Here is a non-exhaustive list of the big priorities we have been working on and who we have met with about them…

MISSION STREET CONDITIONS: Mayor Lurie, Department of Public Works (DPW)

If you have been around Mission Street the past few days, you will have noticed the power washing trucks rolling by and improved cleanliness around the BART plazas around commute hours. Of course, a few days isn’t enough. It should be more consistent.  I was surprised to learn in my first week in office that the entirety of Mission Street sidewalks get steam/power washed only once per year. DPW does clean the sidewalks around the plazas everyday (BART is responsible for the plazas, which we’re working on with them), and certain alleyways, and certain 3-1-1 requests as they come up, but I have made a request of DPW to let me know how much it would cost the city to provide WEEKLY steam/power washing of the entirety of Mission Street.

I have also discussed this with the Mayor in each of my two sit-down meetings with him and he is committed to working on this with me, as well as regular cleaning of Valencia St. Almost everyday, I walk and ride the bus up and down Mission St. I see everything you see. Getting the resources and attention that the Mission deserves, both in cleanliness and safety, are among my top priorities. Also, I, like so many of you, have been wondering when Mission St can get repaved to make for a smoother bus ride. I learned from DPW that the bulk of the section of Mission St that gets heavy use, from Cortland all the way up to Duboce, is in design and scheduled for paving from Spring 2027 through Summer 2028. I know, not soon enough.  If you can believe it, it used to be 2029. DPW says they will continue to “address localized repairs and potholes, particularly on the portion between the 16th and 24th St BART stations” so please report to 3-1-1 via phone or the app any specific roadway defects that you encounter that could be a candidate for temporary repair, and we will do our best to get that timeline moved up.

When it comes to trash cans, I learned that some residents request removals of certain trash cans, while some request installation, all on the same block or corner. DPW is constantly reviewing requests. Please communicate and organize with neighbors when submitting requests for trash cans. That would make our, and DPW’s job easier, in ironing out any conflicting requests. When it comes to street conditions, I hope to build on the progress that’s been made in recent years, but we still have a long way to go to revitalize Mission St and the Valencia St corridors. I am committed to working with anyone who loves this neighborhood as much as I do, as long as they have a can-do attitude. I, alone, cannot solve these issues; it’s going to take all of us. What helps us in ironing out improvements with DPW and the Mayor, who is responsible for the departments, is data. So please, help us help YOU by reporting street conditions to 3-1-1 via phone or app. Poop, trash, graffiti, the data is what DPW relies upon heavily.

For Mission public safety and street condition issues, reach out to sasha.gaona@sfgov.org as she is regularly out and about meeting with orgs, businesses, and neighbors and conveying needs to SFPD and DPW. Also, let the Mayor, in addition to my office, know about your observations and requests. As Supervisor, I can raise issues for departments and generally conduct oversight, but I am legally not allowed to micromanage the departments. The departments answer to the Mayor, and their investment in the Mission is crucial to progress.

VENDING: Mayor Lurie, DPW, SFPD, Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD), Department of Emergency Management (DEM), BART, Mission Merchants Association, Mission Venders Association (MVA), CLEChA, MEDA, Calle 24.

“What are you doing about vending?” is probably one of the biggest constituent questions, and rightfully so. I assure you it is among my top priorities. First things first: pedestrians, small business patrons, commuters, neighbors, and city workers, AND permitted, long time vendors alike, deserve to feel safe walking to school, commuting to work, enjoying our vibrant district, and making a living. Secondly, the system of permitted vs. unpermitted vendors is only as real as the enforcement system it relies upon. By state law, police are not allowed to enforce anything related to unpermitted vending.

Organized fencing operations are, indeed, under the purview of SFPD but from what I’ve learned, it’s a complex tangled web that is pretty difficult to enforce without retail workers coming out with their scanners and being able to identify stolen merchandise in real time. That means, barring any changes to state legislation, Department of Public Works inspectors are the ones who are responsible, and the only ones allowed under state law, to enforce vending permits. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns of the past few years, inspectors have not felt safe conducting their jobs without SFPD officers accompanying them. On top of that, SFPD is not able to accompany them all the time, as they get pulled to regular calls for service. To complicate matters further, there are two permitting systems. One for BART, and one for the City and County of San Francisco. BART’s jurisdiction ends where the City’s sidewalk begins. Historically, BART has not had the wherewithal to be intimately involved with neither permitting nor general upkeep of the plazas, but I am hoping that we are at a point to reset this relationship and have them more involved. This is a quick summary of an imperfect system, operating in a broader broken system in which severely sick or impoverished people are selling items to survive, and residents facing the same pressures of survival, are incentivized to buy.

