As we start a new year, I’m passing the baton to Joel Engardio as the new supervisor for District 4. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to serve the Sunset and San Francisco for the past four years. We have spent four years achieving real material wins for working people, changing the trajectory of the Sunset and challenging what is considered possible for this seat, this District and this City.
Happy New Year and Year of the Rabbit to all! I am excited to share with you what we plan to accomplish in the coming months.
The year is coming to an end, and so too is our time in this office. I’ll have a longer reflection to share in January, but I wanted to thank everyone who made their voices heard in the November election.
Photos from an active and productive 2022.
November is Veterans Month, and to honor those who make incredible sacrifices in service to our country, I’m proud to introduce the Military Leave Pay Protection Act.
With the cost of living increasing month after month, it’s hard to see relief in sight. And for many San Franciscans who rent or even own their homes, the possibility of falling behind on a monthly rent or mortgage payment means they could lose their housing.
Much has been said about how San Franciscans feel divided, on how controversy and contest fuels much of our local politics, and how we can’t seem to find agreement to get big things, or even basic things, done. In the face of this, finding common sense solutions, building consensus, bridging divides and, yes, compromising offers a real road forward. Here in the Sunset, we’ve been able to find common ground on some of the most hot-button issues to make real progress.
There is no denying that people in this City are feeling less safe. We have seen a rise in targeted, violent attacks against our most vulnerable communities. In the past month, we saw three attacks against Asian elders in the Richmond District alone. This is unacceptable.
I’m excited to share that the SF Board of Supervisors adopted my Veterans Affordable Housing Access Act, a new policy that helps prevent homelessness and expands access to affordable housing for veterans.
Not only will we be voting on several state measures, including codifying abortion access, San Francisco voters will also have a say in 15 local measures and will choose candidates for elected office impacting all levels of our government.
A budget is a moral document. And our City’s budget, recently signed into law by Mayor London Breed, is not only moral, but balanced – fiscally and ideologically. It reflects a collaborative, constructive and historic investment in addressing the biggest priorities and challenges facing our City.
Every June, the mayor presents the Board of Supervisors with a proposed budget for approval. This year, as a member of the Budget and Appropriations Committee (BAC), my colleagues and I spent the month of June scrutinizing line items, questioning department representatives, and hearing from service providers and the public about their needs.
And finally, I also want to thank the voters of District 4 and Citywide — with all the ballots counted, Proposition G, Public Health Emergency Leave, has passed in a landslide, with more than 64% of voters supporting it. It won in every district in the City, and nearly every precinct.
As activists have put it, if Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) were an individual and not a corporation, they would be behind bars for the preventable deaths and devastation they have caused.
By Thomas K. Pendergast On Saturday, June 11, at high noon in front of San Francisco’s City Hall, local officials, students and westside residents joined hundreds of people gathered to demand that […]
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 