Race for District 8 Seat Heats Up in Town Hall Forum
Affordable housing and small business protection dominate candidate talks

By Jessica L. Moskowitz

Seven candidates vying to be the next District 8 supervisor shared their positions on key issues and mingled with local residents at a packed forum sponsored by neighborhood groups at the Harvey Milk Recreation Center on Feb. 22.

All candidates — James Boeger, Bill Hemenger, Rafael Mandelman, Rebecca Prozan, Laura Spanjian, Scott Wiener and Starchild — attended. Moderating the event was Barbara Taylor, City Hall bureau chief for KCBS radio.

For their opening statements, candidates were given six minutes to address their position on issues in five categories including housing, neighborhood character, business, safety, and neighborhood versus citywide issues. One of the first questions posed to candidates asked what each would do to create more affordable housing in the district.

Prozan said that One Church St., a mixed-income residential building constructed by a nonprofit developer, has become a model for affordable housing in San Francisco and was quick to remind the crowd of her involvement as District 8 liaison during its development.

“Let me tell you, it was a fight. It was a struggle,” said Prozan, who recalled the controversy between preservationists and affordable housing advocates over the fate of the former Daphne Funeral Home. “If I had more time tonight, I’d tell you about my ideas to take more closed properties in San Francisco and turn them into homes for teachers, cops, firefighters and the working middle class that makes this town what we want it to be.”

Mandelman, an attorney who has represented local governments and affordable housing developers for the past decade, said even though San Francisco is a leader in affordable housing, it clearly needs to do more. Citing various housing measures that have been voted down in recent years, Mandelman attributed these failures to a lack of representation of varied income levels.

“It’s very hard when you are struggling around housing to support measures that are going to support somebody, but not you,” Mandelman said. “We need to look at ways across income levels for everyone who is struggling from the very poor to the people who are earning middle class salaries and still have troubles.”

Another issue on tap for the evening was preserving local small businesses in the district as some large chains move into the neighborhood.

“We want new business in this district, but we don’t want to hurt the local existing businesses,” Spanjian said. “How do you do that? Well, you ask Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to work with the existing merchants. Maybe they sell less of something in their stores because a local merchant next to them sells it already. Or maybe they don’t sell a product at all.”

Bill Hemenger, a proclaimed supporter of retail chains moving into empty storefronts, drew attention to himself on this issue. One audience member asked him how many chain stores he feels is enough before the neighborhood’s character is changed forever and begins to look like “everywhere-else USA.” With a corporate professional background of more than 20 years, Hemenger defended his pragmatic position.

“It’s time to get real. … Let’s not just do a blanket ban on these formula stores … let’s see how we can make it work,” Hemenger said. “I want to bring them as well as tax revenue back to SF.”
Hemenger also fielded an audience question specifically concerning the new Trader Joe’s potential to “kill corner grocers.” According to Hemenger, a champion for the chain grocer’s move to Market and Noe streets, there is a place for formula retailers in the area.

“Competition is great for our economy, especially in a micro-economic climate like District 8,” he said. “I don’t see a lot of crossover from what [large grocers are] selling and what the corner stores are selling. I think there’s going to be compromise.”

Scott Wiener, the only candidate to garner the endorsement of Mayor Gavin Newsom and both the local Firefighters and Police Officers Assoc., had no hesitation discussing safety and quality of life in the district.

“I will work with (SF Police) Chief Gascón to move our police department forward,” Wiener said. “I support his efforts to improve the technology of the department and bring it into the 21st century. I also support his efforts to increase enforcement of quality of life laws in our neighborhoods, whether it’s graffiti or anything else.”

So far, the District 8 supervisor race is turning out to be just as expensive as it is competitive. Announced in February, fundraising numbers for the four leading candidates, Mandelman, Prozan, Spanjian and Wiener, have reached a combined total of approximately $228,000 — a surprisingly large sum this early. Prozan, lead the pack with more than $54,000 raised from some 320 supporters since October, followed closely by Wiener who raked in roughly $51,000. Spanjian raised $35,000 and Mandelman nearly $21,000.

Spanjian claimed to be the only candidate to apply Dufty’s grassroots fundraising approach of self-imposing a contribution limit of less than the $500. “I’m the only candidate that’s limited my contributions to $150 or less,” Spanjian said. “So I’m doing more with less not only at work but also on my campaign because I know that every single day you have to do more with less.”

In addition to running for District 8 Supervisor, Spanjian, Wiener and Mandelman are members of the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) and are running for reelection concurrently.
A separate election in June, which has no limit on contributions, allows them to raise funds separately for the statewide DCCC post. Taking this into account, Wiener has raised the most total funds with more than $99,000, Spanjian almost $39,000 and Mandelman with nearly $35,000.

The next District 8 candidate forum is scheduled for Thursday, March 11, at the Alvarado Elementary School in Noe Valley from 6 to 8 p.m. The Noe Valley Democratic Club is also sponsoring a forum on Thursday, March 25 from 7:30-9 p.m. at St. Philip’s Church at 665 Elizabeth St.

Copyright 2010 Castro Courier