Rafael Mandelman
- Office: Supervisor, District 8
- Election Date: November 8, 2022
- Candidate: Rafael Mandelman
- Due Date: Tuesday, July 19th
- Printable Version
Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the November 2022 General Election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city 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 Tuesday, July 19 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.
Table of Contents
- A Place For All legislation
- JFK Promenade
- Great Highway
- Affordable Homes Now ballot initiative
- Board of Education recall
- District Attorney Chesa Boudin recall
Topical questions
These issues have been in the news recently. Please tell us your opinion and how you might address them as Supervisor:
A Place For All legislation
Supervisor Mandelman's "A Place For All" legislation requires that the city make a plan to end unsheltered homelessness.
- If you are a sitting Supervisor, did you vote for it? Why or why not?
I authored this ordinance! Thank you for all your help getting it passed!!
- If you are not in office, do you support it?
JFK Promenade
Do you support making JFK Drive accessible only to people walking, biking, using personal mobility devices like wheelchairs, and other non-automotive uses?
I support keeping JFK Promenade a car-free space that prioritizes walkers, bikers, and non automotive use. I co-sponsored the Board legislation to make JFK permanently car-free, and I am the lead sponsor of the November ballot measure to preserve car-free JFK.
Great Highway
The Great Highway is currently open to cars on weekdays and open to people walking, biking, using personal mobility devices like wheelchairs, and other non-automotive uses on weekends. Do you support this compromise position?
Ultimately I believe the Great Highway should be a car-free space; for now, I support the compromise.
Affordable Homes Now ballot initiative
GrowSF is running a charter amendment ballot initiative alongside the Housing Action Coalition, YIMBY Action, SPUR, Habitat for Humanity, Greenbelt Alliance, and the NorCal Carpenters Union. This ballot measure will make it faster and cheaper to build housing. Do you support it?
I have not taken a position on Affordable Homes Now.
Board of Education recall
In February San Franciscans recalled three members of the Board of Education. Did you support these recalls? Why or why not?
I supported the recalls of Allison Collins and Gabriela López. Although I do have concerns about the overuse of recalls, I felt that Collins had clearly met a high standard of demonstrated unfitness for the office she held, and in my view López had similarly demonstrated her unfitness by standing by and enabling Collins. For me, Moliga was a closer question and I did not take a position on his recall; I did not think he had performed strongly on the Board, but it was not clear to me that his failures merited recall.
District Attorney Chesa Boudin recall
In June San Franciscans recalled District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Did you support this recall? Why or why not?
I did not take a public position on the recall of Chesa Boudin. Whenever asked, I explained that I had opposed his election in the first place, because it did not seem to me that he was interested in addressing San Franciscans' leading public safety concerns, including extraordinarily high levels of property crime, the criminal aspects of street conditions, and open-air drug dealing. Whether to remove him mid-term seemed to me a question properly for the voters. If he had survived the recall, I would have had to continue working with him and his office on issues of importance to my constituents.
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.
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 city's problems.
Small Business
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open a new business | X | ||
| Run a business in the city | X | ||
| Hire staff at a living wage | X | ||
| Obtain various licenses & permits (liquor, entertainment, etc.) | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Housing
| 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.) | X | ||
| Demolish your home and redevelop it into multifamily housing | X | ||
| Redevelop things like parking lots and single-story commercial buildings into multifamily housing | X | ||
| Build subsidized Affordable housing | X | ||
| Build market-rate housing | X | ||
| Build homeless shelters (including navigation centers and "tiny homes") | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
These are gross generalizations of course. For example, while I think it is generally too hard to make modest additions to one's home, I am on record as opposing "monster homes." Or to take another example, while we need to find ways to make it easier to replace existing single family housing with multifamily housing, I also believe we need to ensure adequate protections for existing tenants, historic buildings and neighborhood character.
Public Safety
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| File a police report | X | ||
| Recover a stolen item like a bike or laptop computer | X | ||
| Arrest & prosecute criminals | X | ||
| File a domestic violence or rape report | X | ||
| Charge & prosecute domestic violence or rape | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I actually don't know what is involved in filing a domestic violence or rape report. I generally believe it is too hard to report crimes.
Education
| In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to… | Too hard | Just right | Too easy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attend a school of your choosing | X | ||
| Transport children to school | X | ||
| Hire teachers | X | ||
| Fire teachers | |||
| Evaluate performance of schools | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I believe it is too hard to fire underperforming public employees generally; I would not single out teachers.
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 | X | |||
| Street cleanliness | X | |||
| Homeless services | X | |||
| Affordable housing | X | |||
| Parks | X | |||
| Roads | X | |||
| Bus, bike, train, and other public transit infrastructure | X | |||
| Schools | X | |||
| Medical facilities | X | |||
| Drug prevention and treatment | X | |||
| Arts | X |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I think you need a box for "Spends too little, and badly," which I think would apply to many of these line-items.
