Michael T. Nguyen — Supervisor, District 8 Candidate Questionnaire

• Office: Supervisor, District 8
• Election Date: November 3, 2026
• Candidate: Michael T. Nguyen
• Due Date: July 8, 2026

Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the November 3, 2026 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 July 8, 2026 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.

• Your Policy Goals
• Your Leadership
• The Issues
• Public Safety
• Substance abuse
• Mental Health
• Small Business
• Housing
• Transit Infrastructure
• Budget
• District-Specific Questions
• Personal
• Thank you

Your Policy 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.

What policies do you hope to change or preserve by running for Supervisor, District 8? Please be specific, and list them in order of priority.

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Why those policies?

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Explain why your #1 goal is your #1 goal.

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How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal? What obstacles will you face, and how will you overcome them? Will the power of the office of Supervisor, District 8 be enough to achieve this goal?

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Will the power of the office of Supervisor, District 8 be enough to achieve the other goals?

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San Francisco has areas of procedural and legislative bloat, making it hard for the city to serve its residents effectively. Give three examples of legislation that should be repealed.

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What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? For the purpose of this question, you are not constrained to the office of Supervisor, District 8.

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Your Leadership

We'd like to learn more about your leadership style and plan to execute effectively once you assume office.

When in office, how would you balance the needs of the electorate with the demands of special interests? Where do you foresee this being the biggest challenge?

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When in office, how would you balance the needs of your district with the needs of the city? Where do you anticipate this being the biggest challenge?

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How do you think the day-to-day management of a Supervisor's office can be improved? How do you plan to run your office?

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If you could measure the success of your term by 1 metric, and 1 metric only, what would that metric be?

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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? Why do you believe this is the #1 issue?

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What power would you have to solve this issue?

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What three things would you change about how SFPD operates?

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What small change do you think would have the biggest impact?

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Should San Francisco…

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When considering appointments to the Police Commission, which sets SFPD's use of force guidelines, what do you consider to be important in the candidate? Please include what you believe the ideal candidate's views are on the following: public drug use, sidewalk vending (including food and stolen goods), use of police technology (drones, AI), and shoplifting.

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Substance abuse

In general, how should the City handle people who are abusing drugs on City sidewalks?

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If someone is passed out from drugs on the sidewalk, how should the City respond?

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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.

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Do you support sober housing? Why or why not?

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Would you continue or change the city's harm reduction policies that distribute drug use paraphernalia beyond clean needles, such as pipes, foil, etc.?

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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?

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What aspects of San Francisco's conservatorship policies would you change?

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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. 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.

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Small Business

What would you change about the process of new retail business formation in San Francisco, across zoning, permitting, renovations, fees, and financing? Please be as specific as possible.

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Which of these types of businesses should be permitted by-right vs require special government approval?

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If San Francisco adopted policies that allowed all non-vice businesses to open without special hearings, what would you do to help local small businesses compete with large national chains?

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Should San Francisco…

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If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:

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Housing

Do you believe that San Francisco has a shortage of homes? Why or why not?

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Do you believe that housing prices are set by supply and demand constraints? Why or why not?

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Do you think Mayor Lurie's Family zoning plan is too ambitious or not ambitious enough? Why?

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Do you believe that building more housing is the #1 way to reduce the cost of living in San Francisco? Why or why not?

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Should any of the following be exempt from CEQA, Discretionary Review, and Conditional Use permits?

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In general, is it too hard, just right, or too easy to…

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If you want to explain any positions above, please feel free:

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Transit Infrastructure

Do you believe the MUNI funding crisis should be solved by taxes alone? Why or why not?

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Should it be the policy of San Francisco to build a citywide protected bike lane network? Why or why not?

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Is Vision Zero the right goal? Why or why not?

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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?

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Budget

San Francisco is facing a large budget deficit due to declining tax revenues from our struggling downtown. What would your approach be to fix this?

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City Hall staffing has grown 27% while the city's population has stayed stagnant. Would you support right sizing city government to rebalance the budget? Why or why not? Compare SF to other cities & counties.

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District-Specific Questions

Do you have a 100 day plan for when you take office? If yes, list your top three deliverables, and the metrics you will use to measure progress by Day 100.

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The City has attempted to restrict public-space distribution of pipes, foils and other safe-smoking supplies. Do you support distribution of pipes, foil, or other supplies? Why or why not?

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In 2025, the City used intensive deployments in some hotspots, including a 24/7 mobile command presence at 16th & Mission that was later removed. What public-safety deployment model do you support for D8's busiest corridors (Castro, 24th Street, and key plazas) from 2026–2030? And what metrics do you hope to achieve by 2030?

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San Francisco continues to clear encampments, and tent counts fell sharply in early 2025. However, encampments, sidewalk sleeping, and quality-of-life impacts remain a recurring issue in some corridors. What is your plan to reduce encampments and chronic sidewalk sleeping in D8 while ensuring access to shelter, behavioral health care, and long-term housing?

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Should San Francisco expand its conservatorship authority for individuals repeatedly detained for drug-related crises? If yes, name one policy change you support (local or state), and the metrics you would target to ensure the updated policy is working.

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How would you improve collaboration between the City and local merchant groups (Castro Merchants, Noe Valley Association, etc.) to address safety and cleanliness? Please name 1-2 actions you would take, and the outcomes you hope to achieve.

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District 8 housing is expensive and supply-constrained. What housing outcomes do you want in D8 by 2030 (e.g., units permitted, family-sized units, affordability mix), and what will you do as Supervisor to ensure zoning changes translate into permits and completion, not just plans?

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Who do you view as your core coalition in D8, and how would you earn the trust of those who disagree with your approach?

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Personal

Tell us a bit about yourself!

How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?

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What do you love most about San Francisco?

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What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?

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Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)

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Why do you want to run for public office?

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Thank you

Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!