Throngs of supporters of Aaron Peskin, candidate for District 3 supervisor, were on hand for Saturday morning's debut of his campaign headquarters in Polk Gulch. More than 150 people—triple what organizers expected—attended, socialized, listened to a brief speech by Peskin and then fanned out into the neighborhoods with window signs.
A crowd gathered at Peskin campaign headquarters on June 6th.
Peskin's slogan is "Leading the Fight for An Affordable City," and several supporters we talked to echoed his concerns about keeping the city livable for the masses, and not just the ultra-rich. (District 3, for whose seat Peskin is running, covers a wide swath of SF's northeastern neighborhoods, such as the FiDi, North Beach, Chinatown, the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Jackson Square, Telegraph Hill, Union Square, Polk Gulch, Nob Hill and Russian Hill.) Many supporters cited Peskin's previous tenure on the Board of Supervisors from 2000–2008, the latter half of which he spent as the board's president, as a factor in their support.
Philippa Colborne, Lance Carnes and Sarah Colborne
"We're supporting him because he ran before for District 3 and was a very successful supervisor," said Financial District resident Sarah Colborne. "I think he is the guy we need to represent us and pay attention to all of District 3's needs." For Colborne, key issues include development on the waterfront—particularly the 8 Washington condo project— along with affordable housing and the potential displacement of available units to Airbnb. She's also concerned about the influx of tech workers she believes are "going to take over apartments."
Chris Gembinski
"We are in the middle of an affordability crisis, and I think Aaron shares my values of protecting rent-controlled units. He's just really the right fit for the district," said Chris Gembinski, another Peskin supporter. Longtime community leader and organizer Sharen Hewitt agreed, dubbing Peskin a "mature, substantial, conscientious candidate." According to supporter Judy Irving, "He is the smartest, most experienced, most savvy, most effective politician I have ever known. The guy is brilliant. He knows how things work in San Francisco and he knows how to make things work. He is the best."
Sharen Hewitt and Michael Redmond
In his speech to the crowd, Peskin emphasized his commitment to affordability and protecting renters. He cited "over 2,000 reported evictions last year, and three times that unreported," he said. "The response from City Hall? The silence is deafening."
Peskin told Hoodline that he's running for office because "the affordability crisis that is facing the city is so intense, I didn't feel I could sit on the sidelines anymore." We asked how he plans to increase the housing supply and maintain affordability. "Building $5 million condos that none of us can afford is not the solution," he said. His strategy calls for building developments "appropriately," building more affordable housing, extending rent control to more buildings constructed after 1979 and strengthening eviction protections.
However, Peskin doesn't believe himself to be anti-development, as his critics have suggested. "As a two-term president of the Board of Supervisors, I was directly responsible for the rezoning of Rincon Hill, SoMa and the Octavia Boulevard plan, which is now thousands of units of housing," he says. He also voted to build the Shipyard, one of the largest housing projects in the city in recent years. (Current District 3 Supervisor Julie Christensen's opponents, meanwhile, paint her as too "pro-development.)
Peskin addresses the crowd.
Peskin's parents, Harvey and Tsipora Peskin, attended the grand opening to show their support, as did Becky Evans, chair of the San Francisco Bay chapter of the Sierra Club. Peskin has already racked up endorsements from several unions, State Senator Mark Leno, former Assembly member Fiona Ma, Mayor Art Agnos, California Democratic Party Chair John Burton, five current supervisors and a long list of other political movers and shakers.
Peskin's headquarters will be open 10am–6pm daily, overseeing phone banks, coordinating teams of door knockers, holding precinct captains' meetings and engaging in other efforts. For more information on Peskin's campaign, visit his website, aaron2015.com.
Stay tuned for more on both Christensen's and Peskin's supervisorial bids as we continue to cover the District 3 race.
