Candidates

Statement from the candidate:

San Francisco has always been a pioneer in every facet of life from civil rights to the arts and environmental policy. The technology sector is another area where we excel and positively contribute to our local economy and the culture of our City. It draws on our intellectual capital and creativity and helps us solve local issues with new and innovative ideas as we adapt to changing times.

Statement from the candidate:

San Francisco is the global tech industry’s center for startups. These companies and people are at the forefront of innovation worldwide. They have connected cyberspace to the physical world without having to leave our home for everyone to use and enjoy. But San Francisco made it harder not easier for new talent. With the high cost of rent, public transportation, and public safety San Francisco has become unattractive as other cities and states provide more incentives for our tech industry. San Francisco and its residents have benefited from the partnerships of the tech industry, and now San Francisco has to make it easier not hard to attract and keep our tech workers and industry in our City.

Statement from the candidate:

Our technology industry has the chance to be a partner in helping San Francisco fix its most persistent problems, be an avenue for economic growth, and represent our city proudly on an international stage. To reach this ambitious goal, leaders within both San Francisco’s government and technology industry must work collaboratively and stay focused on the impact the industry has on the lives of everyday residents.

Statement from the candidate:

The tech industry is an important part of the City’s economic engine and vitality. But the tech industry needs to be cognizant of the effects their success has on low-income and communities of color. Government should work with the tech industry to bridge the economic divide, I feel I’m the candidate to make that happen

Statement from the candidate:

Since its founding on occupied Ohlone land, San Francisco has been a place of opportunity and hustle: the discovery of gold in 1849 brought great wealth and also inequity, and that has been a pattern throughout our history. The tech industry has transformed the globe in ways we know and future ways we can only imagine. It has also transformed San Francisco: it has brought great wealth and opportunity, and has also caused hardship and disparity. I would define the job I am seeking, as policy maker, to manage change and growth, to regulate the excesses of capital, to invest wisely and judiciously in our infrastructure so that economic growth can happen while minimizing its negative impacts, and maximizing the opportunities for our City and its population.

Joel Engardio gave good answers on tech and small business issues, but his public statements against new dense housing developments in most neighborhoods, and his law-and-order rhetoric made us all agree that he did not deserve our endorsement. However, we are including his statement because, while we disagree with many of his positions, we seek to educate voters in the tech industry who may have different values from our own.

Statement from the candidate:

The tech community is an important contributor to San Francisco’s dynamic economy and culture. Tech workers are creators and artists. They are our colleagues, friends, neighbors and family members. They make San Francisco more interesting and diverse, continuing a long history of newcomers transforming the city for the better. It is important to encourage and facilitate tech workers to engage in political discourse. All of San Francisco can benefit by embracing the benefits of tech and innovation.

No candidate earned our endorsement in this contest.

No candidate earned our endorsement in this contest.

Statement from the candidate:

I don’t think it makes sense to paint the tech industry with a broad brush. The work of social media companies, electric car companies, and rocket companies could not be more different, yet we paint it all as “tech.” I think that smart regulation, including strong user privacy and net neutrality laws, will foster innovation and minimize negative externalities. Ultimately, technology is a tool, and we must use the power of law to make sure it is a tool for social equity and human flourishing.

Statement from the candidate:

The tech industry in San Francisco has been instrumental in creating global transformative products that have impacted people all around the world. Likewise, people from all over the world come to work in our tech industry in all types of roles, from entry-level to senior executives and have added to the diversity and depth of our city. Thousands more have innovated to create services that rely on our tech community and show that San Franciscans will always create more. However, tech has increased the cost of living in the city and has created very real concerns about inequality and the ability of non-tech people to continue to live here. I think we as a city have real work to do to develop solutions to ensure that both tech and non-tech can co-exist and thrive.

Statement from the candidate:

Having worked in two tech start-ups in San Francisco and as a senior university administrator in the UC system, I know what an important role City College could play as a key partner for the tech industry, fostering great local jobs for the next generation that reinvigorate and diversify our city in the post-COVID-19 economy. But we must act now and seize the opportunity to retrain our workforce and shape our pipelines from education to employment, meet the challenges of the pandemic head-on through innovative online course offerings, and embrace the demands of the new economy with pathways to the certifications and degrees that will elevate our students on the opportunity ladder.

Lateefah Simon did not provide a statement.

No candidate earned our endorsement in this race.