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Board of Supervisors

At the delegates meeting the candidates’ questionnaires were reviewed and candidates were interviewed about their positions. Issues of development, housing affordability, project labor agreements, accessibility as elected officials, and appointing labor representatives to Boards and Commissions were discussed.

• District 2 - Incumbent Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier was endorsed over challenger Guinto Peoro Vilma. Alioto-Pier was appointed to the Board in January 2004 by Gavin Newsom, then elected to the position in November 2004. The granddaughter of former SF Mayor Joseph Alioto, her priorities are, “to create as many jobs and employment opportunities as possible while making San Francisco a city welcoming to families, working people and the general public.” She has written legislation to establish a biotech payroll exemption and a Film Rebate Program designed to bring more industry and work to the city and has pledged to, “continue to look for other areas of potential job growth and creation,” including building more sound stages in the city to better compete within the film industry and to look at creating more jobs in the cruise ship industry. Alioto-Pier supports development that is done responsibly with respect for communities.

• District 4 - Jaynry Mak, an attorney and legislative aide to Dist. 4 Supervisor Fiona Ma, was endorsed. Mak wants to make San Francisco affordable for teachers, nurses, and firefighters and would insist on PLAs for public works projects. She also wants to fully fund the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE). “I will never vote to contract out and never vote to privatize,” she asserted. She would support an affordable housing bond that increase low income and middle income housing opportunities and protects rent control. Mak displayed a thorough knowledge of union and building trades issues, supporting “smart growth,” mixed land use, and transit oriented development, including the construction of the Transbay Terminal and the extension of Caltrains. She supported efforts to oblige City agencies to negotiate PLAs and strongly supported prevailing wages.

• District 6 - Incumbent Chris Daly was endorsed over his seven challengers. Daly, reelected in 2002, is an outspoken and passionate advocate for economic, social, and environmental justice and for affordable housing and tenants’ rights. He is a strong union supporter and has walked picket lines and spoken at rallies for hospital workers, airport screeners, and SF Chronicle press workers. He currently serves as Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and is a member of the SF County Transportation Authority and the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, where he has pushed for developing a new multi-modal transit center with a rail extension to downtown San Francisco. Daly supports development with higher density but wanted to make sure workers making $70,000 a year can afford to live in San Francisco. Daly negotiated an agreement with Rincon Hill developers that will bring $120 million of investment and community benefits to the South of Market Street neighborhood, including affordable housing, economic development, community facilities, and family services. He said he was open to meeting with individual unions to discuss issues, supported project labor agreements and fully funding the OLSE.

• District 8 - Incumbent District Supervisor Bevan Dufty was endorsed for reelection over challenger Alix Rosenthal. Elected to the Board in 2002, Dufty touted his pro-development record and offered support for project labor agreements and fully funding the OLSE. “We have the money to fund it — thanks to the building that we are doing,” he pointed out. Dufty supported the school bond campaign and promised to “work with you on the PLA.” One of his top priorities was “improving the quality of life for all San Franciscans by increasing the number of affordable housing units and keeping our public transit system affordable and more efficient.” He believes in responsible development, which need “appropriate neighborhood input, affordability, union labor, and the right landscape.”

• District 10 - Incumbent Sophie Maxwell was endorsed over challenger Rodney Hampton, Jr. Elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2002, Maxwell chairs the Land Use & Economic Development Committee on the Board. A 25-year union electrician for AMTRAK, Maxwell has a strong track record of support for union workers and for building trades issues. “San Francisco has an income disparity. The trades bridge that gap,” she said. Maxwell helped establish City Build to offer more opportunities for young workers to get into the construction trades. Maxwell supports PLAs, including for the SF School District. “Labor should help try to get the crafts back into the public schools,” she added, through shop programs and apprenticeships. Her priorities are economic development, violence prevention, and environmental justice: “I have worked to create jobs for families living in poverty, to create and keep blue collar jobs, and require developers to build more affordable housing.”

Board of Education

In the race for Board of Education, 16 candidates are running for three positions on the seven-member board. The Building Trades Council interviewed eight of them, including one incumbent. They endorsed Bob Twomey, Jane Kim, and Hydra Mendoza for the Board.

• Jane Kim - A Youth Education Director for the Chinatown Community Development Center, Kim is also President of the San Francisco People’s Organization, a new progressive coalition of community, labor, and environmental groups. Her priorities were to increase discretionary funds for the district and to build partnerships in the community for after-school programs. Kim said she would support a PLA for the School District and an extension of the PLA for the new bond measure if it is passed in November. She will lobby Sacramento to increase appropriations for education, support refinancing of bond monies for the renovation of facilities, try to build community support for a parcel tax, and institute a $5 voluntary check-off for SF taxpayers to support the District-endorsed candidate.

