|
Thanks to the 26,000 District 8 residents who voted for another four years of action on housing, transit, mental health services and treatment on demand.
|
|
|
|
WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON
|
|
|
YES ON L! Thank you San Francisco for overwhelmingly passing Prop L, renewing a 30-year half-cent sales tax that generates roughly $100 million annually to fund improvements like new buses and light rail vehicles, street paving, bike lanes, and safety improvements for pedestrians. We campaigned hard to convince two-thirds of voters to invest in our transit future, and they did!
NEW REFORMS TO MANAGE CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS: With major funding for the future of SF transportation secured through Pop L, I recently introduced an ordinance to make some important changes to the way City agencies manage construction projects, and to increase accountability for City contractors. We are all well too aware of how often San Francisco struggles with delivering large public works projects that end up delayed and over budget.
Too often contracts big and small go to an under-qualified contractor because they present the lowest bid. Or contractors with poor past performance continue winning new contracts with the City because we have not invested in appropriate safeguards to review past performance and ensure lessons learned from one project help inform future ones. The reforms introduced on Tuesday, December 13, would codify recommendations from the City’s Civil Grand Jury to allow more flexibility in how bids for major capital projects are scored, eliminating a code requirement that project cost must account for at least 40% of a bidder’s score, and require City departments to consult contractor performance evaluations when when selecting contractors for a new project.
|
|
|
Thank you to Parivar Bay Area for hosting the San Francisco Transgender Immigrant Symposium.
I appreciate the important work they are doing to lift up transgender experiences around the world.
|
|
|
CANNABIS TAX SUSPENSION PASSED: On November 15, the Board voted to pass my ordinance suspending the City’s Cannabis Business Tax through December 31, 2025. San Francisco has always led the way when it comes to cannabis, and this is a critical moment for the legal cannabis industry: It faces significant challenges, including unique cost pressures, a persistent illicit market, extreme price volatility, and a high overall tax burden. A joint is currently taxed at more than double the rate of a bottle of wine or a cocktail. With the Cannabis Business Tax in effect, a joint would be taxed at almost three times the rate of a bottle of wine.
We cannot expect legal cannabis operators to effectively compete with the unregulated market, which comprises approximately two-thirds of total cannabis sales in San Francisco, while adding new taxes. Illegal cannabis operators pay no taxes, don't apply for business permits and don't subject their cannabis to rigorous quality control. This suspension will allow legal operators to gain a foothold in the market and eventually contribute more to our city’s general fund. The long-term sales and gross receipts tax revenue that will come from ensuring all operators are above board will outweigh any short-term gains from squeezing the small share of the market that’s opting to absorb the significant costs of operating legally for an extra tax.
|
|
|
On November 22, 2022, I joined the Mayor and BART officials to cut the ribbon on the remodel of Powell Station. Partly paid for by our half-cent transportation tax that voters re-approved in November, the remodel includes upgraded bathrooms, elevators and fare gates. The new open floor plan and public art make it the perfect launching pad for holiday shopping!
|
|
|
MASSAGE LEGISLATION: On November 15, I introduced a measure to update San Francisco’s complex and burdensome rules on massage businesses. These well-intended restrictions, meant to weed out sexual exploitation and trafficking, place undue burdens on small business operators, who are overwhelmingly women and people of color.
My legislation will eliminate duplicate permitting and unnecessary bureaucratic approvals while maintaining oversight by the Department of Public Health. We can crack down on trafficking without swamping credentialed operators with red tape and hefty fees.
GOOD GOVERNMENT: Working to make our government more efficient and effective, I co-authored an ordinance waiving certain first-year business registration fees and removed the requirement that the business be located on the ground floor of a building. This will add flexibility to our commercial district landscape that will help San Francisco rebound from the pandemic and make us better prepared for the future.
|
|
|
|
|
On Tuesday, November 8, the Board of Supervisors honored Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who is retiring after more than 40 years representing the Bay Area, including 14 years as a Member of the United States House of Representatives.
|
|
|
Drag Laureate Applications. The newly created role of San Francisco Drag Laureate will embody San Francisco’s historic, diverse and inclusive drag culture, elevating the entire community on the national and international stage. Apply by January 16 to become the City’s first Drag Laureate.