What are the top three issues facing San Francisco, and what would you like to see change?
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Homelessness: No issue has occupied more of my time and attention over the last four years than our City's homelessness crisis, and especially the mental health and addiction challenges experienced by many of our unhoused residents. I have strongly supported and will continue to fight for additional resources to end homelessness for as many people as we can. I will also continue to push for immediate exits from the street for any unhoused, unsheltered people willing and able to accept them and for a more assertive response (through case management where possible, conservatorship where necessary) and appropriate placements for people who need higher levels of care.
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Housing Affordability: San Francisco has increasingly become a city unaffordable to most people. I have worked to secure additional funding for affordable housing development and to locate new affordable developments in my district. I also believe we must create additional opportunities for development of market rate housing across San Francisco, have authored fourplex legislation to allow multi-unit development in areas that have not historically seen much of it and support and will continue to argue for other zoning and permitting changes to allow more market rate development that respects the character of existing neighborhoods and avoids displacement of existing residents.
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Climate Change: I do not believe there is any issue more important for the wellbeing of today's young people and future generations. I am proud to have authored San Francisco's ban on natural gas in new construction and other significant environmental legislation, but we have a lot more work to do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing buildings, to make it easier to own and charge electric vehicles in San Francisco, and to improve the frequency and reliability of public transportation.
Tell us one thing you think needs to change in SF that the average voter wouldn't know about.
We need to revisit the funding allocations outlined in Prop C (2018). In 2018, voters supported a ballot initiative that generates $300 million dollars in annual revenue to fund initiatives to alleviate the homelessness crisis. I campaigned on behalf of Prop C and am glad that it passed; however, the rigidity of the measure's funding allocation is a problem, it locks in disproportionate spending on permanent supportive housing, and prevents the City from investing in the kinds of immediate exits from the streets (e.g., shelter beds, tiny homes, etc.) that would help more immediately improve street conditions.
Long-form questions
This section is optional.
We know your time is short, so please feel free to respond to the questions below which you think are most relevant to the position you're running for (but you are, of course, welcome to answer all of them). It is not necessary to answer these questions to secure our endorsement, but more context always helps us make better decisions.
Public health
Do you support the creation of safe consumption sites in San Francisco?
Yes.
Do you support our current laissez-faire approach to open-air drug usage? What would you change?
No. I believe we need to make a greater effort to enforce laws against open-air drug usage and pair that enforcement with greater investment in treatment resources.
Education
How should the Board of Education be reformed to bring more accountability and better performance to the Board?
The members of the Board of Education should be appointed. Voters are ill-equipped to evaluate the fitness of individual candidates to govern a school district. Moreover, most talented potential Board members simply will not run because the prospect of campaigning (i.e., fundraising, campaigning, "being a politician") is so unpleasant.
Should the ban on middle school algebra be reversed?
Should charter schools be allowed to operate in San Francisco?
There are some charter schools (e.g., Kipp) that do excellent work and others that fill particular needs (e.g., Five Keys). That said, I think any proposed charter school expansion should be considered rigorously and skeptically given that charter schools divert funding from traditional public schools that are already underfunded.
Urbanism
Do you support raising the price of parking and driving in San Francisco?
Generally yes, though we need to be sensitive to and mitigate the impacts on low income households and small businesses.
Do you support banning cars from central downtown areas and certain retail or residential corridors?
Depends on the proposal; see above.
Do you support congestion pricing?
Generally yes, see above.
Should San Francisco expand its protected bike lane network?
Absolutely. I serve as the Chair of the County Transportation Authority. We have allocated hundreds of millions of dollars in local sales tax, vehicle registration fees, and TNC taxes to pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements, transit infrastructure investments, and paratransit operations in every part of the city. These safety improvements have included: re-timing stop lights to allow pedestrian priority at crossings, creating bulb-outs, traffic calming improvements, and creating protected bicycle lanes.
Should San Francisco prioritize buses over car traffic by creating more bus-only lanes and directing traffic enforcement to ticket drivers who ignore the restrictions?
Yes.
Should Uber, Lyft, and other ride-share services be banned?
No, but it would be nice if the State PUC would actually regulate them or get out of the way so localities can do it.
Should San Francisco allow more bike share and scooter share companies?
Should San Francisco allow bike and scooter share companies to operate with fewer restrictions on the number of vehicles they offer for rent, and in more places (including inside Golden Gate Park)?
Do you support keeping JFK Drive and the Great Highway car-free permanently?
I was an early and consistent supporter of Car Free JFK and I have supported slow streets in my District. I also support a Car Free Great Highway, although I think the issues there are more complicated than Car Free JFK and will require more time to resolve.
Should Muni be free for everyone? If so, what other programs would you take money from in order to fund this change?