• Bob Twomey - A long-time union member and organizer currently with SEIU, Twomey formerly served as a delegate to the San Mateo County Central Labor Council as a member of Bricklayers Local 3. As a Deputy Labor Commissioner who handled over 400 prevailing wage complaints, he has direct experience with enforcement of Prevailing Wage requirements. Twomey supports extension of a PLA for the new bond measure and proposed, “requiring PLAs and funding the compliance offices responsible for monitoring these activities,” as well as ensuring that compliance staff are properly trained. A father of four children who attended SF public schools and has been active in the PTA, Twomey wants better training for educators and support staff, and to include them in decision-making. Twomey also wants to ensure that all construction projects are properly budgeted and include project labor agreements.

• Hydra Mendoza - An Education Advisor for the City, Mendoza was appointed by Mayor Newsom in 2005 to serve as liaison to connect the schools with the City. She has experience as an organizer and was a member of the Citizen Bond Oversight Committee in 2003. Mendoza supports prevailing wages and extending a project labor agreement for a new school bond. “I’m passionate and committed to public education,” she said. She has two children in SF public schools and serves as Executive Director of Parents for Public Schools, a national organization. Mendoza said she considers herself to be “the parent’s choice,” and added that her strength was in building relationships with various constituencies involved with public education in the City.

Community College Board of Trustees

Six candidates are running for three positions on the seven-member Community College Board of Trustees. Incumbents Johnnie Carter, Anita Grier, and Lawrence Wong were endorsed. John Rizzo and Bruce Wolfe were also interviewed and generally supported SFBCTC positions, but lacked the experience and positive track record of the incumbents up for reelection.

• Johnnie Carter – An incumbent, Carter helped obtain the PLA for the Community College. “I’ve voted for contracts that provide wage and benefit increases for the CCSF building and construction trades unions,” he said. Carter touted his track record of listening to the concerns of the teachers, service employees, and building trades unions represented at the community college. He said he supported continuation of the PLA and specifically wanted to make sure that students who went through City College’s Pre-Apprenticeship program would be placed in building trades apprenticeship programs.

• Anita Greer - Incumbent Greer is “committed to project labor agreements,” she said, and wants to extend the PLA to any new bond measures, make sure it is properly implemented, and support apprenticeships. Greer also offered to help the building trades with efforts to reach a project labor agreement with the SFUSD.

• Lawrence Wong – 12-year incumbent Wong has a strong pro-labor record, and has supported the PLA and its implementation. Not only does he want to see the PLA extended at the community college, he wants to see a PLA negotiated for the SF Unified School District. He is committed to making higher education accessible, saying, “We are helping people’s lives, helping their dreams come true through education at the community college.” His priorities: lobby the state for more funding, diversify the college’s faculty, and continue to move forward the capital building project to provide students with a proper learning environment.

San Francisco Labor Council 2006 Endorsements

San Francisco Ballot Measures

A	School Bond and Tax Rate Statement	YES
B	Allowing Members of the Board and Commissions to Participate in Meetings and Teleconferences due to Pregnancy and Related Conditions; Adoption of Parental Leave Policies	No Recommendation
C	Setting Salaries of Certain Local Officials	YES
D	Disclosure of Private Information	YES
E	Parking Tax Ordinance	No Recommendation
F	Paid Leave Ordinance	YES
G	Limitation on Formula Retail Stores	YES
H	Relation Assistance for No-Fault Tenant Removal	YES
I	Adopting a policy that the Mayor Appear Monthly at a Board of Supervisors Meeting	No Recommendation
J	Adopting a policy calling for the Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Chaney	YES
K	Adopting a policy relating to housing needs of seniors and disabled adults	YES

• Jeff Adachi – has the San Francisco Labor Council's endorsement for Public Defender

California Labor Federation 2006 Endorsements

State Constitutional Offices

	Governor		Phil Angelides (D)
	Lieutenant Governor		John Garamendi (D)
	Attorney General		Jerry Brown (D)
	Secretary of State		Debra Bowen (D)
	Treasurer		Bill Lockyer (D)
	Controller		John Chiang (D)
	Insurance Commissioner		Cruz Bustamant (D)

Board of Equalization

	District 1		Betty Yee (D)
	District 2		No Endorsement
	District 3		No Endorsement
	District 4		Judy Chu (D)

Ballot Measures

1A	Transportation Funding Protection. Legislative Constitutional Amendment	YES
1B	Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security	YES
1C	Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006	YES
1D	Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006	YES
1E	Disaster Preparedness and Flood Prevention Bond Act of 2006	YES
83	Sex Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence Restrictions and Monitoring. Initiative Statute	No Recommendation
84	Water Quality, Safety and Supply. Flood Control. Natural Resource Protection. Park Improvements. Bonds. Initiative Statute	YES
85	Waiting Period and Parental Notification Before Termination of Minor’s Pregnancy. Initiative Constitutional Amendment	NO
86	Tax on Cigarettes. Constitutional Amendment	YES
87	Alternative Energy. Research, Production, Incentives. Tax on California Oil. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute	YES
88	Education Funding. Real Property Parcel Tax. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute	NO
89	Political Campaigns. Public Financing. Corporate Tax Increase Contribution and Expenditure Limits. Initiative Statute	No Recommendation
90	Government Acquisition, Regulation of Private Property Initiative Constitutional Amendment	NO