Harold Brown
- Office: Board of Supervisors, District 9
- Election Date: November 5, 2024
- Candidate: Harold Brown
- Due Date: February 28, 2024
- Printable Version
Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the November 5, 2024 election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city via common sense solutions and effective government. Our work includes running public opinion polls to understand what voters want, advocating for those changes, and ensuring that the SF government represents the people.
The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco.
Please complete this questionnaire by February 28, 2024 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.
Your Goals
We'd like to get some details about your high-level goals and how you intend to use your elected office to achieve them.
Why are you running for Board of Supervisors, District 9?
To Advance several goals beginning in Public Safety where my Plan goes from 1st Grade to Elect our Police Chief.
What is your #1 policy goal?
Legalizing the Sex Industry cause for every Hooker there is a plane full of Foreign Tourists.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
Well, like many of my goals this idea was not mine.
Got it from my 6 years in the U.S. Navy
Turns out I wasn’t the first either.
You’d be surprised how far some people will travel for some things.
Know what I mean ?
To advance the idea I’d like to do strolls and interviews with Sex Workers.
I might even smoke some weed with them.
To advance the cause of Tourism of course.
We could fill those 55 empty storefronts on Mission Street with Brothels and Bingo Parlors.
Will the power of the office of Board of Supervisors, District 9 be enough to achieve this goal?
Well,
It’s not a question of political power which is always ranging from execution to deity.
It’s a matter of what Bob Seger called, “The Fire Down Below” so accurately.
The Trades been around for all of recorded history.
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
2. A Million dollar Trash Lottery one ticket for one hour picking up trash.
3. Open Source Algorithms for our Dominion Voting Machines.
Will the power of the office of Board of Supervisors, District 9 be enough to achieve these goals?
Of course on the Trash Lottery which is great idea I’m trying to sell to Lurie.
On the Dominion Vote counting with Proprietary Algorithms ?
“It’s Chinatown, Jake.”
What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
I’d work to Return to ‘My 3 Minutes’ guaranteed for every Public Speaker and Allow Remote Comments by phone.
What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? (For example: adding at-large supervisors, changing how elections work, creating a Bay Area regional government, etc.)
Easy,
I think we should return to Taxing the Rich for 90% of their income to Fund UBI.
Tell us one thing you think needs to change in SF that the average voter wouldn't know about.
There is a missing piece of sidewalk from SFHA Parking Lot up hill to Muni.
My 311 # on that one is around here somewhere with gray whiskers.
The Issues
Next, we will cover the issues that voters tell us they care about. We hope to gain a better understanding of your policy positions, and we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.
Public Safety
What is the #1 public safety issue today?
A poorly led SFPD which badly needs an Elected Chief.
San Francisco currently has about 1,500 sworn police officers. Some have argued that the City should try to match the per-capita staffing levels that other large cities have. If we matched cities like New York or Paris, we would need to have about 3,400 sworn officers. What do you think of this idea? If you support it, how would the City fund recruitment at SFPD to achieve this staffing level? If you don’t support it, what would you propose to do instead?
Campers
The Budget schedules for 1.971 Sworn Officers inside City Limits.
There are another 181 Sworn SFPD slots in the SFO Enterprise Budget.
This is a Police Force that stopped arresting people on order of their Union for Political Reasons and bragged about bringing him down.
What solutions might exist to improve public safety that don’t involve expanding the size of SFPD?
You’re not from around these parts are you ?
At one time we had a Patrol Special Force that predated SFPD and was all about Foot Patrols and there were hundreds.
Compliant politicians whittled those down and we should hire 300 more on SFPD’s dime.
What three things would you change about how SFPD operates?
1. Elect our Police Chief
2. Create 9 Officer 24/7/365 Kobans at BART Stops, Civic Center and Tourists hubs.
3. Bring back the Department’s ‘Wilderness Program’ big time.
Do you support policies commonly referred to as “defund the police”? Why or why not?
That’s a red meat talking point to feed stupid people.
Please explain why you did or did not support the recall of DA Chesa Boudin. If you were ineligible to vote in that election, please explain how you would have voted.
I worked hard for Chesa. He lost to a very well planned campaign. I supported him because I have over 50 years of experience in the American Justice System and it needs reformed which is I became an activist Reformer and he’s the best Reformer I’ve personally seen.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Try to achieve “full staffing” for SFPD? (Defined as about 2,100 officers, according to the City) | ||
| Change the cite-and-release policy so officers can arrest suspects of misdemeanors like shoplifting and car break-ins? | ||
| Arrest and prosecute street-level fentanyl dealers? | ||
| Prioritize diversion instead of incarceration for street-level fentanyl dealers? | ||
| Investigate, arrest, and prosecute fentanyl distribution ringleaders (like organized crime and cartel members)? | ||
| Arrest and prosecute street-level vendors of suspected stolen goods? | ||
| Investigate, arrest, and prosecute the leaders of theft rings and fencing operations? | ||
| Arrest and prosecute street food vendors operating without a permit? | ||
| Fine street food vendors operating without a permit? |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Drugs
In general, how should the City handle people who are abusing drugs on City sidewalks?
Give them a prescription as they do in Europe (Oregon now too) and that eliminates profit and dealers
Do you support the creation of safe consumption sites in San Francisco? If so, please detail how they should be run. If not, please explain a viable alternative.
Yes,
The one the Mayor just closed down was working fine but now we have ping pong.
