Jeremiah Boehner
- Office: Board of Supervisors, District 1
- Election Date: November 5, 2024
- Candidate: Jeremiah Boehner
- 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 1?
San Francisco and District 1 is on the wrong track. Crime is up, from shoplifting, to hot prowls, and even shootings District 1 is falling apart under Connie's leadership. I'm running to bring back common sense to San Francisco and District 1. Fully fund and staff our Police department to give them the tools they need to catch criminals. Cut red tap and over spending in city hall so our small businesses can thrive. This is why I'm running for Board of Supervisors in District 1
What is your #1 policy goal?
Public Safety, we can not fix our problems until people feel safe on the streets, in their homes, and on the buses. We need to fully fund our police department and do all we can to keep the officers we have. I will work hand in hand with the Cpt. Canning and the Chief of Police to bring back officers and find new ones. I will work to remove the members of the police commission who care more about criminals than everyday citizens. I'll oppose any new commissioners that are not pro-police and public safety.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
I have been talking with community leaders all over the city this is their number one issue.
I will campaign with other commonsense candidates so we have a BOS that will actually get the job done. I have been working with the American Legion Cathay Post 384 to get more involved in the Chinese American groups in San Francisco. Partnerships with these group will help myself and other commonsense candidates get the political capital we need to win.
Will the power of the office of Board of Supervisors, District 1 be enough to achieve this goal?
Not by myself, no. We need people like Stephen Martin-Pinto, Jconor Ortega, and myself to get elected so we can work to make these goals a reality
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
the Addiction Crisis in San Francisco.
I've worked with faith-based homeless outreach programs since I was in high school. Most of the people I interacted were homeless because of drug addiction.
Nearly 3000 have overdosed since 2020. The current approach of enablement and no accountability is not working and killing so many caught up in an addiction cycle. When addicts break the law, they need to face consequences which they currently do not. We need mandatory treatment options and to revive the bus ticket program. When Gavin Newsom was mayor he instituted a care not cash program. This created a serious dent in the homeless population.
Enforce the Public camping ban, while many of our leaders will throw up their hands and say they can't do anything until the Court makes a ruling. I call BS, San Francisco has a long history of ignoring laws they don't like. I will make sure all public encampments are cleared out of District 1. How?
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A homeless outreach team is dispatched as soon as an encampment is reported.
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The HOT team makes contact to offer shelter. If shelter is refused then the police outreach team is dispatched. If the shelter is refused again, a misdemeanor citation is issued and a sidewalk cleaning is scheduled ASAP forcing the encampment to move.
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If they try to establish an encampment, another cleaning is scheduled and hostile architecture will temporarily make camping difficult.
Small businesses are a cultural and economic backbone for San Francisco, they help form the character of our neighborhoods. The disastrous shutdown and crime wave following defunding the police has severely crippled small businesses. I will advocate for reducing and eliminating unnecessary permits. I will advocate waiving fees so businesses can get back on their feet. I will advocate for reducing burdensome regulations while protecting the health of the public.
Additionally, we need to attract large employers the shutdown lost us 150,000 officers workers. Some due to work from home policies some due to companies leaving San Francisco due to fees and regulations. I will bring back the previous Tax incentives for businesses who return to in-person work. San Francisco used to be known as the innovation hub of the US. It's time to reclaim that title.
Will the power of the office of Board of Supervisors, District 1 be enough to achieve these goals
Not by myself, no. We need people like Stephen Martin-Pinto, Jconor Ortega, and myself to get elected so we can work to make these goals a reality
What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
There are many, but my focus would be on the policy that hamstring our police officers from doing their jobs effectively. Removing the restrictions that been placed on police will help bring back public and reforming prop 47 on a statewide level will be a big step inthe right direction.
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.)
I think adding 2 Supervisors at-large who are elected by the entire city would help bring some balance to the city. When the city votes together we tend be more moderate then people expect. Look at the Recalls of the School Board & Chesa Boudin.
Tell us one thing you think needs to change in SF that the average voter wouldn't know about.
The number of commissions the city has that seem to operate with Voter mandate or any type of oversight.
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?
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?
I support it, we have more than enough money to fund this especially when we redirect the money away from the corrupt non profits we fund.
What solutions might exist to improve public safety that don't involve expanding the size of SFPD?
We have to grow the size of the PD or the problems will get worse as many officers are going to be retiring soon. However eliminating the rule the police commission has placed on how the PD does their job would be a big step forward.
What three things would you change about how SFPD operates?
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Bring back qualified immunity
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Allow pretextual stops
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Change use of force rules to allow police to subdue suspects who resist.
Do you support policies commonly referred to as "defund the police"? Why or why not?
I am the only candidate who opposed defunding the police. It was a terrible idea that ended up hurting the communities it was supposed to help.