Central Subway Starts Limited Service. SFMTA is running limited service of the new subway, running every 12 minutes 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays and Sundays, serving Chinatown-Rose Pak, Union Square/Market, Yerba Buena Moscone, and 4th and Brannan stations.
Individuals or groups of older adults and people with disabilities who would like to improve their transit skills or gain more experience using the Muni system can sign up for travel training.
Delivery App Update. The rules for 3rd party delivery services have recently changed, impacting the delivery fees businesses pay. Beginning on January 31, 2023, 3rd party delivery services must offer you a contract option with a maximum delivery fee of no more than 15%. Find out more at sf.gov, or reach out directly to the service(s) you use.
SFPUC Offers Floodwater Grants. Residents at risk for flood can prepare for the future or repair damage of the past using SFPUC Floodwater Grants, which reimburse eligible residential and commercial property owners up to $100,000 for implementing flood resiliency projects on their properties.
Street Cleaning Change. Glen Park will be a little cleaner, thanks to weekly street cleaning in front of Dolores Huerta Elementary School’s Chenery side entrance. The rest of the streets will continue to be cleaned every other week. Expect updated signage soon.
|
|
|
Unveiling the Polytechnic Way commemorative street sign outside of Kezar Stadium
in honor of San Francisco’s first public high school. Go Poly!
|
|
|
I had the privilege of recognizing a very special resident of the Duboce Triangle neighborhood, Howard Mutz. He has lived in Duboce Triangle since 1975. Howard and his faithful Doberman Evie make the rounds of the neighborhood daily--sometimes multiple times a day--picking up trash. Once a year Howard takes it upon himself to repaint the concrete bollards that serve as seating for the neighborhood’s bulbout mini-parks every year. Thank you, Howard!
|
|
|
Neighborhood Meetings
Eureka Valley Neighborhood Association meets every other month on the fourth Thursday virtually.
Upper Noe Neighbors meets every other month on the third Wednesday at the Upper Noe Recreation Center.
Glen Park Association will meet January 19, 6pm, at the Glen Park Recreation Center.
Dolores Heights Improvement Club. Green Gardens group holds monthly clean-ups on the first Saturday of the month from 9am – 10:30am.
DHIC Board meets on the second Monday of every other month (except December.) Meetings are held via Zoom from 7pm – 8pm. Email info@doloresheights.org to obtain the Zoom meeting link.
Castro Art Mart is a monthly street fair on Noe Street between Market and Beaver the first Sunday of every month from 11am-5pm featuring LGBTQ art from local artists, live music, comedy and drag shows, and more.
Noe Valley Town Square hosts regular events such as Acoustic Sunday, Rhythm and Motion dance, and Free Sunday Morning Yoga.
|
|
|
Recently I gave the keynote speech for the 2022 Crisis Intervention Team Awards, which went to 23 San Francisco
police officers and 2 clinicians from the Department of Public Health for their extraordinary efforts to
de-escalate dangerous situations involving people experiencing psychosis.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Will a baby’s reported fentanyl overdose be a ‘wake-up’ call for S.F.’s leaders on the drug crisis?
San Francisco Chronicle, December 1
Mandelman also said he is encouraged by the efforts of District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who he said “clearly believes in prosecuting drug crime.” Mandelman also said he had heard from constituents who, like him, were horrified by the incident. “I’m hearing that it’s been motivating for some people who have decided they’re gonna get more involved,” Mandelman said Thursday. “They’re fed up. They want to see change.”
|
|
|
Crowds Gather to Mourn Club Q Victims and 44th Anniversary of Harvey Milk's Assassination
KQED, November 29
For District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelmann, the anniversary felt bittersweet. "There's hundreds and hundreds of queer elected officials," said Mandelman, of the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made since Milk's assassination. "This is a quite different world. And I think in many ways, Harvey Milk, if he were alive today ... he would be very gratified to see the changes that have happened. I think he'd also be saddened that there's still so much killing and hatred and death."
|
|
|
SF supervisors panel advances proposed changes to city employee giving program
Bay Area Reporter, November 28
Following concerns raised by city employees about the destination of monies raised under San Francisco's Heart of the City combined charities program, the three members of the Board of Supervisors' Rules Committee agreed Monday to recommend updating the regulations concerning agencies qualified to participate in the 2022 Annual Joint Fundraising Drive for officers and employees of the City and County of San Francisco. The measure, sponsored by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, passed 3-0.
