Black community leaders rally in support of voter registration

#500forLondon: Leading mayoral candidate London Breed rallies big crowd, registers voters on Third Street

by Tara Moriarty

San Francisco ​— Board​ of Supervisors president and candidate for mayor London Breed is urging first-time voters to register for the upcoming June 5th election. Sunday, she hosted a rally for her #500forLondon voter registration drive, which coincided with the grand opening of her Bayview campaign office.

Grand-Opening-London-for-Mayor-4726-3rd-St-office-London-speaks-041518-229x300, Black community leaders rally in support of voter registration, Local News & Views
At the grand opening of her Bayview office at 4726 Third St. on April 15, London Breed spoke passionately about being a mayor of and for the people.

“We need to make sure that every eligible San Francisco voter has a voice in this election,” said President Breed to a throng of supporters. “The challenges facing our city today require bold, creative solutions from a fearless leader.

“I have a plan to make the right investments so that no one is forced to sleep on our streets, I pledge to build more housing so that bus drivers and teachers can afford to live here, and I will hold those who are responsible for car break-ins accountable for their actions!”

Several Black leaders rallied the community in support of registering first-time voters in the Bayview neighborhood on Sunday, April 15, at President Breed’s campaign office located at 4726 Third St.

“The goal of today is to give a voice to residents that don’t have one. By registering members of our community to vote, we give power to their voice and they will have the opportunity to exercise that power, that right, on June 5th when selecting San Francisco’s next mayor,” said Comedian Jason Murray.

Murray emceed today’s #500forLondon closing rally, which featured speeches by San Francisco Community College Board Trustee Shanell Williams and District 10 supervisorial candidates Shamann Williams and Theo Ellington.

Last Saturday, April 7, community leaders with London Breed’s campaign staged a kickoff #500forLondon rally in her hometown neighborhood, the Western Addition/Fillmore District. The goal was to register 500 first-time voters before the May 21 deadline.

“With just 51 days to go before the election, I know we can do this!” Breed said. “I promise to be a mayor for all San Franciscans but I can’t do it unless you vote for me.”

“We need to make sure that every eligible San Francisco voter has a voice in this election,” said President Breed to a throng of supporters. “The challenges facing our city today require bold, creative solutions from a fearless leader.

As supervisor, Breed has passed legislation to increase housing along transit corridors and prioritize neighborhood residents for the affordable homes in their community. She helped transform unused public housing units into homes for homeless families and is leading the effort to renovate thousands more.

London has fought for more navigation centers for the homeless and launched a task force to study if safe injection facilities can help IV drug users off the streets and into treatment. She is also working on improving mental health services for all San Franciscans.

She is a native San Franciscan, raised by her grandmother in Plaza East Public Housing in the Western Addition. She graduated with honors from Galileo High School and attended the University of California, Davis, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Public Service with a minor in African American Studies. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Grand-Opening-London-for-Mayor-4726-3rd-St-office-big-Sunday-Streets-crowd-041518-300x108, Black community leaders rally in support of voter registration, Local News & Views
The big crowd that came to see London on April 15 covered the sidewalk and could spread out onto Third Street because it was Sunday Streets day on Third and some of it was closed to traffic. That’s the historic Bayview Opera House on the right.

London releases 10-point plan to improve education and provide affordable housing for teachers

London Breed has announced a bold plan designed to enhance San Francisco’s public education system, focused on improving teachers’ quality of life; allowing students to attend school in their own neighborhoods; launching universal pre-K; and creating more job opportunities for students in our tech sector and other industries.

“I wouldn’t be writing this platform or running for mayor if it weren’t for our San Francisco public schools. As a child, I walked with my friends both to Rosa Parks Elementary and to Ben Franklin Middle School and rode Muni to Galileo High School,” said Breed. “Thanks to the amazing teachers who believed in and supported me along the way, I was able to attend another public school, the University of California at Davis, before receiving my master’s degree from the University of San Francisco.”

