Julian E. Bermudez
- Office: Board of Supervisors, District 9
- Election Date: November 5, 2024
- Candidate: Julian E. Bermudez
- 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?
The reason I am running for District 9 Supervisor is that I got tired of being a keyboard warrior and going to City Hall to support a cause with no tangible results. I decided to put my money where my mouth is and now I am here in the most contested race in San Francisco
What is your #1 policy goal?
My #1 policy goal is to start covering all the basics our city needs before we start tackling the bigger issues. Ending Homelessness and Open Drug use is a priority for me but I rather start making our streets safer, cleaner, and more accessible to everyone. What I plan is to add more reasonably priced garbage cans, more available public bathrooms, and the complete repair of our streets. As a city with the highest GDP in the world, our streets do not reflect that.
How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?
Many organizations and community groups openly advocate for street safety, so my goal is to build unity with my proposals to push a comprised plan that includes everyone. The capital for this comes from enacting my “Fair Share” millionaire tax incentive program. Instead of taxing millionaires without any say, we allow them to choose where their money goes. They will have a choice to send their money to audited and local non-profits, specific city beautification or reconstruction projects, or send their money to the SF general fund. None of the money will be used to build something new or given to organizations that do not have roots in the Greater Bay Area.
Will the power of the office of Board of Supervisors, District 9 be enough to achieve this goal?
Yes. I do not believe “power” alone can achieve anything in our city. The residents of San Francisco are looking for a leader who will show them the same respect government officials expect from them. After an equal level of respect from city hall and the residents of San Francisco is achieved then we will see a change in our city. How can this be achieved? By starting to rebuild city roads and infrastructure, more available trash bins and public bathrooms, lowing parking meter prices, ” 3 Three Strikes” street cleaning policy. Doing the basics, not overspending on simple objectives, and getting results to build from.
What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?
My second goal is to make San Francisco the epicenter of Mental health and rehabilitation research. As a businessman, I always put money into two categories. Fast Money and Hard Money. Fast money follows trends, popular options, and impulses (for example the Stanley Cup trend) Hard Money comes from necessities, available to all incomes and accessible. (For example oil changes, haircuts, and phone repairs) The Medical industry is built mostly off “Hard Money”. That goes into my third policy goal it make at least 50% of San Francisco’s business income come from “Hard money” industries. In the retail sector that means relying more on pop-ups and thrift stores, aside from major retail stores that are open season for thieves. Independent or city-controlled Pharmacy clinics, whose role is to provide medicines and offer essential everyday products. Relying less on Walgreens which as stated before is open season for thieves.
Will the power of the office of Board of Supervisors, District 9 be enough to achieve these goals?
Yes, see the previous answer.
What is an existing policy you would like to reform?
Zoning regulations, mayoral pay, eliminating cannabis from drug testing cutting down the Encyclopedia Britannica-sized rule book we have to run the city into a full set of Harry Potter Books.
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.)
Establishing state-wide serving sizes for groceries, to prevent price gauging and strinkflation. For example: Having 3 sizes of cereal Personal (2.5oz), Regular (24oz), and Family (49.5 oz). Touth Paste has a Personal size (7.5 oz) and a Travel Size (1 oz).
“3 Strikes” street cleaning program, Where you are given 3 notices to move your vehicle before receiving a ticket. No one is perfect, we oversleep, forget, or don't make it in time. No one wants to be that person who keeps the street dirt and they will build a level of respect between city hall and the residents of San Francisco.
Tell us one thing you think needs to change in SF that the average voter wouldn't know about.
Re-planing the streets of the city to alleviate traffic throughout. This means creating barriers to prevent last-minute cutting, making smaller streets into one-ways, posting the speed limit more often, and as simple as making sure the lines on the roads are painted.
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?
Our neglected roads are mostly because it’s an issue that is achievable to fix. Getting the basics done first will allow us to tackle bigger issues throughout our city.
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 don’t agree, I believe in quality over quantity. Being a police officer is more than a job, it’s a responsibility. You swore an oath to protect the public and to enforce the law. As a Veteran, I understand the issue of the lack of recruitment. I have a few friends who are Army recruiters right now and as the saying goes “the struggle is real”. What I propose is to make it worth it to be a Police officer and to extend training to 1 year to become a police officer. I would like to give police officers free college for them and their families. Pay increases for those who have degrees. Housing allowances or paid housing. Incentives like this will improve the quality of life for current officers, and help recruit recruits to become officers.
What solutions might exist to improve public safety that don’t involve expanding the size of SFPD?
Regularly allowing police officers to patrol on motorcycles over the SUVs
What three things would you change about how SFPD operates?