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 gathered signatures, door knocked and campaign to remove Chesa from office. I supported the recall and voted to remove him.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Try to achieve "full staffing" for SFPD? (Defined as about 2,100 officers, according to the City) | yes | |
| Change the cite-and-release policy so officers can arrest suspects of misdemeanors like shoplifting and car break-ins? | yes | |
| Arrest and prosecute street-level fentanyl dealers? | yes | |
| Prioritize diversion instead of incarceration for street-level fentanyl dealers? | no | |
| Investigate, arrest, and prosecute fentanyl distribution ringleaders (like organized crime and cartel members)? | yes | |
| Arrest and prosecute street-level vendors of suspected stolen goods? | yes | |
| Investigate, arrest, and prosecute the leaders of theft rings and fencing operations? | yes | |
| Arrest and prosecute street food vendors operating without a permit? | no | |
| Fine street food vendors operating without a permit? | yes |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
For the street food vendors without a permit, I don't support arresting them for the first violation but if they continue to ignore the laws and permitting process then yes arrests should be made. It's not fair to our small business that have to jump through all these hoops to sell food and these vendors show up and do whatever they like.
Drugs
In general, how should the City handle people who are abusing drugs on City sidewalks?
Arrest them, give them the choice of treatment or jail. Out of all of my formerly addicted friends most of them got clean and decided to turn their life around while in jail. While I understand there issues with how are jails and prisons operate we shouldn't be throwing the baby out with bathwater. Most of these addicts are adults and when sobered up are capable of making adult decisions. But that requires removing their access to drugs.
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.
No safe consumptions sites do not work. The city has tried it several times in violation of the law and overdose deaths didn't go down. We need zero tollerance of drug dealing and drug use. Arrest and prosecute the dealers, give the addicts 3 choices treatment, jail or a bus ticket back home.
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?
I disagree, we need to stop creating a culture of enablement and create a culture of personal accountability.
Should fentanyl dealing be penalized differently from dealing other drugs?
Yes. Recreational Fentanyl is deadly everyone knows it. Countries with strict anti-drug laws don't have this issue.
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 but I believe those changes need to come at a state level and federal level. A lot of the mental health issues are caused by drug abuse and addiction. When people get sober and stay sober a lot of these issues go away or become more manageable.
What is the role of government in providing care for those who cannot care for themselves?
If person cannot care for themselves because of addiction the government should provide a pathway for treatment and self reliance. Not enablement like we see now in San Francisco where we pay people who are homeless without work or sobriety requirements. If a drunk driver crashes into a building they are charged with a felony DUI and typically has sobriety requirements after conviction. But if someone high on meth smashes a window or assualts someone they are given a pass. This is not accountability.
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.
Yes, hold them for at least 72hrs so the fentanyl works out of their system and hopefully they will make a decision to seek treatment. Fentanyl is a slow suicide we should treat people addicted to like we do any other suicide attempt.
If you agree with this view, please outline some guardrails and oversight the City must provide to prevent abuse.
I believe such guardrails already exist, After the mandated period the patient should have the right to leave if they do not pose a danger to society or themselves.
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.
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?
Yes our BOE should be focused on making our schools world class instead of a national joke. Focus on raising the academic bar and provide extra support to the students that need it. Instead of what we have currently been doing. Which is lowering the bar for students and focusing on the WOKE idea of the week.
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?
Yes, I think there is room for all these types of schools in San Francisco and parents should have choices in where their kids are educated, regardless of their means.
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.
Yes I collected signatures, door knocked, and campaign to remove them. I'm still dumbfounded why Lopez teaches at the Teacher school in USF.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Offer Algebra in 8th grade to students who want it? | Yes | |
| Offer Algebra in 7th grade to students who want it? | Yes | |
| Offer AP courses to high school students who want them? | Yes | |
| Require schools to improve student performance, and fire teachers who consistently underperform? | Yes |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
This is just common sense, anyone who says otherwise should not hold office.
Small Business
What would you change about the process of new retail business formation in San Francisco?
Streamline the process, it shouldn't take 6 months to get approval after your build out to open your business.
Should all businesses be permitted by-right? If not, which business categories do you think should require special government approval?
Yes I think businesses should be permitted by-right.
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?
The City has bigger issues than the number of ABC permits. But yes the city should increase the number of ABC permits.
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?
We've seen what happens, the illegal sales of cannabis continues to thrive despite legalization. I don't think reducing permits would help that situation.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce the time to obtain all permits to open a new business to no more than 3 months | Yes | |
| Reduce the cost of obtaining permits to open a new business | Yes | |
| Reduce the number of activities which must obtain permits, and expand the number of by-right activities | Yes | |
| Try to attract businesses of all sizes to the City? | Yes |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
We need the big businesses to bring in the high paying jobs. Those employees then become customers at our family owned small business. For every tech job created 2-3 non tech jobs are created.
