Dear D9 Neighbor,
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I want to thank you all and especially the people of District 9 for giving me the incredible honor of being your representative at City Hall for the last 15 years. I started as a legislative aide to Supervisor Campos, and then was elected Supervisor of District 9 for two terms. Being a legislative aide and Supervisor in the D9 office were the best jobs I have ever had, and perhaps will ever have. Serving as your elected leader for the last 8 years has been such a privilege. I am so deeply proud to have been part of a team that has accomplished so much for the residents of San Francisco.Â
During my tenure, the District 9 office has advocated and achieved significant changes: healthcare for workers; universal representation for children in deportation proceedings; eviction protections of all kinds; homeless shelters – the first of their kind – for queer folks, for children in public school, in tiny homes, on land lent to us from developers as they awaited entitlements; over 3,000 new and preserved units of affordable housing in District 9; a reformed, better coordinated, and proactive mental health system; an office where women are believed and assisted when seeking help from sexual assault; lifesaving wages for those who got sick from Covid during the pandemic; saving new businesses thousands of dollars in start up fees to the City; truly moving the
achievement needle for hundreds of African-American and Latinos students in Math and Literacy at 4 low performing schools; creating the Student Success Fund that will continue
 raising achievement and mental health of public school students for the next 14 years; ensuring that children are not questioned by the police without a trusted adult present; gaining huge community benefits through PUC’s large infrastructure projects; inventing the groundbreaking cultural districts throughout the City to preserve the rich cultures that make San Francisco, San Francisco; expanding cooperative living for people living with serious mental illness; advancing Clean Power SF and the path towards municipal independence from PG&E; making sure that new Artificial Intelligence Technology is thoughtfully procured and transparent; improving the street conditions in the Mission - especially in relation to stolen goods sales; saving and
expanding Sanctuary City protections again and again and again, and; supporting funding and delivery of numerous neighborhood beautification projects.Â
We are able to experiment in San Francisco in such a profound way – we create first of their kind programs, have the budget to fund them, and several times have spread those programs nationally, changing the world for the better by helping lift up the least fortunate among us.Â
I do fear that we are currently moving in the wrong direction locally and we will no longer be the special and innovative government we have been for so long. Poverty and inequality have become so widespread and so visible. We are all rightfully angry about this reality. We want it changed. We don’t want to be suffering or faced with so much suffering when we walk out the door.Â
I worry that this rightful anger has been directed at the wrong people. And if we blame the wrong people, if we blame the individual instead of a broken system, if we return to the failed policies that got us here, we will never fix the problem.Â
When this many American residents, and this many San Franciscans, are so desperately poor, when working a full time minimum wage job does not afford you a single place to live in the City, when public school systems are crumbling before our eyes, it makes no sense to blame the homeless, the mentally ill, those suffering from drug addiction for their fate. No one wants these afflictions. Just ask the thousands of homeless children in our school district – they did not choose their lot. We are all San Franciscans, we are all frustrated, but let's remember to focus that righteous anger upward – towards broken tax systems and systems rigged to make the rich even richer and the poor dreadfully poorer.Â
Thank you so much for considering my analysis. I will be returning to the community and continue fighting outside the halls of power for justice and a more equal society. I am looking forward to it. We are not just any City government. We are San Francisco – a City that has symbolized acceptance and compassion for the world – let's not lose that.
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I want to close by thanking you all so much for your support and guidance over the past 15 years. To Angela Calvillo, Alisa Somera and all the clerks, thank you for your everyday support, to the City Attorney’s office – and especially Jon, Anne, Brad – thank you, to all the leg aides and especially mine – thank you – I love you all so much, to the Mayor’s Office – and to Andres especially, thank you, to the Department Heads and gov liaison staff – thank you. To my colleagues - thank you for never allowing a boring day. There are so many heroes in this City working so hard to serve the residents of San Francisco that don’t get nearly enough praise. And last but not least, to all of the amazing non-profits and community leaders building
belonging and supporting our residents every single day. I appreciate each and every one of you for your commitment, vision and partnership.
Onwards.Â
In community, | 