I support free Muni in concept. However, the reality is that if we were to eliminate fares without a replacement revenue source, Muni would be forced to reduce service and the reliability of our existing routes. I strongly believe we need to improve our public transit system here in San Francisco, and that public transit should be more affordable and accessible particularly for low income individuals; however, we'd first need to find an alternate revenue mechanism before going fare-free. I campaigned and fundraised for the Muni Bond in June of 2022 and I am currently fundraising and campaigning for renewal of the Transportation Authority's existing half-cent sales tax which funds $100 million dollars per year in capital improvement projects and paratransit service for, and will support other ballot initiatives and efforts to find alternative funding sources to improve our transit systems and reduce fares.
Taxes
Would you repeal Prop 13, if you had the authority to do so? Or, if not repeal it, how would you change it?
I would limit it to primary residences.
Are taxes and fees on small businesses too low, just right, or too high?
Too high.
Should San Francisco pursue any and all avenues to impose parcel taxes that could bypass Prop 13, which keeps property taxes on multi-million dollar property artificially low?
Are sales taxes too low, just right, or too high?
Depends on the use. I, for example, would be interested in getting another half-cent sales tax for public transportation, although the prospects for passage seem poor.
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
What would you change about the process of new business formation? Should San Francisco welcome all businesses, regardless of size?
Do you think the government should decide which businesses can and cannot open in San Francisco?
Should all businesses be permitted by-right? If not, which business categories do you think should not be by-right?
Housing & Homelessness
Do you believe that San Francisco has a shortage of homes?
The state of California is ranked 49th out of 50 states for residential units per capita, and the lack of housing supply is particularly pronounced here in San Francisco. As a State and a region, we desperately need more residential units at all income levels, and San Francisco needs to do its fair share.
Do you believe that housing prices are set by supply and demand constraints?
Yes. Markets have weird quirks, and people sometimes behave irrationally (or in ways that, while rational, may not seem obvious), but in general I believe supply and demand is a real thing.
Should San Francisco upzone? If so, where and how?
Yes, probably pretty much everywhere, with attention (and protections) for historic buildings, neighborhood character, existing tenants, and infrastructure needs.
Should homeless shelters be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
Yes.
Should subsidized Affordable housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
Yes.
Should market-rate housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
Much of it, yes. Generally, I support less reliance on discretionary, case-by-case evaluation of projects, and more ministerial approval of projects that meet clear, objective standards articulated in our zoning code.
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 Supervisor?
Being a District Supervisor these last four years has been the best job I have ever had and the honor of my life. I am frustrated on a daily basis by the ways in which San Francisco is stuck, but I am heartened every day by all the people I see (and sometimes get to help) working to make San Francisco a better place. I am proud of the work we have accomplished over the last four years and hope that I can help make more positive change for District 8 and San Francisco in a second full term.
What is your #1 policy goal?
Ending street encampments in San Francisco.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
I think the work we have done to pass Place for All, and the coalition we built to accomplish that, is a great first step. Now we have to push on toward implementation of shelter for all and consistent enforcement of laws regarding use of public space in neighborhoods across San Francisco.
Will the power of the office of Supervisor be enough to achieve this goal?
No. I need a lot of help.
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
Getting appropriate treatment to unhoused people with significant mental illness and substance use disorder, and improving the coordination between public health and public safety response to people engaged in illegal activity on the streets.
Will the power of the office of Supervisor be enough to achieve these goals?
No. Again, I will need a lot of help, and we will need more effective engagement from the State.
What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
What is an "out there" change that you would make to local or regional government policy, if you could? (For example: adding at-large supervisors, changing how elections work, creating a Bay Area regional government, etc.)
I think San Francisco has too many Supervisors. Most cities and counties make do with five or seven; I think we would be better served by a smaller Board. I would also like to see more parts of City government under the City Administrator.
Personal
Tell us a bit about yourself!
How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?
I moved to San Francisco in 1985 when I was eleven years old. My mother, with whom I had been living, was succumbing to mental illness, with which she would struggle for the remainder of her life. I had a grandmother living in San Francisco, with whom I lived for a couple of years, and when she was unable to have me living with her, I was fortunate to be taken in by families at the schools I was attending in a series of informal foster care situations. I spent the last three years of high school living with one of my teachers and her husband. I came back to San Francisco after college to be around for my grandmother through the end of her life, and I have stayed because San Francisco feels like home.
What do you love most about San Francisco?
The Bay is gorgeous, the people are smart and (mostly) progressive/liberal. It's a city of innovation and beauty and enormous potential if we can figure out our problems.
What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?
Our tribalism and inability to work together to solve big problems despite being a deep Blue Democratic stronghold.
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
I gave up most of my extracurricular community involvement when I was elected to the Board of Supervisors. Prior to that, I had been a Trustee on the City College Board of Trustees, a Chair of the LGBT Community Center Board, and an active member and past president of several Democratic Clubs. I am still a member of San Francisco's Democratic County Central Committee.
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.