Longtime Congresswoman Jackie Speier retired this year after 14 years of service. We thank her for everything she has done. Kevin Mullin is a great successor, and has been endorsed both by our favorite State Senator, Scott Wiener, and the outgoing incumbent, Jackie Speier. Mullin will bring his years of experience as a South San Francisco City Council member & Mayor to Congress.

Kevin Mullin was a small business owner before entering politics, and knows how hard it is for small businesses to thrive in San Francisco and California. In his GrowSF questionnaire, Kevin Mullin said it was too hard to open a new business, run a business, hire staff at a living wage, and obtain the various licenses and permits necessary to run a business.

Equally important, Kevin Mullin knows that it's too hard to build housing and has the legislative chops to help solve our housing shortage. We agree with Kevin that it's too hard to expand or redevelop your own home, build subsidized and market-rate housing, and build homeless shelters. We also agree that we need state or federal intervention in San Francisco's too-strict zoning code, which makes it illegal to build things like a duplex or triplex in almost 80% of the city.

What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? (For example: changing how elections work, creating a Bay Area regional government, etc.) To some representatives in state and local government, addressing the housing crisis by building more units of housing for all levels of income and making it easier to build affordable housing is one "out there" change I have been fighting for, but would take the opportunity to change more. We benefit as a community when everyone has a home. Our current housing crisis must be addressed by preserving and drastically increasing affordable and market-rate housing stock and expanding tenant protections. This can be achieved through changing zoning laws, supporting economically diverse neighborhoods through multifamily housing, streamlining housing approvals, stabilizing rents, and preventing displacement.

We'll leave you with his top three priorities, in his own words:

1. Climate: I would like to address contributors to climate change and more climate resiliency programs.
2. Housing: I'd like to address our housing crisis by increasing the supply of all types of housing for all income levels and making it easier to build and maintain affordable housing.
3. Election reform: I would like to increase campaign contribution transparency and strengthen our democracy with mail in ballots and access to vote for every citizen.