Thoughts on the Election 

By Brian Quan

That definitely was not the Election Night I was hoping for, but with a few weeks to reflect on the outcomes, there are lessons that can be learned. 

It was always going to be an interesting local election year with the mayor and city positions being consolidated to the general election this year instead of its traditional off cycle last year. I cannot imagine anyone is one 100% happy with the results with some surprise winners and losers across the Board of Supervisors and the local measures. 

With so many items on the ballot, I know many of the usual campaign volunteers I chat with regularly were stretched thin across multiple campaigns up and down the ballot. Fortunately, we have a great Department of Elections here in San Francisco and the count, while slowed by our prodigious use of mail-in ballots, has been a model of integrity with a few close competitive races coming down to just a few hundred votes.

So, where are we headed as a district and a City after finally getting to the only poll that matters? Based on the numerous election ads, one might conclude that things have gotten pretty bad. Billionaires run rampant, criminals run amok and car traffic is so bad you should not even leave your house. 

Big money continues to flow into local elections with millions from our newly elected mayor, the failed Measure D on commission reform, and the local Unions. Unfortunately, with the national election taking up so much oxygen, many of the local campaigns used the tried-and-true tactic of negativity and attacks since many beyond the activists would not have the capacity for a positive vision as their driving motivation to get to the polls. Unless you are Ready to Believe, voters have been provided very little in the way of solutions to the challenges that are happening now and how we plan to address these current and future issues facing us.

Fortunately, this is not all doom and gloom. First, we need to be clear about what are the many challenges facing residents and businesses now and not conflate them with how the way things were. Preserving aspects of the neighborhood, like the Alexandria Theater – which has been closed nearly two decades – is a folly that goes against the trend of home entertainment and our ever connected mobile devices. I certainly miss the days of the local bowling alley and the regional amusement parks. Even local watering holes face new challenges in the current wave of sober lifestyles.

We hold on to the past for good or bad. Beyond preservation and conservation, we need to adapt to restoration. I believe sometimes we forget, but the reality is the future is now! We have pocket computers with nearly every piece of information and entertainment available in seconds. Electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes are on our roads, and autonomous cars are driving people around our streets. The AI revolution setting up in our downtown offices with one of the largest (Anthropic) cofounded by a brother and sister pair that grew up in the Mission.

With so many new opportunities come new challenges that require new solutions. The problems of the now aren’t just scarcity like in the past, but solvable things like distribution and logistics. While we have spent the last few months being thrown electoral bogeymen, now we face the true test of leadership at City Hall where they will have to show where their true priorities lay. Which of the serious challenges, like public safety, homelessness, the budget and housing, will take center stage?

This is where we as citizens can continue to engage in the civic process. We can be advocates that amplify what priorities and solutions matter. Organizing around these issues clarifies one’s values. While it can be easy to sit back and complain from the sidelines about how we’ve been affected, it is much harder to propose how we can take on minor sacrifices for the greater good. The challenge of doing the right thing is hardly ever the easy thing. In these formidable times ahead with the likely antagonistic federal regime, we’ll see if our community is willing to put in the hard work and sacrifice toward the greater good.

Finally, I want to end with a recognition of the recent passing of Dennis Kelly. While I did not have the pleasure of learning from his teachings at Lowell, I always knew him as the very civically engaged neighbor down the block. While we may not have always agreed on everything, he would be the one encouraging people to get involved.

Brian Quan is a Richmond District native, co-leader of Grow the Richmond, member of the Park Presidio-Sunset Lions Club and leads a monthly Refuse Refuse S.F. street clean-up.