Some have argued that safe consumption sites (or sobering centers) are only viable if they are paired with implementing zero-tolerance for public consumption of illegal drugs like fentanyl and heroin. Do you agree or disagree with this view?
No, as I noted, take cops and dealers out of the equation by Decriminalizing drugs as in Portugal and Spain and Oregon.
Should fentanyl dealing be penalized differently from dealing other drugs?
No, they’re all mules with a habit two steps below anyone with a brain.
Mental Health
Should San Francisco amend our current laws around mental health crisis intervention to better help people suffering on the streets? If yes, why and how? If not, why not?
Yes,
I’d have Walter Wong oversee creating 4 Campsites to house the Homeless.
One would take up half of Lincoln Golf Course which directly adjoins the VA Medical Complex so you move Patient next door to treatment instead of in front of your business.
What is the role of government in providing care for those who cannot care for themselves?
You can stop a lot of the problem and most of the Crime Problem with one move …
Offer anyone arrested of anything anywhere $10,000 to be sterilized.
I’d try to get the Mayor to put ten million in Budget as a start.
Some have argued that San Francisco should place people who are experiencing mental health crises on the streets into involuntary mental health holds at psychiatric facilities. Do you agree or disagree with this view? Please explain why or why not.
Of course,
You need proper accommodations for every level of care.
Reagan closed our national network with promises of Group Homes that were never built.
That’s why a goodly percentage of jails fill that function.
If you agree with this view, please outline some guardrails and oversight the City must provide to prevent abuse.
If you disagree with this view, please outline your preferred alternative solution as well as any drawbacks it might have and oversight it might need.
I’ve done so above …
Education
Should the Board of Education be reformed to bring more accountability and better performance to the Board, and boost public school performance? If so, how; if not, why not?
Some parents prefer their children attend religious schools, others prefer magnet schools for specific skills (like the Ruth Asawa School for the Arts or Lowell), and others prefer charter schools with nontraditional curricula. Do you think all of these educational options should be available to students in San Francisco?
Did you support the recall of Board of Education members Collins, López, and Moliga? Please explain why you did or did not support the recall of each member.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Offer Algebra in 8th grade to students who want it? | ||
| Offer Algebra in 7th grade to students who want it? | ||
| Offer AP courses to high school students who want them? | ||
| Require schools to improve student performance, and fire teachers who consistently underperform? |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Small Business
What would you change about the process of new retail business formation in San Francisco?
Should all businesses be permitted by-right? If not, which business categories do you think should require special government approval?
Some in the Small Business community have argued that San Francisco should increase the number of available ABC permits (also known as a liquor license) to lower the cost of running a business and increase customer revenues from alcohol sales. Others have argued against increasing the number of permits because they don’t want more competition, or have already paid a lot of money for their liquor license. What do you think the City should do?
Similarly, some in the legal cannabis retailer community have lobbied to reduce the number of available permits. Economists have argued that this reduces competition, raises prices for consumers, and raises profits for retailers. What do you think the City should do?
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce the time to obtain all permits to open a new business to no more than 3 months | ||
| Reduce the cost of obtaining permits to open a new business | ||
| Reduce the number of activities which must obtain permits, and expand the number of by-right activities | ||
| Try to attract businesses of all sizes to the City? |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Housing
Do you believe that San Francisco has a shortage of homes? Why or why not?
Do you believe that housing prices are set by supply and demand constraints? Why or why not?
San Francisco will almost certainly fail its Housing Element certification, which will cause the State to take over local land use regulation. What should we do now?
Should homeless shelters be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
Should subsidized Affordable housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
Should market rate housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
Should San Francisco retain, loosen, or even abolish the existing limits on height, density, and bulk for residential buildings? (ie taller, denser, and fewer/reduced setbacks)
San Francisco Planning requires that new street-facing windows comply with City-imposed design requirements that both raise the price of windows while lowering their thermal and noise insulation. Should the City abolish these requirements?
| 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) | |||
| Renovate your home (update bathroom, kitchen, etc) | |||
| Demolish your home and redevelop it into multifamily housing | |||
| Redevelop things like parking lots and single-story commercial into multifamily housing | |||
| Build subsidized 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:
Transit Infrastructure
Should Muni be free for everyone? If so, what other programs would you take money from in order to fund this change, or what new tax would you propose to fund it?
Some have argued that the cost of fare enforcement exceeds the benefit. Others have argued that not enforcing fare payment starves the Muni and BART systems of revenue, lowers quality of service, and makes the systems less safe. What is your position?
Recent State funding requires Muni and BART to enforce fare payments in order to receive that funding; do you agree with this requirement?
Should it be the policy of San Francisco to build a citywide protected bike lane network? Why or why not?
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Do you support banning cars from central downtown areas and certain retail or residential corridors? | ||
| Do you support congestion pricing? | ||
| Should San Francisco prioritize buses over car traffic by creating more bus-only lanes and directing traffic enforcement officers to ticket drivers who ignore the restrictions? | ||
| Should Uber, Lyft, Waymo, and other ride-share services be permitted to operate in San Francisco? | ||
| 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)? |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Budget
San Francisco is facing a large budget deficit due to declining tax revenues from our struggling downtown. What will your approach be to fix this?
| 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:
Personal
Tell us a bit about yourself!
How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?
Folks,
I’m long winded and ran out of time on this but thanks.
You have an idea about my political views from what I did fill out.
Why I came here ?
Same reasons most people did …
Drugs, Sex and Rock n Roll.
It has never disappointed.
What do you love most about San Francisco?
What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
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.