A quarterly tested Physical Training Test. The “PT test” in the army kept soldiers in top shape to perform their duties better. I want to bring that to our Police Departments. Failure can lead to pay cuts or even removal from your post.
Removing the uniform for a more Casual Tactical style.
Adding smaller satellite departments throughout the city.
Do you support policies commonly referred to as “defund the police”? Why or why not?
No, but I do see the reallocations of funds. As a Veteran, sometimes I would see police officers with better equipment than I was given. I rather spend taxpayer money on better training and living conditions for police officers than armored vehicles and M4s with more attachments than necessary.
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 was in the Army when this happened and from the outsider perspective, I saw it was the right move at the time. Mostly so people to see if was issue was with the DA or the system. I believe we have our answers now.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Try to achieve “full staffing” for SFPD? (Defined as about 2,100 officers, according to the City) | Y | |
| Change the cite-and-release policy so officers can arrest suspects of misdemeanors like shoplifting and car break-ins? | N | |
| Arrest and prosecute street-level fentanyl dealers? | N | |
| Prioritize diversion instead of incarceration for street-level fentanyl dealers? | Y | |
| Investigate, arrest, and prosecute fentanyl distribution ringleaders (like organized crime and cartel members)? | Y | |
| Arrest and prosecute street-level vendors of suspected stolen goods? | N | |
| Investigate, arrest, and prosecute the leaders of theft rings and fencing operations? | Y | |
| Arrest and prosecute street food vendors operating without a permit? | N | |
| Fine street food vendors operating without a permit? | Y |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
The People who are in the Drug distribution sector already get their money from most low-level dealers. “Fronting” when you are given drugs for free with the expectation of being paid back later does not happen so frequently. With the arresting of low-level drug dealers and giving them a record. That will lead to that person to become a drug dealer again because they can’t get another job. Creating a revolving door of drug dealers, a way for “ringleaders” to abuse the system to create fear among our residents, and adding more prisoners to our overpopulated prisons.
In general, how should the City handle people who are abusing drugs on City sidewalks?
Studies and reports show that “safe injection” sites have a 99% OD recovery rate, it would make sense that's the answer. Yet our city is not providing that service but “needle shops” that give out material for usage anywhere. Removal of these locations will cause unrest among drug users, so it is best to phase out these locations and add restrictions to distribution. First to have people only receive no more supplies that can be used for one person. Then, stop giving out supplies and allow users to have clean supplies to use in the location. Either two things can happen from here, users start reusing needles and the STD rate grows or users grow a dependency on going to these locations. From here it is best to plan once more information becomes available.
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.
I do support safe consumption sites but our city doesn’t provide those services, but needle shops that over give away supplies. For more info, see the answer above.
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 agree, but not the Zero-tolerance part. I rather advocate and advertise “no to public consumption”. A zero-tolerance policy will lead to filling up our overcrowded jails and giving taxpayer money to the prison industrial complex for services that could have been given by local organizations and clinics. Giving money to the prisons and not to the healthcare professionals in the Bay Area for the same results
Should fentanyl dealing be penalized differently from dealing with other drugs?
I feel drugs should be penalized differently in general. I feel confiscation is punishment enough, in the cases of users and small-level dealers because what is going to jail and a fine for a person that has nothing to give and nothing to lose? In the case, of distribution and large dealing operations, they are sufficient but I would not mind adding community service to their sentences. Maybe turning them into federal agencies can help alleviate our packed courts.
Drugs
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?
I have met and had conversations with patients, nurses, and community organizations but I am still waiting to make an official decision on this matter. One of my goals is to make San Francisco the epicenter of Mental Health and rehabilitation research and services.
What is the role of government in providing care for those who cannot care for themselves?
As a Veteran, I receive health care through the VA, and I feel blessed that I can go to the hospital at my convenience with an unnoticeable amount of Copay. I had my highs and lows with the VA but I don't have to worry about a huge bill in the mail. I feel we should provide the same services to our elderly. It's the morally right thing to do and the money side of it reestablishing the “inhouse care” industry in San Francisco.
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.
I believe that an involuntary mental health hold should only happen when a consistent unruly behavior is presented. One bad day and one public episode shouldn't be enough to send you away involuntarily, it probably makes your life worse in the process.
If you agree with this view, please outline some guardrails and oversight the City must provide to prevent abuse.
After consistent unruly behavior is documented the city should give residents a day in court and should be judged by a jury of local medical professionals
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?
I believe public neglect in the Board of Education elections led to our current situation. We should have the members of the board of education be more public with their image and should regularly visit schools. On running for a position on the board, the candidates should participate in a public presentation at schools so parents are well informed about who they are and what are their plans for their kids.
