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By David Woo, HANC Vice President

HANC welcomes our new neighbors in the Tenderloin to District 5. We hope to build together around issues that face our communities and struggles for affordable housing, tenants’ rights, and supporting our houseless neighbors.

The San Francisco redistricting process was a joke. The Redistricting Task Force created a predetermined map, aimed specifically at attacking tenants, low-income and working-class residents, communities of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and established neighborhoods. The Chair of the Task Force even admitted to multiple people that he was under immense pressure from the Mayor, who had appointed him to the Task Force, to make specific changes. The impact of outside influences on certain Task Force members, in an attempt to shift the political landscape of the current districts, became abundantly clear as the months wore on in the redistricting process.

Central to the shifting boundaries in the redistricting process was District 6 and the Tenderloin. Tenderloin and South of Market residents gave testimony, submitted evidence, and spoke again and again about the deep connection and community that spans the two neighborhoods. The refusal of these two neighborhoods to be split from each other, and remain together in District 6, was a consistent demand articulated by the Black, Filipino, LGBTQ+, and Arab communities who live in these two neighborhoods.

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By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Board

Like San Francisco, California has a Redistricting Commission, whose function is to redraw the State’s political map based on the 2020 census.  Unlike San Francisco’s Redistricting Commission, the State’s final maps and report were issued in December, 2021. These affect San Francisco.

The boundaries of our Federal Congressional district remain the same, but because California lost one representative in the last census, we are now in Congressional District 11, and no longer in District 12.  We remain in California Senate District 11 (not to be confused with Federal Senators—our two Federal Senators represent the entire State).

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By Lisa Awbrey, HANC President

As we all know, district based elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors require adjustment of supervisorial district boundaries every 10 years in order to reflect population shifts by giving each district roughly the same number of people within plus or minus 5% of the average. 

The Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council Board and members engaged early and often in this most recent redistricting mapping process. Although many of us are deeply disheartened and angered by the final map that was adopted by the Redistricting Task Force at the end of April, HANC is resigned to continue to organize and engage with our neighbors around everyday issues that impact each of us. The newly adopted map has torn the Haight Ashbury asunder into 3 new districts: D5, D7 and D8. 

At our June public meeting, we will discuss how to keep Haight residents and community members in surrounding neighborhoods that were formerly a part of D5 connected and together even though the new map has torn us apart. Let us aspire to continue to work together no matter which district we live in. This is most certainly not goodbye, but if anything, a wake up call and reinvigoration of our Council and our communities. Here is an opportunity to strengthen and grow our coalition beyond old boundaries. 

Here are the final maps for San Francisco and for District 5 approved by the San Francisco Redistricting Task Force:

Although the City Charter seems to indicate that these new districts go into effect with the next Supervisorial election (which will be in November), the City Attorney and the Board of Supervisors have taken the position that they went into effect immediately.

We plan to discuss Redistricting, and its effect on the Haight-Ashbury, at our June meeting.

The HANC Board wanted to include its endorsements in last month’s issue of the Voice, as voting began the same day we mailed our May issue.  We did not dig deeply enough into Proposition D, “Office of Victim and Witness Rights.”  The only opposition in the voter guide was from one individual.  We should have paid more attention:  “This measure would do absolutely nothing to reduce crime . . . Nothing prevents City departments that already provide victim and witness services from coordinating better. . . . We don’t need new City Departments, unnecessary spending . . . We should be using existing resources and oversight mechanisms more effectively.”

According to the League of Pissed Off Voters, “This proposition looks suspiciously like an attempt to wrest power from the District Attorney’s office by placing some vaguely “law and order” sounding measure on the same ballot as the DA recall. Unsurprisingly, the DA’s office has had a similar and well-functioning domestic violence victim support program for years. Also unsurprisingly, this measure was put on the ballot with no hearing or input from family courts by Supervisor Catherine Stefani - who is openly angling for the DA appointment should the Chesa Boudin recall prove successful. Can’t we just fund the existing free legal aid program for domestic violence victims- why does this need to be a charter amendment? “

The Ballot Simplification Committee Digest in the Voter Guide states that “The Office [of Victim and Witness Rights] would introduce an ordinance . . .” to establish a pilot program to provide free legal services, and “The Office would seek to establish” a permanent program to provide free legal services.  Any supervisor can introduce an ordinance.  There is no need for a department to be set up to do so.

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By Richard Ivanhoe, HANC Board

The two panel members at our April meeting, Chris Arvin and Jason Henderson, were a wealth of information.  Unfortunately, nobody from SFMTA was in attendance.

Chris Arvin began with a number of reasons why MUNI is slow at restoring service post-Covid:  operating funding for MUNI has decreased from $200 million to $50 million; the Mayor’s position is no new taxes on transportation, MUNI has difficulty finding drivers because Prop G (2010), a union-busting measure, lowered wages for starting operators, and increased the time for their wages to rise. 

Measurements have shown that it takes the 7-Haight longer to travel the length of Haight Street since stop signs were replaced with traffic signals.  The 43-Masonic is scheduled to return to its full route through the Presidio and to Fort Mason in July.  The 21 is also scheduled to return in July, but will only run to Market and Grove.  The 6-Parnassus is now also scheduled to return in July, but only after voices were raised about SFMTA's failure to schedule its return.

Citywide, MUNI is at about 54% of its pre-Covid boardings.  The 7 is at 74% (this higher percentage could be due to the suspension of the 6).

Jason Henderson spoke about congestion in Hayes Valley—Haight Street transit is often stuck behind double-parked vehicles, and the transit lane stops shy of Buchanan.  The State has billions of dollars, but no transit plan or push from transit agencies.  Octavia is backed up both from Citywide and regional traffic (which is more than a local issue) as well as by gig traffic (Uber, Lyft, delivery vehicles, UCSF shuttles). 

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