Breed’s platform on education, the fourth in a series of comprehensive policy platforms she has issued in recent weeks, can be found here.

“I wouldn’t be writing this platform or running for mayor if it weren’t for our San Francisco public schools. As a child, I walked with my friends both to Rosa Parks Elementary and to Ben Franklin Middle School and rode Muni to Galileo High School,” said Breed.

“SFUSD and City College graduates need to be connected with the jobs of tomorrow. As mayor, I plan to partner with employers, unions and industries early on to help students secure internships, apprenticeships and mentorships,” said Breed.

“As a grateful alumna of the San Francisco Unified School District, I had my first paid job with the Mayor’s Youth Employment and Training Program. The opportunity not only helped put some money in my pocket, but the experience gave me the confidence to pursue college and achieve my dreams.”

Grand-Opening-London-for-Mayor-4726-3rd-St-office-Black-voters-041518-300x224, Black community leaders rally in support of voter registration, Local News & Views
Black folks, including young people, turned out to cheer for London. They could be the swing votes to elect her if they turn out to “vote 100 percent,” as the oldtimers used to say back when the Black population – before gentrification – was much larger and Bayview Hunters Point was a major force in San Francisco elections.

Among the many detailed plans and highlights in Breed’s plan is a commitment to increase teacher salaries and build more affordable housing for them.

“New SFUSD teachers make about $55,000 a year, but a study released in February showed that you need to make $303,000 to afford a median-priced single-family home in San Francisco,” explained Breed. “After your $300,000 down payment, you’ll be paying $7,500 per month in mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. I can’t afford that. Teachers certainly can’t afford it.”

New teachers make about 70 percent of the Area Median Income, which means they can afford around $19,000 in annual housing costs or a purchase price of about $200,000.

“Unfortunately, our affordable housing policies have consistently neglected the “working middle”: teachers, writers, bus drivers and others who make too much for traditional affordable housing, but not nearly enough for market rate housing,” said Breed. “I have not only fought to expand our affordable housing production, but to make more of those units available to teachers.”

Breed is pledging to expand affordable housing production, making sure more units such as the proposed Outer Sunset project at 43rd and Judah, are available for teachers.

Highlights of Board President London Breed’s “Making Our Schools Worthy of Their Students” include:

  1. Provide affordable housing for teachers
  • Build 150 new homes for teachers in the Outer Sunset;
  • Expand down payment assistance programs, rental subsidies and housing counseling;
  • Secure hundreds more teacher homes through our Small Sites Acquisition Program.
  1. Raise teacher pay
  • Support Living Wage for Educators Act (Prop G) which provides $50 million a year to increase teacher pay citywide;
  • Provide parking permits for teachers in neighborhoods where they teach;
  • Allow preference to enroll teachers’ children where they teach or live;
  • Dramatically increase pay for preschool, K-12 teachers and paraprofessionals.
  1. Launch universal pre-K
  • Provide full access to preschool for all 3, 4 and 5-year-olds in San Francisco;
  • Fully subsidize slots in preschools that already participate in the Preschool for All Program;
  • Increase the number of preschool slots in the SF School District;
  • Raise the reimbursement rates for students who qualify for state and federal subsidies.

Breed also vowed to continue her fight for the Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) and Children’s Fund, as she did with the ballot measure to expand and extend them in 2014.

“I will make sure the baseline funding they provide is protected in our City budget,” Breed said.

Breed promised to work with the School District and City College to expand summer school offerings, particularly for high school students. She will also support afterschool and summer school programs and ensure that the Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF), which allocates most of the City’s education and youth funding, is aligned with district and families’ priorities.

“As executive director of the African American Art and Culture Complex for 10 years, I worked closely with DCYF to ensure sufficient funding for our programs for low-income children and to pay our onsite teachers, tutors and paraprofessionals a quality wage,” said Breed.

To learn more about London’s Housing, Public Safety, Homelessness and Education platforms, go to www.LondonforMayor.com.

Tara Moriarty can be reached at tara@LondonforMayor.com.