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 am a product of San Francisco’s Catholic school system going to St.Peter’s school in the Mission and the Riordan High School by City College.
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.
I did not vote because I was in the Army and was not able to cast my vote by mail in time.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Offer Algebra in 8th grade to students who want it? | Y | |
| Offer Algebra in 7th grade to students who want it? | N | |
| Offer AP courses to high school students who want them? | Y | |
| Require schools to improve student performance, and fire teachers who consistently underperform? | N |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I believe Algebra in the 8th grade should be the standard but not the requirement. I want our public schools to produce independent thinkers who can problem solve, not just get perfect test scores. I want our students to be smart and intelligent over a memory bank of logic without the ability to harness it creatively. I also think our school should stray from the standardized testing model to a performance-based one. Parents are choosing private and catholic schools over public ones mostly because they both have performance-based testing allowing students to develop into scholers instead of stressed-out memory banks.
Small Business
What would you change about the process of new retail business formation in San Francisco?
I work closely with a lot of small thrift stores around the city and they’ve had an increase in sales in the past few months. Retail works off trends and buying $100 clothing from a department store is not popular with the people at the moment.
Should all businesses be permitted by-right? If not, which business categories do you think should require special government approval?
I have no current position on this issue at the moment.
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?
I believe that we should expand ABC permits. People have lost the definition of investment, and the freedom of competition. A liquor license is an investment, it may lose or increase in value but we shouldn't allow people to leverage the nightlife industry with permit availability. The next best place could be out there but could never happen because a few people want to control liquor licenses to keep the value of their investments.
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?
At this moment, I do not have possession of this issue.
| Should San Francisco… | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Reduce the time to obtain all permits to open a new business to no more than 3 months | Y | |
| Reduce the cost of obtaining permits to open a new business | Y | |
| Reduce the number of activities which must obtain permits, and expand the number of by-right activities | Y | |
| Try to attract businesses of all sizes to the City? | N |
If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:
I want to keep San Francisco a city of Small Businesses, franchises, and start-ups.
Housing
Do you believe that San Francisco has a shortage of homes? Why or why not?
Yes, I do believe there’s a shortage of homes. Mostly because I know too many people who are doubling up or moved back in with their parents to make ends meet.
Do you believe that housing prices are set by supply and demand constraints? Why or why not?
At the moment, housing prices are driven by “potential loss”, I follow a lot of San Francisco realtors on social media and they talk about sellers sitting on houses for years that end up coming up as a loss. To fix the housing market we need to fit the renting market in San Francisco through regulations.
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?
Learn the rules, and be prepared to make sure residents' voices are heard.
Should homeless shelters be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
No
Should subsidized Affordable housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
No
Should market rate housing be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?
No
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)
I have no position on this issue
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?
No
| 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?
Yes, but it is not something that is a high priority for me. I will make this an option to donate to my Millionaire tax incentive program.
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 the quality of service, and makes the systems less safe. What is your position?
We need to stop treating public transit as a business aimed at profit but a business aimed at quality of service.
Recent State funding requires Muni and BART to enforce fare payments in order to receive that funding; do you agree with this requirement?
No, with my Millionaire incentive tax program, the city will be able to sustain its portion of BART without state funding. Possibly allowing our stations to be fair free.
Should it be the policy of San Francisco to build a citywide protected bike lane network? Why or why not?
Yes, it will allow bikers to take a safer route over one of many dangerous roads our city has.
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Do you support banning cars from central downtown areas and certain retail or residential corridors? | Y | |
| Do you support congestion pricing? | N | |
| 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? | N | |
| Should Uber, Lyft, Waymo, and other ride-share services be permitted to operate in San Francisco? | Y | |
| Should San Francisco allow more bike share and scooter share companies? | N | |
| 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)? | N |
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?
San Francisco is more than its downtown area and we must now start promoting another area in our amazing cities. Dolores Park is packed every weekend, the bars in the Marina with long lines, and our parks filled with residents playing and being active. Stonestown Mall is alive and well, and the high-end fashion industry has not slowed down. I think it is time to direct attention away from the downtown area because most of its issues do not pertain to the rest of San Francisco.
| 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?
I was born and raised in San Francisco. What keeps me here is that I love where I grew up and I want to do my best to make sure it's the best place in the world.
What do you love most about San Francisco?
The amazing views throughout the city.
What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?
People in social media who come to the city and purposely find trouble and go to the tenderloin to grab clips and use it to bad-talk San Francisco for views.
Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)
I am part of The San Francisco Fog FRC, the first gay and all-inclusive Rugby team on the West Coast. I am currently their starting flanker, with 3 tries under my belt.
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.