Housing
Do you believe that San Francisco has a shortage of homes? Why or why not?
Yes, have you seen my rent? We are a mayor city and the fact that we make it so difficult to build anything is silly. We can build more homes without destroying our communities.
Do you believe that housing prices are set by supply and demand constraints? Why or why not?
Yes this is basic economics
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?
Make it easier to build housing all over the city. Build more highrises downtown and in Soma. Allow smaller apartment buildings to built in transit corridors
Should homeless shelters be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
I think we should reform CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional use permits. But no they should not be exempt.
Should subsidized Affordable housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
I think we should reform CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional use permits. But no they should not be exempt.
Should market rate housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
I think we should reform CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional use permits. But no they should not be exempt.
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).
We should loosen the limits on height & density. We can upzone in a way that wouldn't destroy our single family home communities. We are a major city not a suburb.
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?
Yes
| 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) | Yes | ||
| Renovate your home (update bathroom, kitchen, etc) | Yes | ||
| Demolish your home and redevelop it into multifamily housing | Yes | ||
| Redevelop things like parking lots and single-story commercial into multifamily housing | Yes | ||
| Build subsidized housing | yes | ||
| Build market-rate housing | yes | ||
| Build homeless shelters (including navigation centers and "tiny homes") | yes |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Tiny homes are not a solution to our addiction problem. They're a poor use of space in a city that is 7x7 miles. Subsidized housing "projects" are often poorly run and poor use of tax payer money. For people who need help paying rent we should adopt a strategy similar to the federal governments section 8 program. Which gives renters options in where they live.
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?
Free Muni is something that sounds good on paper. But how would we pay for it. While I believe a robust public transportation system is needed for any city and it should be partially subsidized. I don't think the free muni for everyone would address the issues of safety and effectiveness that cause people to take ride share over public transportation.
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?
On BART we need massive fare enforcement. This will help eliminate the drug use problem on BART cars and all the issues that go with that. It will help us catch criminals. NYC cleaned up times square by doing a massive surge in fare enforcement. The people caught evading fares often had warrants for their arrests for violent crimes. Doing this will not only help make BART safer but make a statement to our communities that we care about public safety.
Recent State funding requires Muni and BART to enforce fare payments in order to receive that funding; do you agree with this requirement?
Yes
Should it be the policy of San Francisco to build a citywide protected bike lane network? Why or why not?
The city has spent close to a billion dollars on bike lanes and bike related injuries/deaths continue to climb. This is because the bike lines being build are not actually focused on bike safety but making driving motor vehicles difficult. That and a lack of enforcement of bike safety laws, and well traffic stops on motor vehicles have led us to this situation. It's not an either or decision we can have safe biking and effective motorways.
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Do you support banning cars from central downtown areas and certain retail or residential corridors? | No | |
| Do you support congestion pricing? | No | |
| 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? | No | |
| Should Uber, Lyft, Waymo, and other ride-share services be permitted to operate in San Francisco? | Yes | |
| Should San Francisco allow more bike share and scooter share companies? | Yes | |
| 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:
The bus only lanes seem to be effective only in certain areas like Van Ness. However when the SFMTA decided to Geary quick build, over the objections of business owners and residents of the Richmond. It hasn't had the desired effect busses still get block by people looking for parking making turns. I support the idea of bus only lanes but the way the city does it seems to be focused on making it difficult for drivers to get around the city.
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 | Yes | |||
| Street cleanliness | Yes | |||
| Homeless services | Yes | |||
| Affordable housing | Yes | |||
| Parks | Yes | |||
| Roads | Yes | |||
| Bus, bike, train, and other public transit infrastructure | Yes | |||
| Schools | Yes | |||
| Medical facilities | Yes | |||
| Drug prevention and treatment | Yes | |||
| Arts | Yes |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
Our city spends taxpayer dollars in way that would get anyone fired or investigated if they were working for a company. We need competent leadership to make sure our tax dollars are being spent effectively.
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 grew up in the east bay and have lived in San Francisco for 20 years. I moved the the city to work in Ministry with the homeless youth. I love this city it's one of the best places in the world. San Francisco is in trouble thanks to the BOS and Mayor Breed. I'm fighting to save it.
What do you love most about San Francisco?
The Diversity of Food, People, and Lifestyles
What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?
The politics, every year we get candidates running who are the same kind of shitty as the person they're trying to replace. We need new voices in the city government
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
I started getting more involved in city politics during the lockdown. I volunteered for the recalls, join the American Legion Cathay Post 384 and work with them for Veteran related affairs as well things that effect the Asian american community.
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.