|
This information is provided by the candidate
A New Vision for a Working San Francisco
Some say it's hopeless. The city is unaffordable. Our families and neighbors have been pushed out. Back room corporate deals and developer interests trump our progressive city values, and drive public policies that benefit the few and fail the public.
But I love San Francisco, and my family is choosing to stay. I know it's not hopeless, because we are a city of everyday Giants who are unsung champions for change, and together, we can make San Francisco work for all of us. We can build a movement to turn the city around, and become a beacon for the nation. We can show that economic recovery happens when we prioritize the needs of the middle-class and working people over the interests of big corporations.
I am running to be the next Mayor of San Francisco, but I am not your typical politician. I am a family man, a public servant, and a community organizer. I'm driven by my values and accountable to the people I represent. I have the courage to stand on my own convictions, to stand up against the greed of big business, and to stand up for our children and future generations.
As Budget Chair of the Board of Supervisors, I closed a combined $1 billion deficit over two years. I saved hundreds of jobs and protected our City's safety-net. I authored the landmark Local Hiring legislation that put San Franciscans in the trades back to work. I also led the effort to bring in $45 million in new progressive revenue which will keep our budget whole through this fiscal year. But I didn't do it alone. All these achievements were only possible because I worked with neighbors, advocates, and voters across the City.
As Mayor, I will work with all of you to strengthen our economy, our neighborhoods, and our movement for change. Together, we can:
Revitalize Our Local Economy
- Create Thousands of Local Living Wage Jobs
My top priority is to create living wage jobs for San Franciscans, to put local residents back to work with good green and blue collar jobs and in the public sector. We must strengthen local pathways for job training, direct placement and job security in the fields with the greatest opportunities for growth, that currently employ the majority of San Franciscans: small businesses, health care, education, and public service. We must replace the Payroll Business Tax, which discourages job growth, with a revenue-generating Gross Receipts Tax, to level the playing field in favor of small businesses. We also have to support local artists, and invest in new jobs in the emerging made-in-SF manufacturing industries, including the promotion of local power.
- Create Our Own Local Bank and Hold Corporate Banks Accountable
We need to create a bank for Everyday Giants, and not Corporate Giants. San Francisco has a budget of over $6.5 billion, which is currently held at Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Instead of lining the pocket of corporations who created the current economic crisis, the residents of this city should be able to choose where their tax dollars go, and whom they benefit. We can create our own local bank, one that serves our local economy. With our own municipal bank, we will be free from the tyranny of big banks whose fraudulent mortgage practices have caused suffering for our families and a disaster for our economy. We can leverage our tax dollars to provide loans for our small businesses, generate new revenue, and keep families in their homes.
- Close Tax Loop-Holes & Generate New Progressive Revenue
The economic crisis has widened disparities between the haves and the have-nots, and corporate bail-outs and tax breaks have not proven to be effective in creating jobs, or resuscitating the economy. Our communities continue to suffer from record-high unemployment, while the rich are paying fewer and fewer taxes. Instead of balancing the budget by laying off teachers, cutting services, closing parks and hiking fees, I will stand up to entrenched interests, close loop-holes, and generate progressive revenue. Reforming our business tax, collecting our hotel tax from on-line companies, and ensuring that the rich and all corporate interests pay their fair share, we can generate $500 million to improve our schools, without home-owners bearing the burden. This new revenue will create new jobs, fully fund public education, build affordable housing, and make transit work for all San Franciscans.
Build a Vibrant, Livable San Francisco
- Make SF a Truly Transit-First City & Provide Free MUNI for Students
MUNI has been used as an ATM by past administrations, with millions going to other departments instead of serving riders. As a result, MUNI services have been cut while fares have doubled. We must put a stop to non-essential work orders so that we can provide riders the service they deserve. Every neighborhood should have access to timely, affordable and accessible public transit options. Free passes for all school-aged youth will allow young San Franciscans to get to school, field trips and internships, helping children learn and thrive and growing the next generation of transit-riders.
- Make Universal Health Care Real
The City of San Francisco was the first city to create a healthcare plan for all residents. Now we must stand up to profit-driven corporations and their lobbyists to finally close the loopholes in Healthy SF so that every San Franciscan, regardless of their income, can get the healthcare they need. We need to hold greedy healthcare corporations like Sutter CPMC accountable to provide care for the underserved communities, not just the wealthy, and to do their part to put San Francisco back to work.
- Restore Our Parks & Create Public Plazas & Promenades
I will ensure that all San Franciscans have access to safe parks and high quality recreation. I will expand green open space, rebuild our parks and put a stop to the privatization of our clubhouses. I will create car-free, family-friendly public roads and spaces that help to create the culturally vibrant, diverse and green neighborhoods that nearly every San Franciscan desires, starting with car-free Plaza Valencia in the heart of "La Mission".
- Fully Invest in our Public Education System
The future of San Francisco depends on how well we invest in our public schools. With a bold plan for new progressive revenue, we can be the first City to stop the cuts to our classrooms and finally, fully fund our public education system. We can fund the vision of parents, students, educators and SFUSD leaders to provide quality public education to every child, in every neighborhood in San Francisco.
- Develop Sustainable Housing for All
State and federal government has dropped the ball on funding the development of affordable housing. As Mayor, I will create new and sustainable sources of funding to develop affordable and work-force housing, help keep families from losing their homes through foreclosure, and renovate our existing housing stock for safety and efficiency. I will preserve rent-controlled housing and stop unjust evictions and the demolition of sound housing.
Open Up Government For Real Community Participation
It's time to re-imagine how the City engages the public in its decisions, to better serve all neighborhoods and the entire City. We must bring the experts in, and those experts are not consultants or more managers, but the people who live in our communities. I will transform the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services and consolidate other city functions to create a Department of Civic Engagement and Community Development. We don't need more staff to make the Mayor look good. We need to include in the city's decision-making the people who experience the consequences of our choices in City Hall everyday, and invest in the ability of every San Franciscan in this Sanctuary City to fully participate in our local democracy. Only by opening up government we create a San Francisco that works for us all.
|
![[photo]](avalos_j.jpg)