Systemic, economic context aside, I want to make sure that any longtime permitted community vendors who want to, are able to sell their legitimately procured merchandise, and do so in a safe environment. These are the abuelitos, abuelitas, or parents trying to make an honest living and provide for their families. That is why in the second week of February, I will be hosting an all-hands meeting between all of the above agencies and organizations to get everyone’s feedback on the vending system and its issues along 3 main metrics of success: safety, enforcement, and permitting. I will also be inviting the Mayor’s office, which is responsible for directing the departments involved in vending, including DPW, SFPD, OEWD, and DEM. As well, I have asked the Mayor to unfreeze 12 new inspector positions that were caught in his hiring freeze, so that there can be more coverage on nighttimes and weekends. Again, my north star is that Mission St and the BART plazas are places where everyone feels safe, welcome, and inspired. There has been progress made in the past few years, but we still have a long way to go. I am committed to working on this with all the relevant departments and stakeholders, as well as the Mayor, to make sure we achieve a safe Mission St & BART plazas for ALL.

IMMIGRATION & SANCTUARY CITY: Office of Community Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, Free-SF Coalition, Public Defender, Immigrants Rights Commission, Mayor Lurie, Rapid Response hotline, Mission Action, CARECEN, SFPD Chief Scott, SFUSD Superintendent Su, SFMTA Director Kirschbaum.

My first piece of legislation that I introduced as Supervisor was a resolution affirming San Francisco’s commitment to our Sanctuary City status. My colleagues unanimously cosponsored the resolution, and we unanimously passed it this past Tuesday after a big unity rally at City Hall. Sanctuary City means that city resources and personnel are prohibited from being used to assist in the enforcement of federal immigration law, unless required by federal law. It does not prevent ICE or Border Patrol from coming to the city to conduct lawful activities. The City government cannot control the actions of federal immigration officials. That said, ICE has been conducting targeted arrests of individuals, not raids. They attempted to enter a few office buildings downtown, but were mostly thwarted by property managers because they did not have the proper warrants. They are not, however, on MUNI buses. In this time of great fear and uncertainty, it is important to not share unverified reports of ICE presence. It can be very confusing because ICE agents sometimes look like police officers.

I am grateful to SFMTA, SFUSD, and SFPD, for picking up my calls and investigating reported ICE presence immediately, to be able to squash rumors as soon as possible. I also greatly appreciate Dr. Maria Su, the SFUSD Superintendent, for messaging families about SFUSD schools being committed to delivering education to all students, regardless of their documentation status, and for having protocols in place for school staff to follow should ICE appear at school sites. Please do your part in not sharing any unverified ICE reports on social media, and always using the Rapid Response Line (415) 200-1548 to connect any detained individuals with legal help. You can follow @MissionAction where they are regularly posting about reports. A couple weekends ago, my office also worked with

SFILEN and DSA-SF to post informational posters in the windows of Mission small businesses about rights that people have when interfacing with federal immigration officers. Anyone can print these posters and do the same by downloading the posters here. You can also print and distribute handy Know-Your-Rights red cards in many languages by downloading them here. If you want to help a neighbor or loved one feel supported at this time, consider walking them through the emergency toolkit available here , to come up with a plan. In this Trump 2.0 world, it is important to spread power, not panic. There are many ways, big and small, we can support our immigrant community in this chaotic time. For more about Sanctuary and what it means, visit the carousel pinned on my Instagram profile titled “Trump 2.0: How we spread power, not panic.”

PUBLIC HEALTH & OVERDOSE CRISIS: Mayor Lurie, Department of Public Health, Dr. Erhlich and Staff of SF General Hospital, Staff of SF AIDS Foundation, Health Right 360, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp and the Gubbio Project.

A priority of our office is ending the Opioid Overdose Epidemic. We have been meeting with and learning from public health policy experts, service providers, and frontline workers, on how we can work together to solve the Fentanyl Crisis. It is clear that we need a holistic plan to solve this emergency, which includes standing up more drug treatment beds, fully staffing our city's mental and behavioral health treatment system, and fostering trusting relationships between people with substance use disorder and those who can get them into treatment.

We have also been in extensive discussions with Mayor Lurie regarding his “Fentanyl State of Emergency” ordinance which, to be clear, is not a plan, but a package of ways the Mayor and the Departments can expedite contracts and fundraise for “Core Initiatives” related to homelessness, mental health, and substance use treatment.We agree that we have to combat the fentanyl epidemic with urgency by speeding up contracting and hiring of public safety and mental health professionals, but the unprecedented transfer of power from the Board of Supervisors to the mayor around contracts warrants discussion and amendments. Supervisor Chan’s amendments to this ordinance were unanimously approved by the Budget and Finance subcommittee, and the legislation was unanimously recommended for approval to the full Board of Supervisors meeting.  We will be voting on the ordinance next Tuesday. I am committed to working with the Mayor to ensure that District 9 sees the benefits of the ordinance, and that there is a research-driven plan to implement.