, which became law Jan. 1, 2018, and takes it a step further by ceasing collections of past due debts. Children were previously being charged $30 a day to pay for their own incarceration and between $220 to $319 each for private defender representation. The San Mateo County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission, which I am the Board liaison to, urged the board to take the action after it researched SB 190 and surveyed California's 58 counties on the law's implementation. It discovered that black youth are 18.8 times more likely to be placed in detention than white youth and that Latino youth are 5.2 times more likely to be detained than white youth.
Education
| In San Francisco, in general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attend a school of your choosing | |||
| Transport children to school | |||
| Hire teachers | |||
| Fire teachers | |||
| Set public education curriculum |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
| Should the state or federal government have more say, the same say, less say, or the same amount but of a different variety on… | More say | Same amount | Less say | Same, but different |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standardized education curricula | ||||
| Public School funding | ||||
| Private Schools | ||||
| Religious Schools | ||||
| Staffing levels | ||||
| Advanced, remedial, or special needs education |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Budget
| Do you think San Francisco spends too little, too much, or just enough on… | Too little | Just enough | Enough, but badly | Too much |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police and public safety | ||||
| Street cleanliness | ||||
| Homeless services | ||||
| Affordable housing | ||||
| Parks | ||||
| Roads | ||||
| Bus, bike, train, and other public transit infrastructure | ||||
| Schools | ||||
| Medical facilities | ||||
| Drug prevention and treatment | ||||
| Arts |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
| Do you think the state or federal governments spend too little, too much, or just enough on… | Too little | Just enough | Enough, but badly | Too much |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police and public safety | ||||
| Street cleanliness | ||||
| Homeless services | ||||
| Affordable housing | ||||
| Parks | ||||
| Roads | ||||
| Bus, bike, train, and other public transit infrastructure | ||||
| Schools | ||||
| Medical facilities | ||||
| Drug prevention and treatment | ||||
| Arts |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
What are the top three issues facing San Francisco, California, or the Nation and what would you like to see change?
My top priorities include improving health care costs and accessibility, providing free community college to every student in the nation, pushing for more affordable and equitable housing opportunities to end homelessness and tackling climate change and particularly sea level rise as San Francisco and San Mateo counties are at great risk of future flooding.
Tell us one thing you think needs to change in San Francisco, California, or the Nation that the average voter wouldn't know about.
Policy
Now that we know where you align and differ from our vision for San Francisco, we'd like to get some details about how you intend to use your elected office to achieve your goals.
Why are you running for Congress?
I am running for congress to restore faith in Congress. I believe if Washington invests in communities, cities, and counties again with spending and policies that voters can see with their own eyes, faith can be restored in Congress.
My focus is to not only listen to the voices of our community members but empower and amplify their voices. I am not an establishment candidate who has spent the past two years in the Assembly or Congress. I am a grassroots candidate who wants to serve one of the most diverse Congressional districts in the United States and to ensure their voices are amplified in the halls of Congress.
During the past two years of the pandemic, the most challenging times any of us have ever encountered, I feel like I helped inspire the county's residents to do everything in our power to save lives, prevent illness and to help our hard-hit businesses to recover. It's enabled me to have the confidence to represent our county's values in Washington DC.
What is your #1 policy goal?
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal? Will the power of the office of Congressmember be enough to achieve this goal? What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
Will the power of the office of Congressmember be enough to achieve these goals? What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? (For example: changing how elections work, creating a Bay Area regional government, etc.)
Personal
Tell us a bit about yourself!
How long have you lived in California? What brought you here and what keeps you here?
I'm the son of a chauffeur and a bank branch manager, being a 4th generation son of San Mateo County and lifelong resident. The great diversity of the community is special and unique and that's why I'm still here.
What do you love most about California and/or your hometown?
What do you dislike the most about California and/or your hometown?
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
In addition to my duties as a Supervisor in San Mateo County, I serve as a commissioner on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a director on the City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG), the Vice Chair of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, and as a Director on the Bay Area Air Quality Management District representing 20 cities. I also serve on boards such as the Health Plan of San Mateo, San Mateo County Medical Center, the Commission on Aging, Community Corrections Partnership, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments.
Thank you
Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!
If you see any errors on this page, please let us know at contact@growsf.org.