|
|
|
Castro leaders discuss how to expand queer spaces in the neighborhood
Bay Area Reporter, November 22
If landlords reduced rents and the city eased many of the requirements for building permits, business owners would be more likely to set up shop, Mandelman noted. As it is, owners have to "get through 17 departments that have to say yes" before they can open, he added.
|
|
|
Housing Activists Plot Their Next Move as Ballot Measure Fails
The San Francisco Standard, November 14
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman sees the Housing Element Update, up for discussion at the board tomorrow, as City Hall’s main opportunity to fix San Francisco’s housing process and to plan its growth.
The stakes are higher this year than in the past: The city is facing elevated housing targets—nearly three times as high as the last cycle’s—and worse penalties, too. And if the city fails to certify its plan by the end of January, the “builder’s remedy” will kick in, stripping San Francisco of its control over its own zoning-based housing approvals.
Meanwhile, the state has initiated an investigation into the city’s housing policies and practices and is expected to release its first round of preliminary findings in January before a final report in July.
“The voters have not solved this problem for us, and we need to do the work,” Mandelman said.
|
|
|
SF supervisors panel advances update to prohibited bias definitions
Bay Area Reporter, November 14
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee on Monday advanced changes to the city's administrative code that will update definitions of prohibited discrimination in contracting ordinances.
Sponsored by Mayor London Breed and gay supervisors Rafael Mandelman (District 8) and Matt Dorsey (District 6), the proposal now heads to the full board. The rules committee, made up of Mandelman, who is vice chair, District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, chair; and District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, unanimously approved sending the item forward. There was no public comment.
|
|
|
San Francisco Poised to Suspend its Local Cannabis Tax Again—This Time Until 2026
The San Francisco Standard, November 10
“We are currently facing an existential issue for the legalization project. The cannabis market is not where any of us would like us to be,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman at the Wednesday meeting.
|
|
|
SF Transportation Tax Leading in Unofficial Returns
Bay Area Reporter, November 9
Championed by gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who is also chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Prop L renews the one-half cent transportation sales tax that has been in place since 1989. In a guest opinion in the Bay Area Reporter last week, Mandelman stressed that it's not a new tax.
|
|
|
Call To Keep Tenderloin Center Barely Passed by Supervisors
The San Francisco Standard, November 8
Mandelman noted that the controversial site “has been an extraordinarily expensive intervention,” citing a cost of $20 million per year to continue the operation of the Tenderloin Center. “There’s no evidence that I’ve seen that it’s reduced overdose deaths in San Francisco or in the area where it’s located.”
|
|
|
Gay SF supervisor Mandelman sails to 2nd term
Bay Area Reporter, November 8
"I feel really great; it's nice to win by a large margin," Mandelman told the Bay Area Reporter.
|
|
|
‘What’s the Freaking Gap’: SF Health Officials in Hot Seat as Supervisors Demand Answers on Drug Treatment
The San Francisco Standard, October 27
San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the mayor’s office are nearing a deal to allow at least four units of housing on every residentially zoned lot in The City and up to six units on corner lots. If approved by the full Board of Supervisors, the measure would be a significant shift in housing policy in a city that has been mired in debate for years over its approach to density
|
|
|
SF’s Toilet Travails Flush Out City’s Inability to Just Get Things Done
The San Francisco Standard, October 24
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is already scrutinizing one policy that could play a role in high costs—that’s a city ordinance banning contracts with companies headquartered in 30 states that have reduced protections for LGBTQ residents or passed restrictive abortion or voting laws. The city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that ordinance could be responsible for 20% higher costs for city projects.
|
|
|
|
|
NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE HOURS
|
|
Our first office hours of 2023 will be held virtually via Zoom on Saturday, January 14, from 10am-12pm. Email MandelmanStaff@sfgov.org to request a 10-minute appointment. Appointments are on a first come, first served basis.
|
YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC SAFETY LIAISON
|
|
Have you met Dave yet? Dave Burke is a civilian employee of the San Francisco Police Department and serves as the District 8 Public Safety Liaison. Reach him at dave.burke@sfgov.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
